Liberal democracy index (V-Dem)
Definition
Measures to what extent the ideal of liberal democracy is achieved: protection of individual and minority rights against the state and the majority, through protected civil liberties, rule of law, an independent judiciary and checks and balances on the executive. It also incorporates the level of electoral democracy. Ranges from 0 to 1.
- Formula
- 0.25·P^1.585 + 0.25·L + 0.5·P^1.585·L, where P is the electoral democracy index and L the liberal component.
- Unit
- index (0 to 1)
- Uncertainty
- 68% highest posterior density interval from the V-Dem measurement model (codelow and codehigh columns), roughly one standard deviation.
- License
- CC-BY-SA-4.0
Liberal democracy index (V-Dem)
- Brazil
- Argentina
- Chile
- Colombia
- Mexico
- Liberal democracy index (V-Dem)
- Source: V-Dem — Varieties of Democracy · Source version: v16 · Collected on: 2026-10-26 · License: CC-BY-SA-4.0
· Paper behind the metric: Coppedge, M
Uncertainty: 68% highest posterior density interval from the V-Dem measurement model (codelow and codehigh columns), roughly one standard deviation.
Download data (CSV) · View the code: collection code · chart.ts
View the data as a table
| Year | Brazil | Argentina | Chile | Colombia | Mexico |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 0.068 (0.052–0.082) | 0.290 (0.248–0.333) | 0.032 (0.020–0.040) | 0.300 (0.250–0.334) | 0.108 (0.091–0.126) |
| 1976 | 0.070 (0.053–0.084) | 0.066 (0.050–0.081) | 0.032 (0.020–0.040) | 0.304 (0.255–0.335) | 0.112 (0.094–0.130) |
| 1977 | 0.070 (0.054–0.083) | 0.047 (0.035–0.060) | 0.032 (0.021–0.041) | 0.305 (0.261–0.345) | 0.122 (0.103–0.142) |
| 1978 | 0.072 (0.055–0.084) | 0.047 (0.033–0.059) | 0.032 (0.021–0.040) | 0.280 (0.241–0.315) | 0.127 (0.106–0.146) |
| 1979 | 0.089 (0.070–0.104) | 0.047 (0.033–0.059) | 0.032 (0.022–0.042) | 0.270 (0.234–0.311) | 0.127 (0.106–0.147) |
| 1980 | 0.119 (0.095–0.137) | 0.051 (0.034–0.061) | 0.044 (0.032–0.055) | 0.270 (0.233–0.307) | 0.128 (0.109–0.149) |
| 1981 | 0.119 (0.095–0.137) | 0.051 (0.034–0.061) | 0.044 (0.031–0.055) | 0.270 (0.233–0.307) | 0.129 (0.105–0.146) |
| 1982 | 0.134 (0.109–0.154) | 0.051 (0.034–0.061) | 0.045 (0.033–0.057) | 0.276 (0.238–0.310) | 0.136 (0.113–0.158) |
| 1983 | 0.146 (0.122–0.169) | 0.206 (0.178–0.231) | 0.047 (0.034–0.059) | 0.316 (0.269–0.359) | 0.142 (0.120–0.165) |
| 1984 | 0.149 (0.119–0.169) | 0.674 (0.617–0.729) | 0.048 (0.036–0.060) | 0.317 (0.270–0.355) | 0.142 (0.120–0.165) |
| 1985 | 0.226 (0.191–0.256) | 0.674 (0.615–0.728) | 0.048 (0.035–0.059) | 0.314 (0.271–0.354) | 0.142 (0.119–0.165) |
| 1986 | 0.313 (0.267–0.349) | 0.672 (0.604–0.724) | 0.049 (0.034–0.058) | 0.308 (0.260–0.344) | 0.143 (0.119–0.166) |
| 1987 | 0.370 (0.319–0.411) | 0.672 (0.603–0.723) | 0.052 (0.038–0.063) | 0.308 (0.259–0.341) | 0.145 (0.120–0.167) |
| 1988 | 0.528 (0.470–0.586) | 0.672 (0.602–0.722) | 0.060 (0.045–0.072) | 0.301 (0.257–0.335) | 0.159 (0.133–0.183) |
| 1989 | 0.579 (0.507–0.632) | 0.670 (0.617–0.735) | 0.075 (0.062–0.089) | 0.301 (0.257–0.335) | 0.172 (0.140–0.195) |
| 1990 | 0.678 (0.627–0.733) | 0.617 (0.559–0.676) | 0.630 (0.589–0.685) | 0.316 (0.269–0.355) | 0.186 (0.155–0.214) |
| 1991 | 0.692 (0.638–0.743) | 0.630 (0.572–0.691) | 0.750 (0.700–0.810) | 0.390 (0.341–0.437) | 0.196 (0.162–0.225) |
| 1992 | 0.699 (0.651–0.759) | 0.631 (0.581–0.697) | 0.750 (0.700–0.810) | 0.428 (0.376–0.477) | 0.208 (0.170–0.236) |
| 1993 | 0.704 (0.655–0.761) | 0.630 (0.578–0.696) | 0.746 (0.700–0.809) | 0.427 (0.374–0.476) | 0.215 (0.182–0.249) |
| 1994 | 0.707 (0.659–0.764) | 0.633 (0.575–0.696) | 0.783 (0.736–0.828) | 0.426 (0.371–0.478) | 0.260 (0.219–0.299) |
| 1995 | 0.712 (0.664–0.770) | 0.641 (0.587–0.703) | 0.783 (0.736–0.828) | 0.428 (0.376–0.481) | 0.281 (0.237–0.321) |
| 1996 | 0.711 (0.657–0.761) | 0.634 (0.573–0.692) | 0.784 (0.737–0.830) | 0.426 (0.370–0.476) | 0.293 (0.252–0.338) |
| 1997 | 0.711 (0.657–0.761) | 0.634 (0.573–0.692) | 0.784 (0.738–0.831) | 0.429 (0.377–0.481) | 0.346 (0.290–0.387) |
| 1998 | 0.711 (0.658–0.763) | 0.634 (0.577–0.700) | 0.786 (0.754–0.846) | 0.423 (0.370–0.472) | 0.378 (0.321–0.424) |
| 1999 | 0.713 (0.661–0.768) | 0.640 (0.580–0.701) | 0.785 (0.750–0.838) | 0.417 (0.372–0.472) | 0.381 (0.332–0.437) |
| 2000 | 0.717 (0.663–0.769) | 0.670 (0.615–0.739) | 0.810 (0.769–0.855) | 0.426 (0.371–0.474) | 0.481 (0.426–0.536) |
| 2001 | 0.717 (0.663–0.769) | 0.674 (0.608–0.731) | 0.811 (0.770–0.856) | 0.422 (0.379–0.483) | 0.484 (0.427–0.541) |
| 2002 | 0.721 (0.670–0.775) | 0.661 (0.600–0.716) | 0.817 (0.786–0.873) | 0.414 (0.359–0.460) | 0.494 (0.442–0.554) |
| 2003 | 0.722 (0.673–0.779) | 0.638 (0.584–0.706) | 0.817 (0.786–0.873) | 0.421 (0.368–0.464) | 0.499 (0.444–0.557) |
| 2004 | 0.722 (0.673–0.779) | 0.632 (0.574–0.692) | 0.817 (0.786–0.873) | 0.424 (0.372–0.467) | 0.505 (0.453–0.567) |
| 2005 | 0.772 (0.727–0.815) | 0.625 (0.565–0.681) | 0.821 (0.784–0.870) | 0.428 (0.376–0.475) | 0.505 (0.453–0.567) |
| 2006 | 0.770 (0.731–0.816) | 0.614 (0.561–0.679) | 0.839 (0.799–0.874) | 0.449 (0.393–0.492) | 0.478 (0.426–0.534) |
| 2007 | 0.769 (0.727–0.815) | 0.610 (0.557–0.673) | 0.842 (0.807–0.882) | 0.461 (0.403–0.502) | 0.454 (0.397–0.507) |
| 2008 | 0.769 (0.727–0.815) | 0.590 (0.536–0.648) | 0.841 (0.811–0.886) | 0.462 (0.410–0.510) | 0.456 (0.398–0.504) |
| 2009 | 0.769 (0.727–0.815) | 0.583 (0.528–0.638) | 0.836 (0.802–0.878) | 0.465 (0.422–0.522) | 0.459 (0.401–0.512) |
| 2010 | 0.776 (0.737–0.822) | 0.578 (0.526–0.641) | 0.837 (0.803–0.880) | 0.498 (0.439–0.547) | 0.465 (0.421–0.530) |
| 2011 | 0.781 (0.738–0.826) | 0.573 (0.510–0.625) | 0.839 (0.810–0.888) | 0.539 (0.481–0.592) | 0.468 (0.408–0.521) |
| 2012 | 0.777 (0.724–0.817) | 0.582 (0.522–0.635) | 0.844 (0.812–0.889) | 0.540 (0.483–0.596) | 0.457 (0.410–0.517) |
| 2013 | 0.781 (0.740–0.829) | 0.588 (0.531–0.650) | 0.846 (0.816–0.891) | 0.537 (0.485–0.596) | 0.420 (0.365–0.472) |
| 2014 | 0.783 (0.743–0.829) | 0.595 (0.528–0.648) | 0.850 (0.812–0.892) | 0.545 (0.489–0.601) | 0.421 (0.366–0.473) |
| 2015 | 0.769 (0.732–0.822) | 0.590 (0.534–0.645) | 0.839 (0.804–0.880) | 0.551 (0.499–0.609) | 0.433 (0.371–0.482) |
| 2016 | 0.653 (0.608–0.709) | 0.612 (0.560–0.676) | 0.839 (0.804–0.880) | 0.547 (0.484–0.603) | 0.434 (0.378–0.486) |
| 2017 | 0.641 (0.589–0.694) | 0.609 (0.556–0.666) | 0.842 (0.803–0.880) | 0.548 (0.485–0.597) | 0.440 (0.379–0.484) |
| 2018 | 0.608 (0.555–0.663) | 0.630 (0.573–0.682) | 0.803 (0.765–0.853) | 0.533 (0.477–0.585) | 0.452 (0.397–0.511) |
| 2019 | 0.528 (0.474–0.581) | 0.618 (0.562–0.672) | 0.761 (0.725–0.817) | 0.511 (0.457–0.563) | 0.428 (0.366–0.477) |
| 2020 | 0.534 (0.485–0.592) | 0.634 (0.575–0.689) | 0.766 (0.728–0.818) | 0.496 (0.453–0.559) | 0.406 (0.351–0.459) |
| 2021 | 0.531 (0.475–0.580) | 0.639 (0.591–0.703) | 0.777 (0.733–0.823) | 0.499 (0.449–0.554) | 0.371 (0.317–0.421) |
| 2022 | 0.540 (0.489–0.590) | 0.654 (0.603–0.712) | 0.776 (0.736–0.829) | 0.561 (0.502–0.614) | 0.330 (0.278–0.373) |
| 2023 | 0.695 (0.642–0.748) | 0.695 (0.647–0.752) | 0.779 (0.734–0.827) | 0.570 (0.518–0.632) | 0.302 (0.256–0.346) |
| 2024 | 0.712 (0.660–0.767) | 0.558 (0.506–0.613) | 0.786 (0.741–0.840) | 0.554 (0.495–0.608) | 0.246 (0.203–0.282) |
| 2025 | 0.704 (0.650–0.759) | 0.524 (0.465–0.576) | 0.781 (0.737–0.835) | 0.555 (0.500–0.611) | 0.221 (0.183–0.253) |
Criticisms of the metric
- The 1.585 exponent and the formula's weights are the authors' aggregation choices; the index combines electoral democracy and the liberal component, so a fall can come from either.
- Based on expert assessments aggregated by a statistical model. A recent debate asks whether the global trend of democratic backsliding shows up in objective indicators (such as incumbent electoral performance) or may reflect coder bias (Little and Meng, 2024; reply in Knutsen et al., 2024).
- Absolute values are not comparable across V-Dem versions: each version re-estimates the whole series. Compare values from the same version only.
- Intervals are wide; small differences between adjacent years or countries may be within the model's uncertainty.
References
- Coppedge, M., Gerring, J., Altman, D., Bernhard, M., Fish, S., Hicken, A., et al. (2011). Conceptualizing and measuring democracy: a new approach. Perspectives on Politics, 9(2), 247–267. doi:10.1017/S1537592711000880
- Little, A. T., & Meng, A. (2024). Measuring democratic backsliding. PS: Political Science & Politics, 57(2), 149–161. doi:10.1017/S104909652300063X
- Knutsen, C. H., Marquardt, K. L., Seim, B., Coppedge, M., Edgell, A. B., et al. (2024). Conceptual and measurement issues in assessing democratic backsliding. PS: Political Science & Politics, 57(2), 162–177. doi:10.1017/S104909652300077X
- Coppedge, M., Gerring, J., Knutsen, C. H., Lindberg, S. I., Teorell, J., et al. (2026). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v16. Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project. https://doi.org/10.23696/vdemds26