Electoral Democracy Index in Nigeria
Nigeria: Electoral Democracy Index was 0.505 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Electoral Democracy Index in Nigeria, 1914–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 0.505 for electoral democracy index in 2025.
The figure is up 1.2% on the previous year and down 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electoral democracy index in Nigeria peaked at 0.556 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.109, in 1920.
That places Nigeria 85th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0.1138 | 0.113 | 0.114 | 6 |
| 1920s | 0.1331 | 0.109 | 0.14 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.1406 | 0.14 | 0.141 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.1417 | 0.138 | 0.144 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.1743 | 0.144 | 0.211 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.2235 | 0.181 | 0.25 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1915 | 0.179 | 0.262 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2593 | 0.187 | 0.376 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2232 | 0.189 | 0.376 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4317 | 0.408 | 0.471 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5202 | 0.43 | 0.556 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4963 | 0.484 | 0.512 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More social development data for Nigeria
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 123,848 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 478,150 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Varieties of democracy 0.505 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.311 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.674 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.323 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.674 (2025)
- Key features of electoral democracy 0.505 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electoral democracy index in Nigeria?
- Electoral democracy index in Nigeria was 0.505 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electoral democracy index recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 0.556 in 2017.
- What is the lowest electoral democracy index recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.109 in 1920.
- How does Nigeria rank for electoral democracy index?
- Nigeria ranks 85th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electoral democracy index rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Nigeria 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 — 112 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.