Electoral Democracy Index in Malawi
Malawi: Electoral Democracy Index was 0.557 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
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.
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
More social development data for Malawi
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 35,241 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 551 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Varieties of democracy 0.557 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.462 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.806 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.366 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.806 (2025)
- Key features of electoral democracy 0.557 (2025)
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.
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 to which political leaders are elected under comprehensive suffrage in free and fair elections, and freedoms of association and expression are guaranteed.