What is liberal democracy index in Nicaragua?

Liberal democracy index in Nicaragua was 0.019 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest liberal democracy index recorded in Nicaragua?

The highest recorded value was 0.485 in 1995.

What is the lowest liberal democracy index recorded in Nicaragua?

The lowest recorded value was 0.019 in 2025.

How does Nicaragua rank for liberal democracy index?

Nicaragua ranks 172nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is liberal democracy index rising or falling in Nicaragua?

Over the last ten years it is down 84.7%. 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 Liberal Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Liberal Democracy Index in Nicaragua

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

Nicaragua: Liberal Democracy Index was 0.019 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.019

Change on year

down 5.0%

World rank

172nd

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.485

in 1995

All-time low

0.019

in 2025

Years of data

187

1839–2025

Liberal Democracy Index in Nicaragua, 1839–2025

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

Analysis

In 2025, liberal democracy index in Nicaragua stood at 0.019. That is the lowest value across all 187 years on record.

That represents a change of down 5.0% on the previous year and down 84.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, liberal democracy index in Nicaragua peaked at 0.485 in 1995 and was at its lowest, 0.019, in 2025.

That places Nicaragua 172nd 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.

Liberal Democracy Index in Nicaragua, year by year

Annual values for Liberal Democracy Index in Nicaragua, 1839 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1839	0.029	—
1840	0.031	+6.9%
1841	0.032	+3.2%
1842	0.032	+0.0%
1843	0.032	+0.0%
1844	0.032	+0.0%
1845	0.028	-12.5%
1846	0.032	+14.3%
1847	0.031	-3.1%
1848	0.03	-3.2%
1849	0.031	+3.3%
1850	0.029	-6.5%
1851	0.028	-3.4%
1852	0.028	+0.0%
1853	0.027	-3.6%
1854	0.026	-3.7%
1855	0.026	+0.0%
1856	0.024	-7.7%
1857	0.025	+4.2%
1858	0.047	+88.0%
1859	0.051	+8.5%
1860	0.062	+21.6%
1861	0.062	+0.0%
1862	0.07	+12.9%
1863	0.062	-11.4%
1864	0.07	+12.9%
1865	0.07	+0.0%
1866	0.065	-7.1%
1867	0.069	+6.2%
1868	0.069	+0.0%
1869	0.065	-5.8%
1870	0.07	+7.7%
1871	0.07	+0.0%
1872	0.07	+0.0%
1873	0.07	+0.0%
1874	0.07	+0.0%
1875	0.065	-7.1%
1876	0.07	+7.7%
1877	0.072	+2.9%
1878	0.072	+0.0%
1879	0.069	-4.2%
1880	0.068	-1.4%
1881	0.06	-11.8%
1882	0.068	+13.3%
1883	0.071	+4.4%
1884	0.071	+0.0%
1885	0.071	+0.0%
1886	0.076	+7.0%
1887	0.077	+1.3%
1888	0.081	+5.2%
1889	0.08	-1.2%
1890	0.059	-26.3%
1891	0.067	+13.6%
1892	0.059	-11.9%
1893	0.059	+0.0%
1894	0.058	-1.7%
1895	0.069	+19.0%
1896	0.05	-27.5%
1897	0.056	+12.0%
1898	0.056	+0.0%
1899	0.056	+0.0%
1900	0.057	+1.8%
1901	0.057	+0.0%
1902	0.055	-3.5%
1903	0.054	-1.8%
1904	0.055	+1.9%
1905	0.055	+0.0%
1906	0.055	+0.0%
1907	0.055	+0.0%
1908	0.055	+0.0%
1909	0.054	-1.8%
1910	0.05	-7.4%
1911	0.051	+2.0%
1912	0.047	-7.8%
1913	0.053	+12.8%
1914	0.054	+1.9%
1915	0.059	+9.3%
1916	0.06	+1.7%
1917	0.059	-1.7%
1918	0.059	+0.0%
1919	0.059	+0.0%
1920	0.059	+0.0%
1921	0.059	+0.0%
1922	0.059	+0.0%
1923	0.059	+0.0%
1924	0.059	+0.0%
1925	0.06	+1.7%
1926	0.051	-15.0%
1927	0.049	-3.9%
1928	0.053	+8.2%
1929	0.054	+1.9%
1930	0.054	+0.0%
1931	0.054	+0.0%
1932	0.054	+0.0%
1933	0.038	-29.6%
1934	0.042	+10.5%
1935	0.042	+0.0%
1936	0.038	-9.5%
1937	0.032	-15.8%
1938	0.034	+6.3%
1939	0.034	+0.0%
1940	0.034	+0.0%
1941	0.034	+0.0%
1942	0.034	+0.0%
1943	0.034	+0.0%
1944	0.034	+0.0%
1945	0.034	+0.0%
1946	0.034	+0.0%
1947	0.031	-8.8%
1948	0.032	+3.2%
1949	0.032	+0.0%
1950	0.029	-9.4%
1951	0.029	+0.0%
1952	0.029	+0.0%
1953	0.029	+0.0%
1954	0.029	+0.0%
1955	0.029	+0.0%
1956	0.034	+17.2%
1957	0.034	+0.0%
1958	0.034	+0.0%
1959	0.033	-2.9%
1960	0.034	+3.0%
1961	0.034	+0.0%
1962	0.034	+0.0%
1963	0.034	+0.0%
1964	0.034	+0.0%
1965	0.034	+0.0%
1966	0.034	+0.0%
1967	0.034	+0.0%
1968	0.034	+0.0%
1969	0.034	+0.0%
1970	0.036	+5.9%
1971	0.034	-5.6%
1972	0.031	-8.8%
1973	0.034	+9.7%
1974	0.034	+0.0%
1975	0.034	+0.0%
1976	0.034	+0.0%
1977	0.034	+0.0%
1978	0.034	+0.0%
1979	0.024	-29.4%
1980	0.082	+241.7%
1981	0.083	+1.2%
1982	0.069	-16.9%
1983	0.07	+1.4%
1984	0.09	+28.6%
1985	0.167	+85.6%
1986	0.159	-4.8%
1987	0.157	-1.3%
1988	0.17	+8.3%
1989	0.178	+4.7%
1990	0.414	+132.6%
1991	0.471	+13.8%
1992	0.478	+1.5%
1993	0.482	+0.8%
1994	0.484	+0.4%
1995	0.485	+0.2%
1996	0.45	-7.2%
1997	0.409	-9.1%
1998	0.409	+0.0%
1999	0.383	-6.4%
2000	0.378	-1.3%
2001	0.373	-1.3%
2002	0.377	+1.1%
2003	0.371	-1.6%
2004	0.372	+0.3%
2005	0.372	+0.0%
2006	0.322	-13.4%
2007	0.216	-32.9%
2008	0.203	-6.0%
2009	0.197	-3.0%
2010	0.192	-2.5%
2011	0.188	-2.1%
2012	0.156	-17.0%
2013	0.125	-19.9%
2014	0.126	+0.8%
2015	0.124	-1.6%
2016	0.12	-3.2%
2017	0.103	-14.2%
2018	0.051	-50.5%
2019	0.046	-9.8%
2020	0.045	-2.2%
2021	0.034	-24.4%
2022	0.027	-20.6%
2023	0.021	-22.2%
2024	0.02	-4.8%
2025	0.019	-5.0%

Nicaragua compared with similar countries

Nicaragua's 0.019 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.203, 9% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Nicaragua's 0.019 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.506, 4% of the median. (25 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Liberal Democracy Index in Nicaragua changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

Year	Change	From	To
1980	+241.7%	0.024	0.082
1990	+132.6%	0.178	0.414
1858	+88.0%	0.025	0.047
1985	+85.6%	0.09	0.167
2018	-50.5%	0.103	0.051
2007	-32.9%	0.322	0.216

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1830s	0.029	0.029	0.029	1
1840s	0.0311	0.028	0.032	10
1850s	0.0311	0.024	0.051	10
1860s	0.0664	0.062	0.07	10
1870s	0.0698	0.065	0.072	10
1880s	0.0723	0.06	0.081	10
1890s	0.0589	0.05	0.069	10
1900s	0.0552	0.054	0.057	10
1910s	0.0551	0.047	0.06	10
1920s	0.0562	0.049	0.06	10
1930s	0.0422	0.032	0.054	10
1940s	0.0333	0.031	0.034	10
1950s	0.0309	0.029	0.034	10
1960s	0.034	0.034	0.034	10
1970s	0.0329	0.024	0.036	10
1980s	0.1225	0.069	0.178	10
1990s	0.4465	0.383	0.485	10
2000s	0.3181	0.197	0.378	10
2010s	0.1231	0.046	0.192	10
2020s	0.0277	0.019	0.045	6

Countries ranked near Nicaragua

169 Sudan 0.034 compare
169 Turkmenistan 0.034 compare
171 Vatican 0.027 compare
173 Afghanistan 0.018 compare
174 Myanmar 0.015 compare
175 North Korea 0.014 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 liberal democracy index in Nicaragua?: Liberal democracy index in Nicaragua was 0.019 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest liberal democracy index recorded in Nicaragua?: The highest recorded value was 0.485 in 1995.
What is the lowest liberal democracy index recorded in Nicaragua?: The lowest recorded value was 0.019 in 2025.
How does Nicaragua rank for liberal democracy index?: Nicaragua ranks 172nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is liberal democracy index rising or falling in Nicaragua?: Over the last ten years it is down 84.7%. 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 Liberal Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Liberal Democracy Index in Nicaragua. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/liberal-democracy-index/nicaragua/

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About this data

Indicator: Liberal Democracy Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 28,671 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Central estimate of the extent of suffrage, the freedom and fairness of elections, freedoms of association and expression, individual and minority rights, equality before the law, and executive constraints.