Politics
Mapped: 200 Years of Political Regimes, by Country
Mapped: 200 Years of Political Regimes, by Country
Do civilians get a representative say in how the government is run where you live?
While it might seem like living with a basic level of democratic rights is the status quo, this is only true for 93 countries or territories today—the majority of the world does not enjoy these rights.
It also might surprise you that much of the progress towards democracy came as late as the mid-20th century. This interactive map from Our World in Data paints a comprehensive picture of democratic rights across the globe.
Which Countries Achieved Democracy First?
The three famous first words in the U.S. Constitution—“We The People…”—paved the way for the birth of a federal democratic republic in 1789. This makes the United States of America the world’s oldest uninterrupted democracy today.
That said, the classification system in the interactive map above provides a slightly different perspective. It draws from the Regimes of the World (RoW) classification and the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project, and establishes four major classifications of political systems:
- Liberal Democracy
Citizens have further individual and minority rights, are equal before the law, and the actions of the executive are constrained by the legislative and the courts.
32 countries/territories in 2020 - Electoral Democracy
Citizens have the right to participate in meaningful, free and fair, and multi-party elections.
61 countries/territories in 2020 - 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.
64 countries/territories in 2020 - Closed Autocracy
Citizens do not have the right to either choose the chief executive of the government or the legislature through multi-party elections.
42 countries/territories in 2020
Under the classification system used here, it’s arguable that Switzerland was the first country to achieve a fully liberal democracy status in 1849, followed by Australia in 1858.
The Least Democratic Countries
Our World in Data also looks at how the global population breaks down by political regime.
The following chart demonstrates the share of the global population living under each type of regime since 1800, in relative or absolute terms.
While the global population has increased tremendously in 200 years, so has the number of civilians living under stricter political systems. Today, 1.9 billion people live in closed autocracies, of which nearly 75% live in China alone.
The major dip observed at the very end of the above chart comes from India. According to the data source, the nation flipped from electoral democracy to electoral autocracy status in 2019. As the second-most populous country, this change affected nearly 1.4 billion people.
Finally, while the data in the above maps and charts ends in 2020, notable events have taken place in recent months that may affect the number of people living in different political regimes.
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in mid-2021 caused the country to slide into closed autocracy status, and as the current conflict in Ukraine/Russia heats up, it’s possible that more people may find themselves living under non-democratic regimes going forward.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
Politics
Ranked: Top 10 Donors of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election
In four of the last five U.S. elections, the candidate who raised the most money won.

Ranked: Top 10 Donors of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Key Takeaways
- In the most expensive U.S. election to date, billionaire donors played a critical role in shaping the political landscape.
- Elon Musk was by far the largest individual donor of the 2024 election, with nearly $300 million contributed to the Republican party.
- From the Top 10 donors, eight lean towards Republican.
The Red Wave of 2024
Money plays a powerful role in U.S. presidential campaigns. The more funding a campaign has, the more it can invest in advertising and outreach to connect with voters. In fact, in four of the last five general elections—2016 being the exception—the candidate whose campaign raised the most money won the presidency.
Billionaires overwhelmingly supported Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2024 election cycle. The top 10 individual donors collectively contributed over $1.2 billion, with only a small fraction going to Democrats.
Elon Musk—now head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with slashing federal spending—led the pack with $291 million in contributions. Trailing him was Timothy Mellon, a reclusive heir to the Pittsburgh-based Mellon banking family, who contributed nearly $200 million.
Donor | Total Contributions | Lean |
---|---|---|
Elon Musk | $291,482,587 | Republican |
Timothy Mellon | $197,047,200 | Republican |
Miriam Adelson | $148,294,900 | Republican |
Richard & Elizabeth Uihlein | $143,463,906 | Republican |
Kenneth Griffin | $108,402,184 | Republican |
Jeffrey & Janine Yass | $101,128,680 | Republican |
Paul Singer | $66,800,800 | Republican |
Michael Bloomberg | $64,339,734 | Democrat |
Dustin Moskovitz | $50,671,800 | Democrat |
Marc Andreessen | $42,365,113 | Republican |
Coming in third was Miriam Adelson, whose fortune stems from the Las Vegas Sands casino empire and a stake in the Dallas Mavericks basketball team.
Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel LLC, donated $108 million. In 2023 alone, Citadel posted annual profits of $8.1 billion, highlighting the immense financial firepower behind its founder.
Of the top 10 donors, eight supported the Republican party, channeling their wealth to conservative super PACs and candidates. Only two—Michael Bloomberg (founder of Bloomberg L.P.) and Dustin Moskovitz (Facebook co-founder)—backed Democrats, contributing about $115 million combined.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
If you enjoyed this topic, check out this graphic showing some of the most notable billionaires who attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
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