V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · Exclusion by Socio-Economic Group
Socio-economic exclusion by country
Are poorer people shut out of political power and public services?
Of the 174 countries compared in 2023, Norway had the lowest reading, 0.014, and Central African Republic had the highest reading, 0.969. In the middle country the figure was 0.414. Among the 166 countries measured in every edition since 1990, the middle one moved from 0.422 to 0.420.
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Socio-economic exclusion · 2023
Context statistic
Lowest of 174Norway
0.014012023 · position · derived
Who leads
The three countries at the lowest end of 174 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: Ximonic , Simo Räsänen · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2Photo: User:Aconcagua · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3Photo: JurriaanH · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Highest in 2023
Central African Republic0.969
Yemen0.962
Afghanistan0.934
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
02Every measured country
Socio-economic exclusion 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.
- 0.670–0.969
- 0.508–0.648
- 0.302–0.494
- 0.138–0.296
- 0.014–0.134
- No reading in 2023 (2 measured in an earlier edition)
- Europe
0.084
the middle country, of 40 measured · 49 members
Norway0.014
Russia0.524Lowest and highest reading in Europe.
- Americas
0.420
the middle country, of 27 measured · 48 members
Uruguay0.106
Haiti0.917Lowest and highest reading in Americas.
- Oceania
0.444
the middle country, of 5 measured · 21 members
Australia0.023
Papua New Guinea0.603Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.
- Asia
0.453
the middle country, of 48 measured · 52 members
Japan0.015Yemen0.962Lowest and highest reading in Asia.
- Africa
0.589
the middle country, of 54 measured · 55 members
Seychelles0.119Central African Republic0.969Lowest and highest reading in Africa.
- Every region
20 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
- Northern Europe
0.033
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
Norway0.014
United Kingdom0.219Lowest and highest reading in Northern Europe.
- Western Europe
0.038
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Germany0.021
France0.110Lowest and highest reading in Western Europe.
- Southern Europe
0.167
the middle country, of 13 measured · 17 members
Malta0.045
Bosnia and Herzegovina0.373Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.
- Eastern Europe
0.181
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Czechia0.019Russia0.524Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Caribbean
0.204
the middle country, of 6 measured · 24 members
Barbados0.109Haiti0.917Lowest and highest reading in Caribbean.
- Eastern Asia
0.224
the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members
Japan0.015
North Korea0.591Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Asia.
- South America
0.382
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
Uruguay0.106
Paraguay0.646Lowest and highest reading in South America.
- Southern Africa
0.435
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Botswana0.262
Namibia0.575Lowest and highest reading in Southern Africa.
- Western Asia
0.442
the middle country, of 17 measured · 19 members
Cyprus0.086Yemen0.962Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.
- Western Africa
0.463
the middle country, of 15 measured · 16 members
Ghana0.162
Mauritania0.843Lowest and highest reading in Western Africa.
- Central Asia
0.508
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Kazakhstan0.365
Tajikistan0.933Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.
- Northern Africa
0.510
the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members
Tunisia0.190
Egypt0.709Lowest and highest reading in Northern Africa.
- Southern Asia
0.549
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Bhutan0.173Afghanistan0.934Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.
- South-eastern Asia
0.560
the middle country, of 10 measured · 11 members
Singapore0.039
Cambodia0.841Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Eastern Africa
0.608
the middle country, of 19 measured · 19 members
Seychelles0.119
South Sudan0.918Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Central America
0.696
the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members
Costa Rica0.133
El Salvador0.837Lowest and highest reading in Central America.
- Middle Africa
0.832
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
São Tomé and Príncipe0.508Central African Republic0.969Lowest and highest reading in Middle Africa.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
Australia0.023
New Zealand0.138Lowest and highest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Melanesia
3 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands.
Fiji0.444Papua New Guinea0.603Lowest and highest reading in Melanesia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
United States0.194
Canada0.195Lowest and highest reading in Northern America.
03The whole field at once
The spread
174 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 0.414; a quarter are above 0.607, and a quarter below 0.187. 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 excluding country first. It measures exclusion from power, rights and the state's services by class — not income inequality itself, which the Gini index on this site measures.
Showing 25 of 176 countries
Values for 2023. The change column compares 2023 with 2022 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051990–2023 · 34 reference years
Over time
Each point is one year from 1990 to 2023 — V-Dem's v16 release does not extend this index to 2024 or 2025 — all of them re-estimated together. Read the direction over several years rather than a single step.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 166 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 174 | 0.414 | 0.187 – 0.607 | 0.420 |
| 2022 | 175 | 0.391 | 0.184 – 0.643 | 0.392 |
| 2021 | 176 | 0.395 | 0.171 – 0.613 | 0.403 |
| 2020 | 176 | 0.395 | 0.174 – 0.612 | 0.399 |
| 2019 | 176 | 0.372 | 0.162 – 0.600 | 0.377 |
| 2018 | 176 | 0.374 | 0.165 – 0.590 | 0.378 |
| 2017 | 176 | 0.400 | 0.165 – 0.592 | 0.401 |
| 2016 | 176 | 0.407 | 0.164 – 0.593 | 0.411 |
| 2015 | 176 | 0.403 | 0.166 – 0.588 | 0.404 |
| 2014 | 176 | 0.408 | 0.166 – 0.587 | 0.411 |
| 2013 | 176 | 0.408 | 0.166 – 0.589 | 0.411 |
| 2012 | 176 | 0.413 | 0.163 – 0.590 | 0.416 |
| 2011 | 176 | 0.410 | 0.163 – 0.592 | 0.413 |
| 2010 | 175 | 0.397 | 0.160 – 0.581 | 0.403 |
| 2009 | 175 | 0.396 | 0.151 – 0.593 | 0.399 |
| 2008 | 175 | 0.397 | 0.158 – 0.591 | 0.399 |
| 2007 | 175 | 0.397 | 0.158 – 0.591 | 0.399 |
| 2006 | 175 | 0.397 | 0.163 – 0.597 | 0.399 |
| 2005 | 175 | 0.401 | 0.163 – 0.598 | 0.403 |
| 2004 | 175 | 0.404 | 0.168 – 0.595 | 0.407 |
| 2003 | 175 | 0.404 | 0.168 – 0.595 | 0.404 |
| 2002 | 175 | 0.404 | 0.168 – 0.597 | 0.404 |
| 2001 | 175 | 0.404 | 0.168 – 0.597 | 0.404 |
| 2000 | 175 | 0.404 | 0.176 – 0.599 | 0.404 |
| 1999 | 175 | 0.424 | 0.191 – 0.637 | 0.425 |
| 1998 | 174 | 0.420 | 0.190 – 0.641 | 0.425 |
| 1997 | 173 | 0.424 | 0.193 – 0.642 | 0.425 |
| 1996 | 173 | 0.420 | 0.193 – 0.640 | 0.421 |
| 1995 | 173 | 0.420 | 0.193 – 0.640 | 0.421 |
| 1994 | 173 | 0.418 | 0.193 – 0.640 | 0.420 |
| 1993 | 173 | 0.415 | 0.194 – 0.648 | 0.420 |
| 1992 | 172 | 0.419 | 0.195 – 0.651 | 0.419 |
| 1991 | 171 | 0.415 | 0.175 – 0.673 | 0.418 |
| 1990 | 168 | 0.422 | 0.163 – 0.693 | 0.422 |
062022 → 2023
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
Togo0.577 → 0.425 · 54th → 84th−0.152
Jordan0.390 → 0.258 · 89th → 117th−0.132- Fiji0.538 → 0.444 · 61st → 79th−0.094
- Papua New Guinea0.684 → 0.603 · 33rd → 45th−0.081
Sudan0.671 → 0.594 · 38th → 47th−0.077
174 countries were measured in both 2022 and 2023. The field changed from 175 to 174 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
Socio-economic exclusion in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
0.982
Exclusion by socio-economic group index (0–1; higher = more exclusion)
Lowest reading on record
0.010
Exclusion by socio-economic group index (0–1; higher = more exclusion)
Biggest improvement between editions
−0.313
0.899 → 0.586
Biggest decline between editions
+0.192
0.480 → 0.672
Most improved since first measured
−0.462
0.897 → 0.435
At the top most often
31 of 34
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About socio-economic exclusion
V-Dem's index of exclusion by socio-economic group asks how far poorer people are shut out: whether wealth decides who holds political power, whose civil liberties are respected, and who gets public services, state jobs and state business. It runs from 0 to 1, and a higher figure means more exclusion.
What the number is: Exclusion by socio-economic group index (0–1; higher = more exclusion).
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 and Poverty & Inequality, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Democracy & Civil LibertiesPoverty & InequalityWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where socio-economic exclusion is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Political Corruption IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 174 countries in commonρ 0.81
- Neopatrimonial Rule IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 174 countries in commonρ 0.78
- Informal Employment RateILO · 85 countries in commonρ 0.78
Moves against
Where socio-economic exclusion is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Egalitarian Democracy IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 174 countries in commonρ −0.82
- Corruption Perceptions IndexKeyTransparency International · 173 countries in commonρ −0.82
- Rule of LawKeyWorld Bank Group · 173 countries in commonρ −0.81
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 379 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The countries at either end
More from V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
11Questions
Socio-economic exclusion: questions and answers
Which country has the lowest socio-economic exclusion?
Norway, at 0.014, among the 174 countries compared in 2023.
Which country has the highest socio-economic exclusion?
Central African Republic, at 0.969, among the 174 countries compared in 2023.
How many countries does the Exclusion by Socio-Economic Group cover?
174 in 2023, and 176 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 168 to 176 between editions.
What is the world average socio-economic exclusion?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 174 compared in 2023, the figure was 0.414.
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 Exclusion by Socio-Economic Group published?
This site holds 34 reference years, 1990–2023, all recalculated in V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg’s 2026 report on one method — not 34 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 Core dataset (v16), University of Gothenburg, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. The series here starts in 1990 so that every row belongs to a present-day country, and ends in 2023, the last year the v16 release covers for this index. 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
Exclusion by Socio-Economic Group — V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
From the V-Dem Institute's Country-Year Core dataset (v16), University of Gothenburg, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. The series here starts in 1990 so that every row belongs to a present-day country, and ends in 2023, the last year the v16 release covers for this index.
Newest edition
Report year 2023Data year 2023
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.
- Norway — Ximonic , Simo Räsänen, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Denmark — User:Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Japan — JurriaanH, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Socio-economic exclusion by country: Exclusion by Socio-Economic Group, data from V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/socioeconomic-exclusion