V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · Political Polarization
Political polarization by country
Is society split into hostile political camps?
Of the 172 countries compared in 2025, Oman had the lowest reading, -2.974, and Myanmar had the highest reading, 3.682. In the middle country the figure was 0.360. Among the 163 countries measured in every edition since 1990, the middle one moved from -0.278 to 0.191.
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Part ofDemocracy & Civil Liberties
Political polarization · 2025
Context statistic
Lowest of 172Oman
-2.974012025 · position · derived
Who leads
The three countries at the lowest end of 172 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: Alfred Weidinger from Vienna, Austria derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
2Photo: derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
- 3
Lowest on each continent
- AfricaSão Tomé and Príncipe-2.372
- Americas
Trinidad and Tobago-1.993 - AsiaOman-2.974
- Europe
Ireland-2.490 - Oceania
Fiji-1.695 - Every region
02Every measured country
Political polarization on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a lower value — the better end.
- 1.588–3.682
- 0.863–1.561
- -0.220–0.839
- -1.119–-0.250
- -2.974–-1.123
- No reading in 2025 (4 measured in an earlier edition)
- Oceania
-1.170
the middle country, of 5 measured · 21 members
Fiji-1.695
Papua New Guinea-0.884Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.
- Europe
0.052
the middle country, of 40 measured · 49 members
Ireland-2.490
Poland3.355Lowest and highest reading in Europe.
- Asia
0.151
the middle country, of 48 measured · 52 members
Oman-2.974
Myanmar3.682Lowest and highest reading in Asia.
- Africa
0.428
the middle country, of 53 measured · 55 members
São Tomé and Príncipe-2.372
Libya2.476Lowest and highest reading in Africa.
- Americas
0.761
the middle country, of 26 measured · 48 members
Trinidad and Tobago-1.993
Brazil3.224Lowest and highest reading in Americas.
- Every region
20 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
- Central Asia
-1.479
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Turkmenistan-2.211
Kazakhstan-0.525Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.
- Northern Europe
-1.411
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
Ireland-2.490
United Kingdom-0.281Lowest and highest reading in Northern Europe.
- Eastern Asia
-1.036
the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members
Japan-1.738
South Korea1.438Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Caribbean
-0.626
the middle country, of 5 measured · 24 members
Trinidad and Tobago-1.993
Haiti0.897Lowest and highest reading in Caribbean.
- Southern Africa
-0.466
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Botswana-1.901
Eswatini1.642Lowest and highest reading in Southern Africa.
- Middle Africa
-0.250
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
São Tomé and Príncipe-2.372
Cameroon2.085Lowest and highest reading in Middle Africa.
- Western Europe
-0.091
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Luxembourg-1.849
France1.430Lowest and highest reading in Western Europe.
- Western Africa
0.193
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Mauritania-1.403
Guinea1.916Lowest and highest reading in Western Africa.
- Western Asia
0.476
the middle country, of 17 measured · 19 members
Oman-2.974
Türkiye3.362Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.
- South-eastern Asia
0.553
the middle country, of 10 measured · 11 members
Laos-1.474Myanmar3.682Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Eastern Africa
0.827
the middle country, of 18 measured · 19 members
Zambia-0.195
Madagascar2.376Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Central America
0.839
the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members
Panama-1.130
Nicaragua3.141Lowest and highest reading in Central America.
- Southern Europe
0.865
the middle country, of 13 measured · 17 members
Greece-1.056
Slovenia2.044Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.
- Northern Africa
0.945
the middle country, of 5 measured · 6 members
Egypt-0.220Libya2.476Lowest and highest reading in Northern Africa.
- Southern Asia
0.986
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Sri Lanka-1.123
Bangladesh2.366Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.
- South America
1.419
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
Uruguay-1.806Brazil3.224Lowest and highest reading in South America.
- Eastern Europe
1.698
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Czechia-0.131Poland3.355Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
New Zealand-1.421
Australia-1.158Lowest and highest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Melanesia
3 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands.
Fiji-1.695Papua New Guinea-0.884Lowest and highest reading in Melanesia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
Canada-0.399
United States2.300Lowest and highest reading in Northern America.
03The whole field at once
The spread
172 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 0.360; a quarter are above 1.364, and a quarter below -0.887. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 176 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first — position 1 is the highest value, the way V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg’s own tables read. “=” marks a position shared with another country. V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. ⚠ Higher is worse, so the derived position puts the most polarized country first. A low reading is not always good news: where opposition is not allowed to organise there may be no rival camp to be hostile to, so some closed states read among the least polarized. It measures hostility between camps in social life, not how far apart the parties' programmes are.
Showing 25 of 176 countries
Values for 2025. The change column compares 2025 with 2024 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051990–2025 · 36 reference years
Over time
Each point is one year from 1990, all of them re-estimated together in V-Dem's v16 release. The scale has no fixed ends, so read the movement and the gap to other countries rather than the number on its own.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 163 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 172 | 0.360 | -0.887 – 1.364 | 0.191 |
| 2024 | 175 | 0.394 | -0.803 – 1.256 | 0.178 |
| 2023 | 176 | 0.213 | -0.816 – 1.221 | 0.133 |
| 2022 | 176 | 0.184 | -0.895 – 1.138 | 0.001 |
| 2021 | 176 | 0.288 | -0.794 – 1.229 | 0.216 |
| 2020 | 176 | 0.111 | -0.965 – 1.174 | 0.055 |
| 2019 | 176 | 0.032 | -1.079 – 1.033 | -0.004 |
| 2018 | 176 | -0.011 | -1.102 – 1.018 | -0.046 |
| 2017 | 176 | -0.001 | -1.134 – 1.006 | -0.046 |
| 2016 | 176 | -0.047 | -1.138 – 0.929 | -0.163 |
| 2015 | 176 | -0.203 | -1.130 – 0.859 | -0.286 |
| 2014 | 176 | -0.191 | -1.140 – 0.867 | -0.286 |
| 2013 | 176 | -0.270 | -1.147 – 0.799 | -0.318 |
| 2012 | 176 | -0.345 | -1.178 – 0.784 | -0.349 |
| 2011 | 176 | -0.345 | -1.190 – 0.784 | -0.349 |
| 2010 | 175 | -0.337 | -1.216 – 0.805 | -0.349 |
| 2009 | 175 | -0.393 | -1.273 – 0.679 | -0.455 |
| 2008 | 175 | -0.393 | -1.315 – 0.656 | -0.421 |
| 2007 | 175 | -0.421 | -1.315 – 0.575 | -0.421 |
| 2006 | 175 | -0.421 | -1.300 – 0.569 | -0.459 |
| 2005 | 175 | -0.421 | -1.318 – 0.556 | -0.461 |
| 2004 | 175 | -0.349 | -1.318 – 0.628 | -0.372 |
| 2003 | 175 | -0.500 | -1.366 – 0.577 | -0.515 |
| 2002 | 175 | -0.485 | -1.424 – 0.626 | -0.500 |
| 2001 | 175 | -0.485 | -1.376 – 0.559 | -0.500 |
| 2000 | 175 | -0.456 | -1.339 – 0.596 | -0.461 |
| 1999 | 174 | -0.395 | -1.346 – 0.583 | -0.461 |
| 1998 | 173 | -0.404 | -1.396 – 0.529 | -0.518 |
| 1997 | 172 | -0.433 | -1.372 – 0.569 | -0.518 |
| 1996 | 172 | -0.349 | -1.459 – 0.591 | -0.404 |
| 1995 | 172 | -0.433 | -1.365 – 0.692 | -0.485 |
| 1994 | 172 | -0.324 | -1.365 – 0.748 | -0.461 |
| 1993 | 172 | -0.452 | -1.358 – 0.764 | -0.514 |
| 1992 | 171 | -0.461 | -1.326 – 0.769 | -0.511 |
| 1991 | 169 | -0.397 | -1.355 – 0.786 | -0.397 |
| 1990 | 166 | -0.341 | -1.431 – 0.724 | -0.278 |
062024 → 2025
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after
Nepal0.941 → -0.448 · 61st → 113th−1.389
Iraq1.542 → 0.197 · 34th → 89th−1.345
Kyrgyzstan-0.388 → -1.601 · 112th → 156th−1.213
Chile-0.555 → -1.630 · 119th → 157th−1.075
Mongolia-0.142 → -1.067 · 100th → 137th−0.925
Worsened most
before → after
Rwanda-1.603 → 0.428 · 161st → 83rd+2.031
Morocco-0.810 → 0.882 · 133rd → 67th+1.692- Brazil1.695 → 3.224 · 29th → 4th+1.529
Bulgaria0.492 → 1.288 · 82nd → 45th+0.796
Azerbaijan1.468 → 2.178 · 39th → 20th+0.710
172 countries were measured in both 2024 and 2025. The field changed from 175 to 172 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
Political polarization in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
3.940
Original latent estimate (≈ −3.8 to +3.9); higher = more polarized
Lowest reading on record
-3.813
Original latent estimate (≈ −3.8 to +3.9); higher = more polarized
Biggest improvement between editions
−4.130
2.392 → -1.738
Biggest decline between editions
+2.799
-0.700 → 2.099
Most improved since first measured
−3.271
2.392 → -0.879
At the top most often
19 of 36
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About political polarization
V-Dem's measure of political polarization asks how far political differences spill into everyday life, so that supporters of rival camps avoid friendly contact with each other at work, in families and in civic life. It is an expert-coded estimate on an open-ended scale centred near zero, and a higher figure means a more polarized society.
What the number is: Original latent estimate (≈ −3.8 to +3.9); higher = more polarized.
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Democracy & Civil Liberties, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Moves with
Where political polarization is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Political Violence by Non-State ActorsKeyV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 171 countries in commonρ 0.60
- Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 PandemicAriel Karlinsky and Dmitry Kobak (World Mortality Dataset) · 100 countries in commonρ 0.48
- Refugees by Country of OriginUNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency · 170 countries in commonρ 0.48
Moves against
Where political polarization is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Political Stability and Absence of ViolenceKeyWorld Bank Group · 172 countries in commonρ −0.54
- Rigorous and Impartial Public AdministrationV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 172 countries in commonρ −0.47
- Government Dissemination of False Information (Domestic)V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 172 countries in commonρ −0.45
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 378 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
More from V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
11Questions
Political polarization: questions and answers
Which country has the lowest political polarization?
Oman, at -2.974, among the 172 countries compared in 2025.
Which country has the highest political polarization?
Myanmar, at 3.682, among the 172 countries compared in 2025.
How many countries does the Political Polarization cover?
172 in 2025, and 176 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 166 to 176 between editions.
What is the world average political polarization?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 172 compared in 2025, the figure was 0.360.
Is this V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg’s own ranking?
No. V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.
How often is the Political Polarization published?
This site holds 36 reference years, 1990–2025, all recalculated in V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg’s 2026 report on one method — not 36 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, under CC BY-SA 4.0. From the V-Dem Institute's Country-Year Full+Others dataset (v16), University of Gothenburg — this indicator is not in the smaller Core file — published under CC BY-SA 4.0. V-Dem's data runs back to 1900 for this question; the series here starts in 1990 so that every row belongs to a present-day country. Stored as the measurement model's original estimate, not V-Dem's 0–4 rescaling. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Political Polarization — V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
From the V-Dem Institute's Country-Year Full+Others dataset (v16), University of Gothenburg — this indicator is not in the smaller Core file — published under CC BY-SA 4.0. V-Dem's data runs back to 1900 for this question; the series here starts in 1990 so that every row belongs to a present-day country. Stored as the measurement model's original estimate, not V-Dem's 0–4 rescaling.
Newest edition
Report year 2025Data year 2025
Cite the source as: Coppedge, M. et al. V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v16. Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project, University of Gothenburg.
Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0, checked 2026-09-29.
How this page reads the numbers
- V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Political polarization by country: Political Polarization, data from V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/political-polarization