What is electoral democracy index in Malawi?

Electoral democracy index in Malawi was 0.557 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest electoral democracy index recorded in Malawi?

The highest recorded value was 0.611 in 2022.

What is the lowest electoral democracy index recorded in Malawi?

The lowest recorded value was 0.01 in 1900.

How does Malawi rank for electoral democracy index?

Malawi ranks 78th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is electoral democracy index rising or falling in Malawi?

Over the last ten years it is up 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Malawi data come from?

The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Electoral Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Electoral Democracy Index in Malawi

Name: Electoral Democracy Index in Malawi
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Malawi: Electoral Democracy Index was 0.557 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.557

Change on year

down 1.1%

World rank

78th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.611

in 2022

All-time low

0.01

in 1900

Years of data

126

1900–2025

Electoral Democracy Index in Malawi, 1900–2025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for electoral democracy index in Malawi is 0.557, measured in 2025.

The figure is down 1.1% on the previous year and up 3.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, electoral democracy index in Malawi peaked at 0.611 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.01, in 1900.

Malawi ranks 78th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Electoral Democracy Index in Malawi, year by year

Annual values for Electoral Democracy Index in Malawi, 1900 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1900	0.01	—
1901	0.01	+0.0%
1902	0.01	+0.0%
1903	0.01	+0.0%
1904	0.01	+0.0%
1905	0.01	+0.0%
1906	0.01	+0.0%
1907	0.01	+0.0%
1908	0.01	+0.0%
1909	0.01	+0.0%
1910	0.01	+0.0%
1911	0.01	+0.0%
1912	0.01	+0.0%
1913	0.01	+0.0%
1914	0.01	+0.0%
1915	0.01	+0.0%
1916	0.01	+0.0%
1917	0.01	+0.0%
1918	0.01	+0.0%
1919	0.01	+0.0%
1920	0.01	+0.0%
1921	0.01	+0.0%
1922	0.01	+0.0%
1923	0.01	+0.0%
1924	0.01	+0.0%
1925	0.01	+0.0%
1926	0.01	+0.0%
1927	0.01	+0.0%
1928	0.01	+0.0%
1929	0.01	+0.0%
1930	0.01	+0.0%
1931	0.01	+0.0%
1932	0.01	+0.0%
1933	0.01	+0.0%
1934	0.01	+0.0%
1935	0.01	+0.0%
1936	0.01	+0.0%
1937	0.01	+0.0%
1938	0.01	+0.0%
1939	0.01	+0.0%
1940	0.01	+0.0%
1941	0.01	+0.0%
1942	0.01	+0.0%
1943	0.01	+0.0%
1944	0.012	+20.0%
1945	0.013	+8.3%
1946	0.013	+0.0%
1947	0.013	+0.0%
1948	0.013	+0.0%
1949	0.013	+0.0%
1950	0.013	+0.0%
1951	0.013	+0.0%
1952	0.013	+0.0%
1953	0.013	+0.0%
1954	0.012	-7.7%
1955	0.013	+8.3%
1956	0.013	+0.0%
1957	0.013	+0.0%
1958	0.013	+0.0%
1959	0.017	+30.8%
1960	0.04	+135.3%
1961	0.117	+192.5%
1962	0.177	+51.3%
1963	0.237	+33.9%
1964	0.273	+15.2%
1965	0.236	-13.6%
1966	0.212	-10.2%
1967	0.211	-0.5%
1968	0.211	+0.0%
1969	0.211	+0.0%
1970	0.211	+0.0%
1971	0.211	+0.0%
1972	0.211	+0.0%
1973	0.211	+0.0%
1974	0.211	+0.0%
1975	0.211	+0.0%
1976	0.182	-13.7%
1977	0.163	-10.4%
1978	0.165	+1.2%
1979	0.168	+1.8%
1980	0.168	+0.0%
1981	0.168	+0.0%
1982	0.168	+0.0%
1983	0.168	+0.0%
1984	0.167	-0.6%
1985	0.167	+0.0%
1986	0.167	+0.0%
1987	0.167	+0.0%
1988	0.167	+0.0%
1989	0.167	+0.0%
1990	0.167	+0.0%
1991	0.167	+0.0%
1992	0.188	+12.6%
1993	0.252	+34.0%
1994	0.463	+83.7%
1995	0.566	+22.2%
1996	0.567	+0.2%
1997	0.567	+0.0%
1998	0.567	+0.0%
1999	0.512	-9.7%
2000	0.478	-6.6%
2001	0.478	+0.0%
2002	0.478	+0.0%
2003	0.478	+0.0%
2004	0.459	-4.0%
2005	0.443	-3.5%
2006	0.439	-0.9%
2007	0.442	+0.7%
2008	0.443	+0.2%
2009	0.5	+12.9%
2010	0.514	+2.8%
2011	0.521	+1.4%
2012	0.536	+2.9%
2013	0.56	+4.5%
2014	0.547	-2.3%
2015	0.54	-1.3%
2016	0.538	-0.4%
2017	0.546	+1.5%
2018	0.528	-3.3%
2019	0.48	-9.1%
2020	0.534	+11.3%
2021	0.603	+12.9%
2022	0.611	+1.3%
2023	0.571	-6.5%
2024	0.563	-1.4%
2025	0.557	-1.1%

Malawi compared with similar countries

Malawi's 0.557 is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.227, 2.5× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Malawi's 0.557 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.317, 1.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1900s	0.01	0.01	0.01	10
1910s	0.01	0.01	0.01	10
1920s	0.01	0.01	0.01	10
1930s	0.01	0.01	0.01	10
1940s	0.0117	0.01	0.013	10
1950s	0.0133	0.012	0.017	10
1960s	0.1925	0.04	0.273	10
1970s	0.1944	0.163	0.211	10
1980s	0.1674	0.167	0.168	10
1990s	0.4016	0.167	0.567	10
2000s	0.4638	0.439	0.5	10
2010s	0.531	0.48	0.56	10
2020s	0.5732	0.534	0.611	6

Countries ranked near Malawi

75 Bhutan 0.566 compare
76 Kenya 0.563 compare
77 North Macedonia 0.562 compare
79 Maldives 0.556 compare
80 Moldova 0.553 compare
81 Mongolia 0.535 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Malawi

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35,241 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 551 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate -33.33 % change on previous year (2025)
Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 551 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0016 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is electoral democracy index in Malawi?: Electoral democracy index in Malawi was 0.557 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest electoral democracy index recorded in Malawi?: The highest recorded value was 0.611 in 2022.
What is the lowest electoral democracy index recorded in Malawi?: The lowest recorded value was 0.01 in 1900.
How does Malawi rank for electoral democracy index?: Malawi ranks 78th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is electoral democracy index rising or falling in Malawi?: Over the last ten years it is up 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Malawi data come from?: The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Electoral Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Electoral Democracy Index in Malawi. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/electoral-democracy-index/malawi/

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About this data

Indicator: Electoral Democracy Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 29,649 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which political leaders are elected under comprehensive suffrage in free and fair elections, and freedoms of association and expression are guaranteed.