Liberal Democracy Index in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Liberal Democracy Index was 0.147 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.147
Change on year
down 5.8%
World rank
120th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.229
in 1981
All-time low
0.094
in 1978
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Liberal Democracy Index in Zimbabwe, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, liberal democracy index in Zimbabwe stood at 0.147.
That represents a change of down 5.8% on the previous year and down 30.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, liberal democracy index in Zimbabwe peaked at 0.229 in 1981 and was at its lowest, 0.094, in 1978.
Zimbabwe ranks 120th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Liberal Democracy Index in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.136 | — |
| 1901 | 0.136 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.135 | -0.7% |
| 1903 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.135 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.138 | +2.2% |
| 1920 | 0.135 | -2.2% |
| 1921 | 0.134 | -0.7% |
| 1922 | 0.134 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.165 | +23.1% |
| 1924 | 0.18 | +9.1% |
| 1925 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.179 | -0.6% |
| 1946 | 0.18 | +0.6% |
| 1947 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.179 | -0.6% |
| 1950 | 0.179 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.18 | +0.6% |
| 1952 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.186 | +3.3% |
| 1954 | 0.186 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.186 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.186 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.183 | -1.6% |
| 1958 | 0.179 | -2.2% |
| 1959 | 0.175 | -2.2% |
| 1960 | 0.174 | -0.6% |
| 1961 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.174 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.172 | -1.1% |
| 1964 | 0.143 | -16.9% |
| 1965 | 0.126 | -11.9% |
| 1966 | 0.124 | -1.6% |
| 1967 | 0.124 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.124 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.121 | -2.4% |
| 1970 | 0.121 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.12 | -0.8% |
| 1972 | 0.12 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.12 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.12 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.121 | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 0.121 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.121 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.094 | -22.3% |
| 1979 | 0.114 | +21.3% |
| 1980 | 0.215 | +88.6% |
| 1981 | 0.229 | +6.5% |
| 1982 | 0.228 | -0.4% |
| 1983 | 0.228 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.226 | -0.9% |
| 1985 | 0.224 | -0.9% |
| 1986 | 0.222 | -0.9% |
| 1987 | 0.185 | -16.7% |
| 1988 | 0.221 | +19.5% |
| 1989 | 0.222 | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 0.222 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.225 | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.225 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.228 | +1.3% |
| 1997 | 0.229 | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 0.226 | -1.3% |
| 1999 | 0.228 | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 0.187 | -18.0% |
| 2001 | 0.164 | -12.3% |
| 2002 | 0.167 | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 0.157 | -6.0% |
| 2004 | 0.154 | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 0.153 | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 0.152 | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 0.152 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.149 | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 0.179 | +20.1% |
| 2010 | 0.2 | +11.7% |
| 2011 | 0.201 | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 0.202 | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 0.209 | +3.5% |
| 2014 | 0.213 | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 0.212 | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 0.203 | -4.2% |
| 2017 | 0.225 | +10.8% |
| 2018 | 0.216 | -4.0% |
| 2019 | 0.202 | -6.5% |
| 2020 | 0.192 | -5.0% |
| 2021 | 0.194 | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 0.186 | -4.1% |
| 2023 | 0.175 | -5.9% |
| 2024 | 0.156 | -10.9% |
| 2025 | 0.147 | -5.8% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 0.147 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.203, 72% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 0.147 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.17, 86% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Liberal Democracy Index in Zimbabwe 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 | +88.6% | 0.114 | 0.215 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.1352 | 0.135 | 0.136 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.1353 | 0.135 | 0.138 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.1648 | 0.134 | 0.18 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.18 | 0.18 | 0.18 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.1798 | 0.179 | 0.18 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.182 | 0.175 | 0.186 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.1456 | 0.121 | 0.174 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1172 | 0.094 | 0.121 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.22 | 0.185 | 0.229 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2258 | 0.222 | 0.229 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.1614 | 0.149 | 0.187 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2083 | 0.2 | 0.225 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.175 | 0.147 | 0.194 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More social development data for Zimbabwe
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,570 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6,632 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0004 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6,632 (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 liberal democracy index in Zimbabwe?
- Liberal democracy index in Zimbabwe was 0.147 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest liberal democracy index recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 0.229 in 1981.
- What is the lowest liberal democracy index recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.094 in 1978.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for liberal democracy index?
- Zimbabwe ranks 120th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is liberal democracy index rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.