Panama vs South Africa: Democracy
Panama
7
in 2025
South Africa
7
in 2025
Panama rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Democracy over time
- Panama
- South Africa
How they compare
Panama currently reports 7 against 7 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 8 times across 123 shared years of data; in 1903 it was South Africa ahead.
Panama ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, Panama averaged higher in 3 and South Africa in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Panama | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 2.57 | 0 | 2.57 | Panama |
| 1910s | 3 | 4 | 1 | South Africa |
| 1920s | 2.6 | 4 | 1.4 | South Africa |
| 1930s | 3.4 | 4 | 0.6 | South Africa |
| 1940s | 2.8 | 4 | 1.2 | South Africa |
| 1950s | 2.6 | 3 | 0.4 | South Africa |
| 1960s | 4.8 | 3 | 1.8 | Panama |
| 1970s | 0.8 | 3 | 2.2 | South Africa |
| 1980s | 2.4 | 3 | 0.6 | South Africa |
| 1990s | 6 | 5.4 | 0.6 | Panama |
| 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, Panama or South Africa?
- Panama, at 7 against 7 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Panama and South Africa?
- 0, with Panama ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Panama and South Africa?
- 123 years are reported by both, from 1903 to 2025.
- How do Panama and South Africa rank globally for democracy?
- Panama 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).