Switzerland vs United States: Democracy
Democracy over time
- Switzerland
- United States
How they compare
Switzerland currently reports 7 against 7 in United States, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 228 shared years of data; in 1798 it was United States ahead.
Switzerland ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Across the 24 decades both report, Switzerland averaged higher in 11 and United States in 8.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Switzerland | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1790s | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1800s | 0 | 4 | 4 | United States |
| 1810s | 1.8 | 4 | 2.2 | United States |
| 1820s | 3 | 4 | 1 | United States |
| 1830s | 3 | 4 | 1 | United States |
| 1840s | 3.4 | 4 | 0.6 | United States |
| 1850s | 5 | 4 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1860s | 5 | 4 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1870s | 5 | 4 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1880s | 5 | 4 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1890s | 5 | 4 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1900s | 5 | 4 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1910s | 5 | 4 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1920s | 5 | 4 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1930s | 5 | 4 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1940s | 5 | 4 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1950s | 5 | 4 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1960s | 5 | 5.5 | 0.5 | United States |
| 1970s | 6.8 | 7 | 0.2 | 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, Switzerland or United States?
- Switzerland, at 7 against 7 in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Switzerland and United States?
- 0, with Switzerland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Switzerland and United States?
- 228 years are reported by both, from 1798 to 2025.
- How do Switzerland and United States rank globally for democracy?
- Switzerland 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).