Statizoid

Democracy in El Salvador

El Salvador: Democracy was 3 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
3
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
116th
of 198 countries
All-time high
7
in 2010
All-time low
0
in 1838
Years of data
188
1838–2025

Democracy in El Salvador, 1838–2025

02468183819312025

Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2025, democracy in El Salvador stood at 3.

That represents a change of down 50.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in El Salvador peaked at 7 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1838.

That places El Salvador 116th out of 198 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Democracy in El Salvador, year by year

Year Value Change
1838 0 —
1839 0 —
1840 0 —
1841 0 —
1842 3 —
1843 3 +0.0%
1844 3 +0.0%
1845 3 +0.0%
1846 3 +0.0%
1847 3 +0.0%
1848 3 +0.0%
1849 3 +0.0%
1850 3 +0.0%
1851 3 +0.0%
1852 3 +0.0%
1853 3 +0.0%
1854 3 +0.0%
1855 3 +0.0%
1856 3 +0.0%
1857 3 +0.0%
1858 3 +0.0%
1859 1 -66.7%
1860 3 +200.0%
1861 3 +0.0%
1862 3 +0.0%
1863 1 -66.7%
1864 1 +0.0%
1865 3 +200.0%
1866 3 +0.0%
1867 3 +0.0%
1868 3 +0.0%
1869 3 +0.0%
1870 3 +0.0%
1871 1 -66.7%
1872 3 +200.0%
1873 3 +0.0%
1874 3 +0.0%
1875 3 +0.0%
1876 3 +0.0%
1877 3 +0.0%
1878 3 +0.0%
1879 3 +0.0%
1880 3 +0.0%
1881 3 +0.0%
1882 3 +0.0%
1883 3 +0.0%
1884 3 +0.0%
1885 1 -66.7%
1886 1 +0.0%
1887 3 +200.0%
1888 3 +0.0%
1889 3 +0.0%
1890 3 +0.0%
1891 3 +0.0%
1892 3 +0.0%
1893 3 +0.0%
1894 1 -66.7%
1895 3 +200.0%
1896 3 +0.0%
1897 3 +0.0%
1898 1 -66.7%
1899 3 +200.0%
1900 3 +0.0%
1901 3 +0.0%
1902 3 +0.0%
1903 3 +0.0%
1904 3 +0.0%
1905 3 +0.0%
1906 3 +0.0%
1907 3 +0.0%
1908 3 +0.0%
1909 3 +0.0%
1910 3 +0.0%
1911 3 +0.0%
1912 3 +0.0%
1913 3 +0.0%
1914 3 +0.0%
1915 3 +0.0%
1916 3 +0.0%
1917 3 +0.0%
1918 3 +0.0%
1919 3 +0.0%
1920 3 +0.0%
1921 3 +0.0%
1922 3 +0.0%
1923 3 +0.0%
1924 3 +0.0%
1925 3 +0.0%
1926 3 +0.0%
1927 3 +0.0%
1928 3 +0.0%
1929 3 +0.0%
1930 3 +0.0%
1931 1 -66.7%
1932 1 +0.0%
1933 1 +0.0%
1934 1 +0.0%
1935 1 +0.0%
1936 1 +0.0%
1937 1 +0.0%
1938 1 +0.0%
1939 1 +0.0%
1940 1 +0.0%
1941 1 +0.0%
1942 1 +0.0%
1943 1 +0.0%
1944 1 +0.0%
1945 1 +0.0%
1946 1 +0.0%
1947 1 +0.0%
1948 0 -100.0%
1949 0 —
1950 3 —
1951 3 +0.0%
1952 3 +0.0%
1953 3 +0.0%
1954 3 +0.0%
1955 3 +0.0%
1956 3 +0.0%
1957 3 +0.0%
1958 3 +0.0%
1959 3 +0.0%
1960 0 -100.0%
1961 1 —
1962 1 +0.0%
1963 1 +0.0%
1964 1 +0.0%
1965 1 +0.0%
1966 1 +0.0%
1967 3 +200.0%
1968 3 +0.0%
1969 3 +0.0%
1970 3 +0.0%
1971 3 +0.0%
1972 3 +0.0%
1973 3 +0.0%
1974 3 +0.0%
1975 3 +0.0%
1976 3 +0.0%
1977 3 +0.0%
1978 3 +0.0%
1979 0 -100.0%
1980 0 —
1981 0 —
1982 3 —
1983 3 +0.0%
1984 6 +100.0%
1985 6 +0.0%
1986 6 +0.0%
1987 6 +0.0%
1988 6 +0.0%
1989 6 +0.0%
1990 6 +0.0%
1991 6 +0.0%
1992 6 +0.0%
1993 6 +0.0%
1994 6 +0.0%
1995 6 +0.0%
1996 6 +0.0%
1997 6 +0.0%
1998 6 +0.0%
1999 6 +0.0%
2000 6 +0.0%
2001 6 +0.0%
2002 6 +0.0%
2003 6 +0.0%
2004 6 +0.0%
2005 6 +0.0%
2006 6 +0.0%
2007 6 +0.0%
2008 6 +0.0%
2009 6 +0.0%
2010 7 +16.7%
2011 7 +0.0%
2012 7 +0.0%
2013 7 +0.0%
2014 7 +0.0%
2015 6 -14.3%
2016 6 +0.0%
2017 6 +0.0%
2018 6 +0.0%
2019 6 +0.0%
2020 6 +0.0%
2021 6 +0.0%
2022 6 +0.0%
2023 6 +0.0%
2024 3 -50.0%
2025 3 +0.0%

El Salvador compared with similar countries

  • El Salvador's 3 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 6, 50% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • El Salvador's 3 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 7, 43% of the median. (33 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 0 0 0 2
1840s 2.4 0 3 10
1850s 2.8 1 3 10
1860s 2.6 1 3 10
1870s 2.8 1 3 10
1880s 2.6 1 3 10
1890s 2.6 1 3 10
1900s 3 3 3 10
1910s 3 3 3 10
1920s 3 3 3 10
1930s 1.2 1 3 10
1940s 0.8 0 1 10
1950s 3 3 3 10
1960s 1.5 0 3 10
1970s 2.7 0 3 10
1980s 4.2 0 6 10
1990s 6 6 6 10
2000s 6 6 6 10
2010s 6.5 6 7 10
2020s 5 3 6 6

Countries ranked near El Salvador

  1. 116 Algeria 3 compare
  2. 116 Angola 3 compare
  3. 116 Azerbaijan 3 compare
  4. 116 Benin 3 compare
  5. 116 Burundi 3 compare
  6. 116 Cameroon 3 compare
  7. 116 Central African Republic 3 compare
  8. 116 Chad 3 compare
  9. 116 Comoros 3 compare
  10. 116 Congo 3 compare
  11. 116 Cote d'Ivoire 3 compare
  12. 116 Democratic Republic of Congo 3 compare
  13. 116 Djibouti 3 compare
  14. 116 Egypt 3 compare
  15. 116 Equatorial Guinea 3 compare
  16. 116 Ethiopia 3 compare
  17. 116 Gabon 3 compare
  18. 116 Georgia 3 compare
  19. 116 Kazakhstan 3 compare
  20. 116 Kyrgyzstan 3 compare
  21. 116 Mauritania 3 compare
  22. 116 Mozambique 3 compare
  23. 116 Nigeria 3 compare
  24. 116 Pakistan 3 compare
  25. 116 Rwanda 3 compare
  26. 116 Serbia 3 compare
  27. 116 Sierra Leone 3 compare
  28. 116 Singapore 3 compare
  29. 116 Tajikistan 3 compare
  30. 116 Tanzania 3 compare
  31. 116 Thailand 3 compare
  32. 116 Togo 3 compare
  33. 116 Turkey 3 compare
  34. 116 USSR 3 compare
  35. 116 Uganda 3 compare
  36. 116 Uzbekistan 3 compare
  37. 116 Zimbabwe 3 compare

See the full ranking of 198 places →

More public sector data for El Salvador

All data for El Salvador →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in El Salvador?
Democracy in El Salvador was 3 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in El Salvador?
The highest recorded value was 7 in 2010.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in El Salvador?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1838.
How does El Salvador rank for democracy?
El Salvador ranks 116th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in El Salvador?
Over the last ten years it is down 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this El Salvador data come from?
The figures come from Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Democracy in El Salvador. Statizoid, drawing on Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/stat/political-regime-lexical/el-salvador/

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About this data

Indicator
Democracy
Source
Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
198 places, 32,485 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

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).