Distribution of Democracy Index in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Distribution of Democracy Index was 16 in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2018)
16
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
87th
of 168 countries
All-time high
19
in 2007
All-time low
2
in 1936
Years of data
179
1838–2018
Distribution of Democracy Index in Nicaragua, 1838–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for distribution of democracy index in Nicaragua is 16, measured in 2018.
That represents a change of down 15.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, distribution of democracy index in Nicaragua peaked at 19 in 2007 and was at its lowest, 2, in 1936.
That places Nicaragua 87th out of 168 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Distribution of Democracy Index in Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1838 | 5 | — |
| 1839 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1840 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1841 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1842 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1843 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1844 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1845 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1846 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1847 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1848 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1849 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1850 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1851 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1852 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1853 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1854 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1855 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1856 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1857 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1858 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1859 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1860 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1861 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1862 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1863 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1864 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1865 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1866 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1867 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1868 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1869 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1870 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1871 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1872 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1873 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1874 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1875 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1876 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1877 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1878 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1879 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1880 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1881 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1882 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1883 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1884 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1886 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1887 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1888 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1889 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1890 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1891 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1892 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1893 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1894 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1895 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1896 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1897 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1898 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1899 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1900 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1901 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 7 | +40.0% |
| 1910 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 2 | -71.4% |
| 1937 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 7 | +250.0% |
| 1980 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 5 | -28.6% |
| 1982 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 9 | +80.0% |
| 1985 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 16 | +77.8% |
| 1991 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 18 | +12.5% |
| 1996 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 19 | +5.6% |
| 2008 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 16 | -15.8% |
| 2017 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 16 | +0.0% |
Nicaragua compared with similar countries
- Nicaragua's 16 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 15, 1.1× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Nicaragua's 16 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 18, 89% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| 1840s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 1850s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 1860s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 1870s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 1880s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 1890s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 1900s | 5.2 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| 1910s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 1920s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| 1930s | 5 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| 1940s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1950s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1960s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.5 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.6 | 5 | 9 | 10 |
| 1990s | 17 | 16 | 18 | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.3 | 18 | 19 | 10 |
| 2010s | 18 | 16 | 19 | 9 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
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 distribution of democracy index in Nicaragua?
- Distribution of democracy index in Nicaragua was 16 in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest distribution of democracy index recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 19 in 2007.
- What is the lowest distribution of democracy index recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 in 1936.
- How does Nicaragua rank for distribution of democracy index?
- Nicaragua ranks 87th out of 168 countries with data for 2018.
- Is distribution of democracy index rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Nicaragua data come from?
- The figures come from Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Distribution of Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 179 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
It combines information on the extent to which open, multi-party, and competitive elections choose a chief executive who faces comprehensive institutional constraints, and political participation is competitive. It ranges from 0 to 20 (fully democratic).