Statizoid

Electoral democracy in Botswana

Botswana: Electoral democracy was 1 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
1
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 197 countries
All-time high
1
in 1966
All-time low
0
in 1885
Years of data
141
1885–2025

Electoral democracy in Botswana, 1885–2025

00.20.40.60.81188519552025

Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Botswana recorded 1 for electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 141 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, electoral democracy in Botswana peaked at 1 in 1966 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1885.

Botswana ranks 1st of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1880s 0 0 0 5
1890s 0 0 0 10
1900s 0 0 0 10
1910s 0 0 0 10
1920s 0 0 0 10
1930s 0 0 0 10
1940s 0 0 0 10
1950s 0 0 0 10
1960s 0.4 0 1 10
1970s 1 1 1 10
1980s 1 1 1 10
1990s 1 1 1 10
2000s 1 1 1 10
2010s 1 1 1 10
2020s 1 1 1 6

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See the full ranking of 198 places →

More social development data for Botswana

All data for Botswana →

Frequently asked questions

What is electoral democracy in Botswana?
Electoral democracy in Botswana was 1 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest electoral democracy recorded in Botswana?
The highest recorded value was 1 in 1966.
What is the lowest electoral democracy recorded in Botswana?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1885.
How does Botswana rank for electoral democracy?
Botswana ranks 1st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
Is electoral democracy rising or falling in Botswana?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Botswana data come from?
The figures come from Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Electoral democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 141 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Electoral democracy
Source
Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
198 places, 32,485 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Identifies the political regime of a country using the reduced Lexical Index of Electoral Democracy. It distinguishes between non-electoral autocracies, one-party autocracies, multi-party autocracies without elected executive, multi-party autocracies, exclusive democracies, male democracies, and electoral democracies (including full democracies or polyarchies).