Country Foundations

Taiwan

Constitution in force since 1947, 7,896 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
70%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
85%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+16%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
67%
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 100%, practiced 94%, gap −6%Right to life100%94%−6%Freedom from torture — declared 0%, practiced 86%, gap +86%Freedom from torture0%86%+86%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 0%, practiced 83%, gap +83%Freedom from slavery and forced labour0%83%+83%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 78%, gap −22%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%78%−22%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 50%, practiced 80%, gap +30%Right to a fair and public trial50%80%+30%Presumption of innocence — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure0%——Right to legal counsel — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure0%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 0%, practiced 85%, gap +85%Due process of law0%85%+85%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Freedom of expression100%76%−24%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 62%, gap −38%Freedom of the press100%62%−38%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 0%, practiced 84%, gap +84%Freedom of thought and conscience0%84%+84%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 94%, gap −6%Freedom of religion100%94%−6%Separation of religion and state — declared 50%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure50%——Academic freedom — declared 100%, practiced 79%, gap −21%Academic freedom100%79%−21%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 92%, gap −8%Freedom of assembly100%92%−8%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 82%, gap −18%Freedom of association100%82%−18%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 0%, practiced 75%, gap +75%Right to form and join trade unions0%75%+75%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 95%, gap +45%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%95%+45%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 96%, gap −4%Right to privacy100%96%−4%Freedom of movement — declared 50%, practiced 94%, gap +44%Freedom of movement50%94%+44%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 50%, practiced 87%, gap +37%Right to own property50%87%+37%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 91%, gap −9%Equality before the law100%91%−9%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 90%, gap −10%Right to education100%90%−10%Right to health care — declared 100%, practiced 94%, gap −6%Right to health care100%94%−6%Right to shelter or housing — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Right to shelter or housing100%85%−15%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 80%, gap −20%Independent judiciary100%80%−20%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
050100195019752000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1947–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −22%
  • Freedom of expression −24%
  • Freedom of the press −38%
  • Academic freedom −21%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Freedom from torture +86%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour +83%
  • Due process of law +85%
  • Freedom of thought and conscience +84%

Compare with

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

Data generated 2026-08-08.