People living in democracies worldwide 2024| ��ƽ��

World population from 1900 to 2024, by regime type of country of residence (in millions)

Characteristic	Liberal democracies	Electoral democracies	Electoral autocracies	Closed autocracies	No regime data
2024	965.17	1,351.85	3,781.24	2,046.68	5.5
2023	1,018.2	1,343.15	3,530.47	2,183.03	5.41
2022	1,037.04	1,306.29	3,445.81	2,215.53	5.31
2021	1,070.49	1,256.43	3,524.01	2,086.94	5.19
2020	1,025.55	1,525.18	3,475.08	1,844.75	5.07
2019	1,073.83	1,440.42	3,533.18	1,747.58	4.96
2018	1,071.1	1,417.31	3,497.9	1,727.46	4.85
2017	1,084.01	1,514.96	3,306.1	1,724.51	4.74
2016	1,075.76	2,885.09	1,837.3	1,744.42	4.63
2015	1,112.22	2,761.32	1,880.54	1,700.56	4.52
2014	1,133.66	2,692.32	1,749.26	1,688.5	106.57
2013	1,126.42	2,625	1,832.63	1,692.17	4.32
2012	1,183.88	2,565.21	1,877.18	1,559.49	4.22
2011	1,176.52	2,389.53	1,885.95	1,643.62	4.12
2010	1,169.01	2,342.65	1,888.64	1,595.87	14.41
2009	1,171.51	2,230.99	1,916.26	1,599	3.92
2008	1,161.55	2,200.14	1,900.41	1,567.52	3.83
2007	1,152.6	2,174.94	1,630.62	1,784.48	3.74
2006	1,137.23	2,201.47	1,759.42	1,558.84	3.65
2005	1,129.82	2,175.71	1,649.74	1,617.37	3.56
2004	1,120.87	2,165.67	1,548.34	1,630.77	27.04
2003	1,112.27	2,210.81	1,443.32	1,639.94	3.4
2002	1,084.01	2,156.83	1,458.4	1,624.06	3.88
2001	1,077.27	2,263.35	1,065.13	1,835.48	3.24
2000	1,070.92	2,208.16	1,066.16	1,812.95	3.15
1999	1,042.6	2,185.31	1,213.63	1,634.12	3.06
1998	1,030.24	1,940.69	1,304.83	1,716.11	5.04
1997	1,025.01	1,893.35	1,292.43	1,698.28	5.69
1996	1,019.35	1,731.59	1,393.73	1,627.94	59.56
1995	953.21	1,756.34	1,271.14	1,690.11	78.31
1994	947.92	1,667.64	1,249.53	1,752.93	47.89
1993	942.07	1,615.57	1,142.34	1,830.94	51.11
1992	892.78	1,602.67	1,175.38	1,820.78	4.99
1991	886.29	1,415.21	1,292.12	1,801.61	14.25
1990	851	1,378.83	1,123.78	1,956.19	6.96
1989	792.13	1,205.65	1,146.01	2,075.78	4.62
1988	784.49	1,182.97	1,075.27	2,085.28	4.51
1987	779.99	1,056.57	1,107.42	2,092.43	4.37
1986	775.59	895.78	1,227.8	2,043.38	6.87
1985	771.24	869.13	1,021.97	2,194.03	4.15
1984	762.86	850.32	872.26	2,279.48	8.84
1983	758.52	799.15	923.22	2,180.23	27.71
1982	716.06	833.91	851.79	2,175.48	26.88
1981	711.75	809.52	907.32	2,040.33	51.38
1980	707.06	788.06	1,030.69	1,909.89	3.66
1979	702.19	793.16	911.22	1,950.44	3.57
1978	697.56	775.4	711.88	2,011.8	87.65
1977	692.94	81	1,402.73	1,985.37	48.04
1976	678.95	90.63	1,363.3	1,999.94	3.6
1975	642.09	137.27	1,294.68	1,930.92	11.26
1974	637.51	723.27	627.11	1,951.46	3.45
1973	632.56	681.55	617.19	1,931.01	6.03
1972	626.85	674.11	505.43	1,983.67	3.32
1971	620.75	624.85	553.57	1,888.79	31.46
1970	614.36	647.87	398.11	1,981.57	3.18
1969	555.16	686.24	401.11	1,925.26	3.11
1968	346.68	875.65	404.26	1,865.27	5.99
1967	343.45	858.95	394.15	1,827.49	3.02
1966	340.3	842.53	419.2	1,753.7	2.98
1965	334.85	818.89	410.56	1,723.29	2.94
1964	331.7	802.99	427.2	1,657.09	2.89
1963	328.59	765.35	440.14	1,614.66	2.83
1962	325.54	749.35	376.38	1,629.53	2.78
1961	322.48	732.89	401.98	1,566.25	2.72
1960	319.58	717.55	488.76	1,444.41	7.82
1959	316.83	702.44	474.39	1,428.5	7.67
1958	314.06	672.56	470.64	1,411.51	7.52
1957	311.37	740.94	374.27	1,384.92	7.38
1956	308.72	725.79	307.2	1,413.72	7.24
1955	298.99	638.94	380.05	1,383.1	7.11
1954	296.12	626.33	279.04	1,446.04	6.98
1953	293.22	614.12	265.59	1,423.44	6.86
1952	290.22	602.41	274.2	1,380.03	6.74
1951	199.32	237.27	656.46	1,407.01	6.63
1950	197.41	234.02	282.49	1,741.37	7.66
1949	195.72	224.01	230.93	1,778.43	7.53
1948	141.41	223.86	244.52	1,727.4	77.41
1947	140.56	213.41	603.62	1,355.51	81.63
1946	98.62	165.61	672.86	1,356.79	82.58
1945	72.54	163.38	216.17	1,789.24	118.2
1944	72.09	150.57	113.93	1,960.47	66.58
1943	71.52	148.58	125.53	1,905.34	94.82
1942	71.08	150.42	118.09	1,894.96	93.41
1941	70.65	152.24	129.82	1,864.03	92.23
1940	70.25	150.53	128.4	1,844.35	95.39
1939	90.72	188.8	122.99	1,768.24	96.97
1938	90.19	199.77	170.66	1,727.36	57.32
1937	89.67	198.77	163.97	1,712.9	56.7
1936	89.16	197.76	160.58	1,695.51	56.08
1935	88.66	221.33	129.19	1,681.87	55.47
1934	88.15	220.1	130.38	1,651.76	63.92
1933	87.65	221.87	201.82	1,556.75	64.29
1932	87.16	297.31	121.47	1,541.23	63.56
1931	86.73	271.64	137.46	1,538.28	55.65
1930	86.36	269.6	102.59	1,560.52	50.38
1929	86.18	267.23	139.64	1,507.05	49.84
1928	85.95	264.72	139.4	1,491.73	49.3
1927	85.8	261.97	136.92	1,475.07	53.21
1926	85.65	261.61	135.98	1,459.27	52.63
1925	85.52	284.29	112.6	1,447.41	47.72
1924	81.73	284.84	97.22	1,433.9	62.51
1923	81.47	281.92	151.54	1,381.49	46.71
1922	81.22	275.75	163.12	1,360.04	46.21
1921	75	269.17	157.94	1,358.3	49.82
1920	67.12	249.7	621.98	892.19	63.89
1919	66.68	107.88	743.51	909.42	52.71
1918	19.92	44.46	763.25	980.48	58.31
1917	8.14	46.53	396.13	1,309.87	91.26
1916	8.07	46.63	283.46	1,424.83	76.59
1915	12.77	41.96	286.5	1,406.02	80.07
1914	12.6	42.17	279.79	1,396.28	84.3
1913	19.93	42.37	275.62	1,358.29	106.86
1912	18.69	43.66	271.86	1,349.81	107.21
1911	18.53	43.79	265.42	1,341.28	109.75
1910	18.35	43.87	254.6	1,342.67	106.32
1909	18.16	43.89	245.22	1,338.78	106.1
1908	17.95	43.86	240.18	1,330.44	105.47
1907	17.73	43.76	235.68	1,321.13	104.75
1906	17.51	43.67	234.88	1,308.33	104.04
1905	17.3	41.27	235.91	1,296.2	103.34
1904	17.09	41.19	232.47	1,286.39	102.65
1903	16.88	41.04	228.82	1,275.27	103.73
1902	16.67	40.97	225.83	1,264.47	103.93
1901	13.87	40.9	224	1,241.67	118.21
1900	13.7	40.83	218.32	1,236.09	117.15

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Release date

April 2025

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Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

1900 to 2024

Supplementary notes

The V-Dem Institute defines the different regimes as follows:
Closed autocracy: citizens do not have the right to choose either the chief executive of the government or the legislature through multi-party elections.

Electoral autocracy: citizens have the right to choose the chief executive and the legislature through multi-party elections; but they lack some freedoms, such as the freedoms of association or expression that make the elections meaningful, free, and fair.

Electoral democracy: citizens have the right to choose the chief executive and the legislature in meaningful, free and fair, and multi-party elections.

Liberal democracy: electoral democracy and citizens enjoy individual and minority rights, are equal before the law, and the actions of the executive are constrained by the legislative and the courts.

Citation formats

Worldwide, around 5.8 billion people were living in countries classified as autocracies in 2024. Parts of this is down to the fact that the world's two most populous countries, China and India, who both count around 1.4 billion inhabitants, are classified as a closed autocracy and electoral autocracy, respectively. Similarly, the large increase in people living in autocracies in 2017 is because India was downgraded from an electoral democracy to an electoral autocracy that year.