Sierra Leone vs South Africa: Universal right to vote in practice
Sierra Leone
2
in 2025
South Africa
2
in 2025
Sierra Leone rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Universal right to vote in practice over time
- Sierra Leone
- South Africa
How they compare
Sierra Leone currently reports 2 against 2 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was South Africa ahead.
Sierra Leone ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, Sierra Leone averaged higher in 3 and South Africa in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Sierra Leone | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 1.6 | 0 | 1.6 | Sierra Leone |
| 1970s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Sierra Leone |
| 1980s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Sierra Leone |
| 1990s | 1 | 1.2 | 0.2 | South Africa |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher universal right to vote in practice, Sierra Leone or South Africa?
- Sierra Leone, at 2 against 2 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in universal right to vote in practice between Sierra Leone and South Africa?
- 0, with Sierra Leone ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Sierra Leone and South Africa?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do Sierra Leone and South Africa rank globally for universal right to vote in practice?
- Sierra Leone 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 Universal right to vote in practice. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Indicates whether virtually all adult citizens have the right to vote in practice (score 2), only men have broad voting rights in practice (score 1), or there are no broad voting rights in practice (score 0).