What is freedom of association index in Nicaragua?

Freedom of association index in Nicaragua was 0.042 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in Nicaragua?

The highest recorded value was 0.875 in 1997.

What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in Nicaragua?

The lowest recorded value was 0.04 in 1838.

How does Nicaragua rank for freedom of association index?

Nicaragua ranks 166th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is freedom of association index rising or falling in Nicaragua?

Over the last ten years it is down 90.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Nicaragua data come from?

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

Freedom of Association Index in Nicaragua

Name: Freedom of Association Index in Nicaragua
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Nicaragua: Freedom of Association Index was 0.042 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.042

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

166th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.875

in 1997

All-time low

0.04

in 1838

Years of data

188

1838–2025

Freedom of Association Index in Nicaragua, 1838–2025

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

Analysis

In 2025, freedom of association index in Nicaragua stood at 0.042.

That represents a change of down 90.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, freedom of association index in Nicaragua peaked at 0.875 in 1997 and was at its lowest, 0.04, in 1838.

That places Nicaragua 166th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.

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

Freedom of Association Index in Nicaragua, year by year

Annual values for Freedom of Association Index in Nicaragua, 1838 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1838	0.04	—
1839	0.04	+0.0%
1840	0.04	+0.0%
1841	0.04	+0.0%
1842	0.04	+0.0%
1843	0.04	+0.0%
1844	0.04	+0.0%
1845	0.04	+0.0%
1846	0.04	+0.0%
1847	0.04	+0.0%
1848	0.04	+0.0%
1849	0.04	+0.0%
1850	0.04	+0.0%
1851	0.04	+0.0%
1852	0.04	+0.0%
1853	0.04	+0.0%
1854	0.04	+0.0%
1855	0.04	+0.0%
1856	0.04	+0.0%
1857	0.04	+0.0%
1858	0.04	+0.0%
1859	0.157	+292.5%
1860	0.157	+0.0%
1861	0.157	+0.0%
1862	0.157	+0.0%
1863	0.157	+0.0%
1864	0.157	+0.0%
1865	0.157	+0.0%
1866	0.157	+0.0%
1867	0.157	+0.0%
1868	0.157	+0.0%
1869	0.157	+0.0%
1870	0.157	+0.0%
1871	0.157	+0.0%
1872	0.157	+0.0%
1873	0.157	+0.0%
1874	0.157	+0.0%
1875	0.157	+0.0%
1876	0.157	+0.0%
1877	0.157	+0.0%
1878	0.157	+0.0%
1879	0.157	+0.0%
1880	0.157	+0.0%
1881	0.157	+0.0%
1882	0.157	+0.0%
1883	0.157	+0.0%
1884	0.157	+0.0%
1885	0.157	+0.0%
1886	0.157	+0.0%
1887	0.157	+0.0%
1888	0.296	+88.5%
1889	0.296	+0.0%
1890	0.259	-12.5%
1891	0.259	+0.0%
1892	0.259	+0.0%
1893	0.27	+4.2%
1894	0.29	+7.4%
1895	0.29	+0.0%
1896	0.253	-12.8%
1897	0.253	+0.0%
1898	0.253	+0.0%
1899	0.255	+0.8%
1900	0.259	+1.6%
1901	0.259	+0.0%
1902	0.258	-0.4%
1903	0.258	+0.0%
1904	0.258	+0.0%
1905	0.259	+0.4%
1906	0.265	+2.3%
1907	0.233	-12.1%
1908	0.233	+0.0%
1909	0.233	+0.0%
1910	0.195	-16.3%
1911	0.171	-12.3%
1912	0.174	+1.8%
1913	0.159	-8.6%
1914	0.158	-0.6%
1915	0.155	-1.9%
1916	0.154	-0.6%
1917	0.152	-1.3%
1918	0.152	+0.0%
1919	0.152	+0.0%
1920	0.155	+2.0%
1921	0.167	+7.7%
1922	0.167	+0.0%
1923	0.176	+5.4%
1924	0.176	+0.0%
1925	0.176	+0.0%
1926	0.176	+0.0%
1927	0.176	+0.0%
1928	0.177	+0.6%
1929	0.18	+1.7%
1930	0.179	-0.6%
1931	0.174	-2.8%
1932	0.173	-0.6%
1933	0.142	-17.9%
1934	0.105	-26.1%
1935	0.101	-3.8%
1936	0.085	-15.8%
1937	0.08	-5.9%
1938	0.08	+0.0%
1939	0.08	+0.0%
1940	0.08	+0.0%
1941	0.08	+0.0%
1942	0.08	+0.0%
1943	0.08	+0.0%
1944	0.08	+0.0%
1945	0.08	+0.0%
1946	0.08	+0.0%
1947	0.082	+2.5%
1948	0.074	-9.8%
1949	0.074	+0.0%
1950	0.076	+2.7%
1951	0.077	+1.3%
1952	0.077	+0.0%
1953	0.077	+0.0%
1954	0.077	+0.0%
1955	0.077	+0.0%
1956	0.077	+0.0%
1957	0.094	+22.1%
1958	0.094	+0.0%
1959	0.094	+0.0%
1960	0.094	+0.0%
1961	0.094	+0.0%
1962	0.094	+0.0%
1963	0.097	+3.2%
1964	0.097	+0.0%
1965	0.097	+0.0%
1966	0.097	+0.0%
1967	0.102	+5.2%
1968	0.096	-5.9%
1969	0.096	+0.0%
1970	0.096	+0.0%
1971	0.096	+0.0%
1972	0.099	+3.1%
1973	0.097	-2.0%
1974	0.098	+1.0%
1975	0.098	+0.0%
1976	0.098	+0.0%
1977	0.098	+0.0%
1978	0.098	+0.0%
1979	0.137	+39.8%
1980	0.458	+234.3%
1981	0.458	+0.0%
1982	0.393	-14.2%
1983	0.443	+12.7%
1984	0.509	+14.9%
1985	0.553	+8.6%
1986	0.553	+0.0%
1987	0.557	+0.7%
1988	0.557	+0.0%
1989	0.625	+12.2%
1990	0.832	+33.1%
1991	0.873	+4.9%
1992	0.873	+0.0%
1993	0.873	+0.0%
1994	0.873	+0.0%
1995	0.873	+0.0%
1996	0.873	+0.0%
1997	0.875	+0.2%
1998	0.875	+0.0%
1999	0.834	-4.7%
2000	0.802	-3.8%
2001	0.801	-0.1%
2002	0.798	-0.4%
2003	0.795	-0.4%
2004	0.795	+0.0%
2005	0.795	+0.0%
2006	0.762	-4.2%
2007	0.679	-10.9%
2008	0.662	-2.5%
2009	0.662	+0.0%
2010	0.662	+0.0%
2011	0.656	-0.9%
2012	0.611	-6.9%
2013	0.462	-24.4%
2014	0.458	-0.9%
2015	0.458	+0.0%
2016	0.404	-11.8%
2017	0.378	-6.4%
2018	0.233	-38.4%
2019	0.209	-10.3%
2020	0.217	+3.8%
2021	0.143	-34.1%
2022	0.078	-45.5%
2023	0.076	-2.6%
2024	0.042	-44.7%
2025	0.042	+0.0%

Nicaragua compared with similar countries

Nicaragua's 0.042 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.567, 7% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Nicaragua's 0.042 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.839, 5% of the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1830s	0.04	0.04	0.04	2
1840s	0.04	0.04	0.04	10
1850s	0.0517	0.04	0.157	10
1860s	0.157	0.157	0.157	10
1870s	0.157	0.157	0.157	10
1880s	0.1848	0.157	0.296	10
1890s	0.2641	0.253	0.29	10
1900s	0.2515	0.233	0.265	10
1910s	0.1622	0.152	0.195	10
1920s	0.1726	0.155	0.18	10
1930s	0.1199	0.08	0.179	10
1940s	0.079	0.074	0.082	10
1950s	0.082	0.076	0.094	10
1960s	0.0964	0.094	0.102	10
1970s	0.1015	0.096	0.137	10
1980s	0.5106	0.393	0.625	10
1990s	0.8654	0.832	0.875	10
2000s	0.7551	0.662	0.802	10
2010s	0.4531	0.209	0.662	10
2020s	0.0997	0.042	0.217	6

Countries ranked near Nicaragua

163 Turkmenistan 0.058 compare
164 Oman 0.049 compare
165 Laos 0.047 compare
167 United Arab Emirates 0.04 compare
168 Qatar 0.039 compare
169 China 0.03 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

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)

All data for Nicaragua →

Frequently asked questions

What is freedom of association index in Nicaragua?: Freedom of association index in Nicaragua was 0.042 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in Nicaragua?: The highest recorded value was 0.875 in 1997.
What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in Nicaragua?: The lowest recorded value was 0.04 in 1838.
How does Nicaragua rank for freedom of association index?: Nicaragua ranks 166th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is freedom of association index rising or falling in Nicaragua?: Over the last ten years it is down 90.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Nicaragua data come from?: The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom of Association Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Freedom of Association Index in Nicaragua. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 October 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/freedom-of-association-index/nicaragua/

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About this data

Indicator: Freedom of Association Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 30,011 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which parties, including opposition parties, are allowed to form and participate in elections and the extent to which civil society organizations are allowed to form and operate freely.