Liberal democracy in Kenya
Kenya: Liberal democracy was 2 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Liberal democracy in Kenya, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, liberal democracy in Kenya stood at 2. That is the highest value across all 126 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, liberal democracy in Kenya peaked at 2 in 2003 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1900.
Kenya ranks 32nd of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.7 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.4 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.4 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.67 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
- 32 Argentina 2 compare
- 32 Armenia 2 compare
- 32 Bhutan 2 compare
- 32 Bolivia 2 compare
- 32 Botswana 2 compare
- 32 Brazil 2 compare
- 32 Bulgaria 2 compare
- 32 Canada 2 compare
- 32 Cape Verde 2 compare
- 32 Colombia 2 compare
- 32 Croatia 2 compare
- 32 Dominican Republic 2 compare
- 32 East Timor 2 compare
- 32 Ecuador 2 compare
- 32 Fiji 2 compare
- 32 Gambia 2 compare
- 32 Ghana 2 compare
- 32 Greece 2 compare
- 32 Guatemala 2 compare
- 32 Guyana 2 compare
- 32 Honduras 2 compare
- 32 Israel 2 compare
- 32 Jamaica 2 compare
- 32 Lesotho 2 compare
- 32 Liberia 2 compare
- 32 Malawi 2 compare
- 32 Malaysia 2 compare
- 32 Maldives 2 compare
- 32 Mauritius 2 compare
- 32 Moldova 2 compare
- 32 Mongolia 2 compare
- 32 Montenegro 2 compare
- 32 Namibia 2 compare
- 32 Nepal 2 compare
- 32 Nigeria 2 compare
- 32 North Macedonia 2 compare
- 32 Panama 2 compare
- 32 Paraguay 2 compare
- 32 Peru 2 compare
- 32 Poland 2 compare
- 32 Portugal 2 compare
- 32 Romania 2 compare
- 32 Sao Tome and Principe 2 compare
- 32 Senegal 2 compare
- 32 Slovakia 2 compare
- 32 Slovenia 2 compare
- 32 Solomon Islands 2 compare
- 32 South Africa 2 compare
- 32 Sri Lanka 2 compare
- 32 Suriname 2 compare
- 32 United Kingdom 2 compare
- 32 United States 2 compare
- 32 Vanuatu 2 compare
More social development data for Kenya
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 617,125 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 13,325 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Varieties of democracy 0.563 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.446 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.74 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.74 (2025)
- Key features of electoral democracy 0.563 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is liberal democracy in Kenya?
- Liberal democracy in Kenya was 2 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest liberal democracy recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 2003.
- What is the lowest liberal democracy recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1900.
- How does Kenya rank for liberal democracy?
- Kenya ranks 32nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is liberal democracy rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Kenya data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Liberal democracy. 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
Identifies the political regime of a country by distinguishing between closed autocracies, electoral autocracies, electoral democracies, and liberal democracies.