South Africa vs Spain: Democracy
South Africa
7
in 2025
Spain
7
in 2025
South Africa rank
1st
Spain rank
1st
Democracy over time
- South Africa
- Spain
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 7 against 7 in Spain, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was Spain ahead.
South Africa ranks 1st and Spain ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, South Africa averaged higher in 7 and Spain in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Africa | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 2 | 2 | Spain |
| 1910s | 4 | 2 | 2 | South Africa |
| 1920s | 4 | 0.6 | 3.4 | South Africa |
| 1930s | 4 | 3.5 | 0.5 | South Africa |
| 1940s | 4 | 0 | 4 | South Africa |
| 1950s | 3 | 0 | 3 | South Africa |
| 1960s | 3 | 0 | 3 | South Africa |
| 1970s | 3 | 1.9 | 1.1 | South Africa |
| 1980s | 3 | 7 | 4 | Spain |
| 1990s | 5.4 | 7 | 1.6 | Spain |
| 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, South Africa or Spain?
- South Africa, at 7 against 7 in Spain as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between South Africa and Spain?
- 0, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Spain?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do South Africa and Spain rank globally for democracy?
- South Africa ranks 1st and Spain 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).