Spain vs United Kingdom: Democracy
Spain
7
in 2025
United Kingdom
7
in 2025
Spain rank
1st
United Kingdom rank
1st
Democracy over time
- Spain
- United Kingdom
How they compare
Spain currently reports 7 against 7 in United Kingdom, a difference of 0.
Across all 237 years both countries report, United Kingdom has been ahead every year.
Spain ranks 1st and United Kingdom ranks 1st of 198 countries.
United Kingdom has averaged higher in every one of the 25 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Spain | United Kingdom | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 3 | 3 | United Kingdom |
| 1790s | 0 | 3 | 3 | United Kingdom |
| 1800s | 0 | 3 | 3 | United Kingdom |
| 1810s | 0.6 | 3 | 2.4 | United Kingdom |
| 1820s | 0.9 | 3 | 2.1 | United Kingdom |
| 1830s | 1.2 | 3.8 | 2.6 | United Kingdom |
| 1840s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United Kingdom |
| 1850s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United Kingdom |
| 1860s | 1.6 | 4 | 2.4 | United Kingdom |
| 1870s | 1.4 | 4 | 2.6 | United Kingdom |
| 1880s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United Kingdom |
| 1890s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United Kingdom |
| 1900s | 2 | 4 | 2 | United Kingdom |
| 1910s | 2 | 4.2 | 2.2 | United Kingdom |
| 1920s | 0.6 | 5.4 | 4.8 | United Kingdom |
| 1930s | 3.5 | 6.9 | 3.4 | United Kingdom |
| 1940s | 0 | 6.4 | 6.4 | United Kingdom |
| 1950s | 0 | 7 | 7 | United Kingdom |
| 1960s | 0 | 7 | 7 | United Kingdom |
| 1970s | 1.9 | 7 | 5.1 | United Kingdom |
| 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, Spain or United Kingdom?
- Spain, at 7 against 7 in United Kingdom as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Spain and United Kingdom?
- 0, with Spain ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Spain and United Kingdom?
- 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
- How do Spain and United Kingdom rank globally for democracy?
- Spain ranks 1st and United Kingdom 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).