Portugal vs United States: Democracy
Portugal
7
in 2025
United States
7
in 2025
Portugal rank
1st
United States rank
1st
Democracy over time
- Portugal
- United States
How they compare
Portugal currently reports 7 against 7 in United States, a difference of 0.
Across all 237 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
Portugal ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 198 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 25 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Portugal | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1790s | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1800s | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1810s | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1820s | 1 | 4 | 3 | United States |
| 1830s | 1.2 | 4 | 2.8 | United States |
| 1840s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United States |
| 1850s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United States |
| 1860s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United States |
| 1870s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United States |
| 1880s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United States |
| 1890s | 1.7 | 4 | 2.3 | United States |
| 1900s | 1.8 | 4 | 2.2 | United States |
| 1910s | 2.4 | 4 | 1.6 | United States |
| 1920s | 1.8 | 4 | 2.2 | United States |
| 1930s | 1.6 | 4 | 2.4 | United States |
| 1940s | 3 | 4 | 1 | United States |
| 1950s | 3 | 4 | 1 | United States |
| 1960s | 3 | 5.5 | 2.5 | United States |
| 1970s | 4.2 | 7 | 2.8 | United States |
| 1980s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 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, Portugal or United States?
- Portugal, at 7 against 7 in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Portugal and United States?
- 0, with Portugal ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Portugal and United States?
- 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
- How do Portugal and United States rank globally for democracy?
- Portugal ranks 1st and United States 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).