Freedom of Association Index in Nigeria
Nigeria: Freedom of Association Index was 0.846 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.846
Change on year
up 6.7%
World rank
56th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.847
in 2017
All-time low
0.372
in 1914
Years of data
112
1914–2025
Freedom of Association Index in Nigeria, 1914–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, freedom of association index in Nigeria stood at 0.846.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.7% on the previous year and up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom of association index in Nigeria peaked at 0.847 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.372, in 1914.
That places Nigeria 56th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 112 years of available data.
Freedom of Association Index in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | 0.372 | — |
| 1915 | 0.372 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.372 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.372 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.372 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.372 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.372 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.372 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.568 | +52.7% |
| 1923 | 0.603 | +6.2% |
| 1924 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.556 | -7.8% |
| 1946 | 0.556 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.556 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.556 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.556 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.556 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.556 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.556 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.556 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.585 | +5.2% |
| 1955 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.59 | +0.9% |
| 1960 | 0.709 | +20.2% |
| 1961 | 0.709 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.709 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.709 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.709 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.701 | -1.1% |
| 1966 | 0.648 | -7.6% |
| 1967 | 0.429 | -33.8% |
| 1968 | 0.429 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.429 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.429 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.429 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.429 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.429 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.429 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.429 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.426 | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 0.496 | +16.4% |
| 1978 | 0.563 | +13.5% |
| 1979 | 0.732 | +30.0% |
| 1980 | 0.784 | +7.1% |
| 1981 | 0.784 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.784 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.723 | -7.8% |
| 1984 | 0.424 | -41.4% |
| 1985 | 0.424 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.456 | +7.5% |
| 1987 | 0.456 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.456 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.502 | +10.1% |
| 1990 | 0.512 | +2.0% |
| 1991 | 0.523 | +2.1% |
| 1992 | 0.576 | +10.1% |
| 1993 | 0.595 | +3.3% |
| 1994 | 0.462 | -22.4% |
| 1995 | 0.433 | -6.3% |
| 1996 | 0.433 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.513 | +18.5% |
| 1998 | 0.6 | +17.0% |
| 1999 | 0.695 | +15.8% |
| 2000 | 0.805 | +15.8% |
| 2001 | 0.805 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.805 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.802 | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 0.8 | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.809 | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 0.795 | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 0.818 | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 0.805 | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 0.83 | +3.1% |
| 2011 | 0.822 | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 0.808 | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 0.823 | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 0.823 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.824 | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 0.841 | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 0.847 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 0.846 | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 0.84 | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 0.813 | -3.2% |
| 2021 | 0.746 | -8.2% |
| 2022 | 0.784 | +5.1% |
| 2023 | 0.764 | -2.6% |
| 2024 | 0.793 | +3.8% |
| 2025 | 0.846 | +6.7% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 0.846 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.567, 1.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 0.846 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.5515, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0.372 | 0.372 | 0.372 | 6 |
| 1920s | 0.5533 | 0.372 | 0.603 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.603 | 0.603 | 0.603 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.5795 | 0.556 | 0.603 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.5739 | 0.556 | 0.59 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.6181 | 0.429 | 0.709 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.4791 | 0.426 | 0.732 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.5793 | 0.424 | 0.784 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5342 | 0.433 | 0.695 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8044 | 0.795 | 0.818 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8304 | 0.808 | 0.847 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.791 | 0.746 | 0.846 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
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 freedom of association index in Nigeria?
- Freedom of association index in Nigeria was 0.846 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 0.847 in 2017.
- What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.372 in 1914.
- How does Nigeria rank for freedom of association index?
- Nigeria ranks 56th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom of association index rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria 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.
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 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.