Deliberative Democracy Index in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Deliberative Democracy Index was 0.017 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Deliberative Democracy Index in Nicaragua, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, deliberative democracy index in Nicaragua stood at 0.017. That is the lowest value across all 126 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.6% on the previous year and down 87.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, deliberative democracy index in Nicaragua peaked at 0.582 in 1994 and was at its lowest, 0.017, in 1950.
That places Nicaragua 173rd out of 175 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Deliberative Democracy Index in Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.025 | — |
| 1901 | 0.025 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.025 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.025 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.025 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.025 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.025 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.024 | -4.0% |
| 1908 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.024 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.05 | +108.3% |
| 1911 | 0.051 | +2.0% |
| 1912 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.042 | -17.6% |
| 1914 | 0.045 | +7.1% |
| 1915 | 0.05 | +11.1% |
| 1916 | 0.05 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.056 | +12.0% |
| 1918 | 0.056 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.056 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.069 | +23.2% |
| 1921 | 0.07 | +1.4% |
| 1922 | 0.07 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.066 | -5.7% |
| 1924 | 0.048 | -27.3% |
| 1925 | 0.046 | -4.2% |
| 1926 | 0.043 | -6.5% |
| 1927 | 0.036 | -16.3% |
| 1928 | 0.045 | +25.0% |
| 1929 | 0.046 | +2.2% |
| 1930 | 0.041 | -10.9% |
| 1931 | 0.041 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.041 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.04 | -2.4% |
| 1934 | 0.03 | -25.0% |
| 1935 | 0.029 | -3.3% |
| 1936 | 0.021 | -27.6% |
| 1937 | 0.023 | +9.5% |
| 1938 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.023 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.021 | -8.7% |
| 1948 | 0.023 | +9.5% |
| 1949 | 0.022 | -4.3% |
| 1950 | 0.017 | -22.7% |
| 1951 | 0.018 | +5.9% |
| 1952 | 0.018 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.018 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.018 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.043 | +138.9% |
| 1956 | 0.048 | +11.6% |
| 1957 | 0.028 | -41.7% |
| 1958 | 0.028 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.028 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.031 | +10.7% |
| 1961 | 0.032 | +3.2% |
| 1962 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.022 | -31.3% |
| 1969 | 0.022 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.021 | -4.5% |
| 1971 | 0.021 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.019 | -9.5% |
| 1973 | 0.02 | +5.3% |
| 1974 | 0.02 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.021 | +5.0% |
| 1976 | 0.021 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.02 | -4.8% |
| 1978 | 0.02 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.114 | +470.0% |
| 1980 | 0.212 | +86.0% |
| 1981 | 0.214 | +0.9% |
| 1982 | 0.2 | -6.5% |
| 1983 | 0.202 | +1.0% |
| 1984 | 0.21 | +4.0% |
| 1985 | 0.279 | +32.9% |
| 1986 | 0.308 | +10.4% |
| 1987 | 0.308 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.317 | +2.9% |
| 1989 | 0.328 | +3.5% |
| 1990 | 0.535 | +63.1% |
| 1991 | 0.579 | +8.2% |
| 1992 | 0.58 | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 0.58 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.582 | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 0.579 | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 0.558 | -3.6% |
| 1997 | 0.495 | -11.3% |
| 1998 | 0.478 | -3.4% |
| 1999 | 0.453 | -5.2% |
| 2000 | 0.446 | -1.5% |
| 2001 | 0.447 | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 0.481 | +7.6% |
| 2003 | 0.476 | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 0.476 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.464 | -2.5% |
| 2006 | 0.434 | -6.5% |
| 2007 | 0.325 | -25.1% |
| 2008 | 0.312 | -4.0% |
| 2009 | 0.313 | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 0.297 | -5.1% |
| 2011 | 0.285 | -4.0% |
| 2012 | 0.262 | -8.1% |
| 2013 | 0.139 | -46.9% |
| 2014 | 0.138 | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 0.138 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.133 | -3.6% |
| 2017 | 0.123 | -7.5% |
| 2018 | 0.027 | -78.0% |
| 2019 | 0.026 | -3.7% |
| 2020 | 0.027 | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 0.028 | +3.7% |
| 2022 | 0.019 | -32.1% |
| 2023 | 0.019 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 0.018 | -5.3% |
| 2025 | 0.017 | -5.6% |
Nicaragua compared with similar countries
- Nicaragua's 0.017 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.2395, 7% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nicaragua's 0.017 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.41, 4% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Deliberative Democracy Index in Nicaragua changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | +470.0% | 0.02 | 0.114 |
| 1955 | +138.9% | 0.018 | 0.043 |
| 1910 | +108.3% | 0.024 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | +86.0% | 0.114 | 0.212 |
| 2018 | -78.0% | 0.123 | 0.027 |
| 1990 | +63.1% | 0.328 | 0.535 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.0247 | 0.024 | 0.025 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.0507 | 0.042 | 0.056 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.0539 | 0.036 | 0.07 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.0312 | 0.021 | 0.041 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.0227 | 0.021 | 0.023 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.0264 | 0.017 | 0.048 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.0299 | 0.022 | 0.032 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.0297 | 0.019 | 0.114 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2578 | 0.2 | 0.328 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5419 | 0.453 | 0.582 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4174 | 0.312 | 0.481 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1568 | 0.026 | 0.297 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0213 | 0.017 | 0.028 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
- 170 Eritrea 0.025 compare
- 171 Sudan 0.023 compare
- 171 Venezuela 0.023 compare
- 174 Afghanistan 0.012 compare
- 175 North Korea 0.011 compare
More social development data for Nicaragua
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 311 (2023)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35,341 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.005 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35,341 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2023)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is deliberative democracy index in Nicaragua?
- Deliberative democracy index in Nicaragua was 0.017 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest deliberative democracy index recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 0.582 in 1994.
- What is the lowest deliberative democracy index recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.017 in 1950.
- How does Nicaragua rank for deliberative democracy index?
- Nicaragua ranks 173rd out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is deliberative democracy index rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is down 87.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Nicaragua data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Deliberative Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent of suffrage, the freedom and fairness of elections, freedoms of association and expression, as well as the extent to which political elites justify their positions, justify them with the common good, acknowledge counterarguments, consult elites in policy changes, and society deliberates policy changes.