United Kingdom, 1918–1931

Democracy · Monarchy · Western Europe · Interwar Years era

Interwar Britain, a mass democracy after full suffrage, managing industrial decline, the first Labour governments and imperial strain.

Interwar Britain became a full mass democracy as suffrage was extended to nearly all adults, and the Labour Party displaced the Liberals to form its first governments. The economy struggled with the decline of old industries, high unemployment and the strains of returning to and then leaving the gold standard amid the 1931 crisis. Parliamentary institutions and civil liberties remained robust throughout.

Open United Kingdom 1918–1931 in the interactive 3D atlas →

Dominant patterns

  • Democratization
  • Regime Stabilization
  • Economic Crisis

Political-science factor profile

Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).

Centralization of Power48
Media Control28
Repression30
Nationalism55
Militarization45
Economic Stress58
External Conflict40
Cult of Personality28
Elite Fragmentation45
Institutions78
Social Polarization52
Corruption & Patrimonialism30
Ideological Mobilization42
External Sovereignty100

Economy & society

GDP per capita$5400 (intl-$)
GDP growth+0.5%/yr
Population45.0M people
Share of world population2.3%
Urban share79%
Territory~315k km²
Capital population~7.7M

Closest historical twins

The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles United Kingdom 1918–1931, by similarity score (0–100).

  1. Germany, 1990–2005 – similarity 94/100 · shared: Democratization, Regime Stabilization, Economic Crisis
  2. United Kingdom, 1979–1990 – similarity 92/100 · shared: Democratization, Regime Stabilization, Economic Crisis
  3. United Kingdom, 2010–2016 – similarity 91/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis
  4. United Kingdom, 1970–1979 – similarity 90/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis
  5. India, 1947–1966 – similarity 87/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis
  6. United States, 1898–1917 – similarity 84/100 · shared: Democratization, Regime Stabilization
  7. United States, 1993–2001 – similarity 83/100 · shared: Democratization, Regime Stabilization
  8. France, 1919–1932 – similarity 82/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis

What followed

  • Universal suffrage and the rise of Labour.
  • Unemployment and the 1931 financial crisis.