Country Foundations

United States of America

Constitution in force since 1789, 7,762 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
54%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
81%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+26%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
59%
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 91%, gap −9%Right to life100%91%−9%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 77%, gap −23%Freedom from torture100%77%−23%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 100%, practiced 77%, gap −23%Freedom from slavery and forced labour100%77%−23%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 81%, gap −19%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%81%−19%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 100%, practiced 82%, gap −18%Right to a fair and public trial100%82%−18%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 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure100%——Due process of law — declared 100%, practiced 78%, gap −22%Due process of law100%78%−22%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 83%, gap −17%Freedom of expression100%83%−17%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 84%, gap −16%Freedom of the press100%84%−16%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 0%, practiced 86%, gap +86%Freedom of thought and conscience0%86%+86%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 90%, gap −10%Freedom of religion100%90%−10%Separation of religion and state — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure100%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 84%, gap +84%Academic freedom0%84%+84%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 70%, gap −30%Freedom of assembly100%70%−30%Freedom of association — declared 0%, practiced 91%, gap +91%Freedom of association0%91%+91%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 85%, gap +85%Right to form and join trade unions0%85%+85%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 95%, gap +45%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%95%+45%Right to privacy — declared 0%, practiced 93%, gap +93%Right to privacy0%93%+93%Freedom of movement — declared 0%, practiced 90%, gap +90%Freedom of movement0%90%+90%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 100%, practiced 88%, gap −12%Right to own property100%88%−12%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 75%, gap −25%Equality before the law100%75%−25%Right to education — declared 0%, practiced 62%, gap +62%Right to education0%62%+62%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 48%, gap +48%Right to health care0%48%+48%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 56%, gap +56%Right to shelter or housing0%56%+56%Independent judiciary — declared 0%, practiced 87%, gap +87%Independent judiciary0%87%+87%Right to bear arms — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure100%——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
0501001791: constitutional text changed (+47 pts declared)1865: constitutional text changed (+5 pts declared)1900: constitutional text changed (−7 pts declared)1992: constitutional text changed (−4 pts declared)18001850190019502000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1789–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom from torture −23%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour −23%
  • Due process of law −22%
  • Freedom of assembly −30%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Freedom of thought and conscience +86%
  • Academic freedom +84%
  • Freedom of association +91%
  • Right to form and join trade unions +85%

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 1992
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)signed only
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1966
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)signed only
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1994
Rights of the Child (CRC)signed only
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)signed only
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)no action
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

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

Data generated 2026-08-08.