Netherlands vs South Africa: Democracy
Democracy over time
- Netherlands
- South Africa
How they compare
Netherlands currently reports 7 against 7 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was Netherlands ahead.
Netherlands ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, Netherlands averaged higher in 9 and South Africa in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Netherlands | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 4 | 0 | 4 | Netherlands |
| 1910s | 4.3 | 4 | 0.3 | Netherlands |
| 1920s | 6.6 | 4 | 2.6 | Netherlands |
| 1930s | 6.3 | 4 | 2.3 | Netherlands |
| 1940s | 2.8 | 4 | 1.2 | South Africa |
| 1950s | 7 | 3 | 4 | Netherlands |
| 1960s | 7 | 3 | 4 | Netherlands |
| 1970s | 7 | 3 | 4 | Netherlands |
| 1980s | 7 | 3 | 4 | Netherlands |
| 1990s | 7 | 5.4 | 1.6 | Netherlands |
| 2000s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher democracy, Netherlands or South Africa?
- Netherlands, at 7 against 7 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Netherlands and South Africa?
- 0, with Netherlands ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Netherlands and South Africa?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do Netherlands and South Africa rank globally for democracy?
- Netherlands ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 198 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between non-electoral autocracies (score 0), one-party autocracies (score 1), multi-party autocracies without elected executive (score 2), multi-party autocracies (score 3), exclusive democracies (score 4), male democracies (score 5), electoral democracies (score 6), and full democracies (score 7).