Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Nigeria
Nigeria: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 8 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Age of electoral democracy in Nigeria, 1979–2018
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for age of electoral democracy in Nigeria is 8 years, measured in 2018. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 14.3% on the previous year and up 700.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Nigeria peaked at 8 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1979.
That places Nigeria 129th out of 144 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 1 years | — |
| 1980 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1981 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1982 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1999 | 1 years | -75.0% |
| 2000 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 2001 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 2002 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 2011 | 1 years | -75.0% |
| 2012 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 2013 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 2014 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 2015 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 2016 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 2017 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 2018 | 8 years | +14.3% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 8 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24 years, 33% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 8 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14 years, 57% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1 years | 1 years | 1 years | 1 |
| 1980s | 3 years | 2 years | 4 years | 3 |
| 1990s | 1 years | 1 years | 1 years | 1 |
| 2000s | 3 years | 2 years | 4 years | 3 |
| 2010s | 4.5 years | 1 years | 8 years | 8 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More social development data for Nigeria
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 123,848 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 478,150 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 478,150 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0005 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age of electoral democracy in Nigeria?
- Age of electoral democracy in Nigeria was 8 years in 2018, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 8 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1979.
- How does Nigeria rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Nigeria ranks 129th out of 144 countries with data for 2018.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 700.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Age of electoral democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.