Electoral democracy in Nigeria
Nigeria: Electoral democracy was 2 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
2
Change on year
up 100.0%
World rank
1st
of 176 countries
All-time high
2
in 2012
All-time low
0
in 1914
Years of data
112
1914–2025
Electoral democracy in Nigeria, 1914–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 2 for electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 112 years on record.
The figure is up 100.0% on the previous year and unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, electoral democracy in Nigeria peaked at 2 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1914.
That places Nigeria 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Electoral democracy in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | 0 | — |
| 1915 | 0 | — |
| 1916 | 0 | — |
| 1917 | 0 | — |
| 1918 | 0 | — |
| 1919 | 0 | — |
| 1920 | 0 | — |
| 1921 | 0 | — |
| 1922 | 0 | — |
| 1923 | 0 | — |
| 1924 | 0 | — |
| 1925 | 0 | — |
| 1926 | 0 | — |
| 1927 | 0 | — |
| 1928 | 0 | — |
| 1929 | 0 | — |
| 1930 | 0 | — |
| 1931 | 0 | — |
| 1932 | 0 | — |
| 1933 | 0 | — |
| 1934 | 0 | — |
| 1935 | 0 | — |
| 1936 | 0 | — |
| 1937 | 0 | — |
| 1938 | 0 | — |
| 1939 | 0 | — |
| 1940 | 0 | — |
| 1941 | 0 | — |
| 1942 | 0 | — |
| 1943 | 0 | — |
| 1944 | 0 | — |
| 1945 | 0 | — |
| 1946 | 0 | — |
| 1947 | 0 | — |
| 1948 | 0 | — |
| 1949 | 0 | — |
| 1950 | 0 | — |
| 1951 | 0 | — |
| 1952 | 0 | — |
| 1953 | 0 | — |
| 1954 | 0 | — |
| 1955 | 0 | — |
| 1956 | 0 | — |
| 1957 | 0 | — |
| 1958 | 0 | — |
| 1959 | 0 | — |
| 1960 | 0 | — |
| 1961 | 0 | — |
| 1962 | 0 | — |
| 1963 | 0 | — |
| 1964 | 0 | — |
| 1965 | 0 | — |
| 1966 | 0 | — |
| 1967 | 0 | — |
| 1968 | 0 | — |
| 1969 | 0 | — |
| 1970 | 0 | — |
| 1971 | 0 | — |
| 1972 | 0 | — |
| 1973 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | 0 | — |
| 1975 | 0 | — |
| 1976 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | 0 | — |
| 1979 | 1 | — |
| 1980 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1984 | 0 | — |
| 1985 | 0 | — |
| 1986 | 0 | — |
| 1987 | 0 | — |
| 1988 | 0 | — |
| 1989 | 0 | — |
| 1990 | 0 | — |
| 1991 | 0 | — |
| 1992 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | 0 | — |
| 1994 | 0 | — |
| 1995 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | 0 | — |
| 1997 | 0 | — |
| 1998 | 0 | — |
| 1999 | 1 | — |
| 2000 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 2013 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 2022 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 2 | +100.0% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 2 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1, 2.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 2 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1, 2.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.3 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.8 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.33 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
- 1 Argentina 2 compare
- 1 Armenia 2 compare
- 1 Australia 2 compare
- 1 Austria 2 compare
- 1 Barbados 2 compare
- 1 Belgium 2 compare
- 1 Bhutan 2 compare
- 1 Bolivia 2 compare
- 1 Botswana 2 compare
- 1 Brazil 2 compare
- 1 Bulgaria 2 compare
- 1 Canada 2 compare
- 1 Cape Verde 2 compare
- 1 Chile 2 compare
- 1 Colombia 2 compare
- 1 Costa Rica 2 compare
- 1 Croatia 2 compare
- 1 Cyprus 2 compare
- 1 Czechia 2 compare
- 1 Denmark 2 compare
- 1 Dominican Republic 2 compare
- 1 East Timor 2 compare
- 1 Ecuador 2 compare
- 1 Estonia 2 compare
- 1 Fiji 2 compare
- 1 Finland 2 compare
- 1 France 2 compare
- 1 Gambia 2 compare
- 1 Germany 2 compare
- 1 Ghana 2 compare
- 1 Greece 2 compare
- 1 Guatemala 2 compare
- 1 Guyana 2 compare
- 1 Honduras 2 compare
- 1 Iceland 2 compare
- 1 Ireland 2 compare
- 1 Israel 2 compare
- 1 Italy 2 compare
- 1 Jamaica 2 compare
- 1 Japan 2 compare
- 1 Kenya 2 compare
- 1 Latvia 2 compare
- 1 Lesotho 2 compare
- 1 Liberia 2 compare
- 1 Lithuania 2 compare
- 1 Luxembourg 2 compare
- 1 Malawi 2 compare
- 1 Malaysia 2 compare
- 1 Maldives 2 compare
- 1 Malta 2 compare
- 1 Mauritius 2 compare
- 1 Moldova 2 compare
- 1 Mongolia 2 compare
- 1 Montenegro 2 compare
- 1 Namibia 2 compare
- 1 Nepal 2 compare
- 1 Netherlands 2 compare
- 1 New Zealand 2 compare
- 1 North Macedonia 2 compare
- 1 Norway 2 compare
- 1 Panama 2 compare
- 1 Paraguay 2 compare
- 1 Peru 2 compare
- 1 Poland 2 compare
- 1 Portugal 2 compare
- 1 Romania 2 compare
- 1 Sao Tome and Principe 2 compare
- 1 Senegal 2 compare
- 1 Seychelles 2 compare
- 1 Slovakia 2 compare
- 1 Slovenia 2 compare
- 1 Solomon Islands 2 compare
- 1 South Africa 2 compare
- 1 South Korea 2 compare
- 1 Spain 2 compare
- 1 Sri Lanka 2 compare
- 1 Suriname 2 compare
- 1 Sweden 2 compare
- 1 Switzerland 2 compare
- 1 Taiwan 2 compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 2 compare
- 1 United Kingdom 2 compare
- 1 United States 2 compare
- 1 Uruguay 2 compare
- 1 Vanuatu 2 compare
More social development data for Nigeria
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 123,848 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 478,150 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 478,150 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0005 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electoral democracy in Nigeria?
- Electoral democracy in Nigeria was 2 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electoral democracy recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 2012.
- What is the lowest electoral democracy recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1914.
- How does Nigeria rank for electoral democracy?
- Nigeria ranks 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electoral democracy rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. 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. 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
Identifies the political regime of a country using the Regimes of the World classification by political scientists Anna Lührmann, Marcus Tannenberg and Staffan Lindberg.