Country Foundations

Argentina

Constitution in force since 1983, 12,514 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
82%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
77%
mean across compared rights
Gap
−5%
delivers less than promised
Executive respects constitution
58%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 0%, practiced 80%, gap +80%Right to life0%80%+80%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 70%, gap −30%Freedom from torture100%70%−30%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Freedom from slavery and forced labour100%76%−24%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 63%, gap −37%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%63%−37%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 0%, practiced 63%, gap +63%Right to a fair and public trial0%63%+63%Presumption of innocence — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure0%——Right to legal counsel — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure100%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure100%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 100%, practiced 62%, gap −38%Due process of law100%62%−38%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure100%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 93%, gap −7%Freedom of expression100%93%−7%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 77%, gap −23%Freedom of the press100%77%−23%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 81%, gap −19%Freedom of thought and conscience100%81%−19%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 93%, gap −7%Freedom of religion100%93%−7%Separation of religion and state — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure0%——Academic freedom — declared 100%, practiced 79%, gap −21%Academic freedom100%79%−21%Freedom of assembly — declared 0%, practiced 86%, gap +86%Freedom of assembly0%86%+86%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 81%, gap −19%Freedom of association100%81%−19%Right to petition government — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure100%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 100%, practiced 70%, gap −30%Right to form and join trade unions100%70%−30%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 100%, practiced 95%, gap −5%Right to vote and universal suffrage100%95%−5%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 94%, gap −6%Right to privacy100%94%−6%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 94%, gap −6%Freedom of movement100%94%−6%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 75%, practiced 85%, gap +10%Right to own property75%85%+10%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 84%, gap −16%Equality before the law100%84%−16%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 60%, gap −40%Right to education100%60%−40%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 67%, gap +67%Right to health care0%67%+67%Right to shelter or housing — declared 100%, practiced 44%, gap −56%Right to shelter or housing100%44%−56%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 70%, gap −30%Independent judiciary100%70%−30%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001819: constitutional text changed (+9 pts declared)1826: constitutional text changed (−7 pts declared)1853: constitutional text changed (+14 pts declared)1900: constitutional text changed (−6 pts declared)1949: constitutional text changed (+15 pts declared)1956: constitutional text changed (−15 pts declared)1957: constitutional text changed (+9 pts declared)1983: constitutional text changed (+19 pts declared)1850190019502000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1816–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom from torture −30%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour −24%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −37%
  • Due process of law −38%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Right to life +80%
  • Right to a fair and public trial +63%
  • Freedom of assembly +86%
  • Right to health care +67%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1986
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1986
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1968
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1985
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1986
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1990
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2008
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)ratified 2007
Migrant Workers (ICMW)ratified 2007

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaiti

Data generated 2026-08-08.