Political Rights Rating in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Political Rights Rating was 7 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
7
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 199 countries
All-time high
7
in 2021
All-time low
2
in 1998
Years of data
53
1972–2025
Political Rights Rating in Nicaragua, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for political rights rating in Nicaragua is 7, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 53 years on record.
The figure is up 75.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights rating in Nicaragua peaked at 7 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2, in 1998.
Nicaragua ranks 1st of 199 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 53 years of available data.
Political Rights Rating in Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 4 | — |
| 1973 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 1974 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 6 | +20.0% |
| 1983 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 1985 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 3 | -40.0% |
| 1991 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 4 | +33.3% |
| 1993 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 1997 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 2 | -33.3% |
| 1999 | 3 | +50.0% |
| 2000 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 4 | +33.3% |
| 2009 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 2012 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 2014 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 2017 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 6 | +20.0% |
| 2019 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 7 | +16.7% |
| 2022 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 7 | +0.0% |
Nicaragua compared with similar countries
- Nicaragua's 7 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nicaragua's 7 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 2, 3.5× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.88 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| 1980s | 5.22 | 5 | 6 | 9 |
| 1990s | 3.3 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.2 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.8 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.83 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
- 1 Afghanistan 7 compare
- 1 Azerbaijan 7 compare
- 1 Bahrain 7 compare
- 1 Belarus 7 compare
- 1 Burkina Faso 7 compare
- 1 Burundi 7 compare
- 1 Cambodia 7 compare
- 1 Central African Republic 7 compare
- 1 Chad 7 compare
- 1 China 7 compare
- 1 Congo 7 compare
- 1 Cuba 7 compare
- 1 Democratic Republic of Congo 7 compare
- 1 Djibouti 7 compare
- 1 Equatorial Guinea 7 compare
- 1 Eritrea 7 compare
- 1 Eswatini 7 compare
- 1 Gabon 7 compare
- 1 Haiti 7 compare
- 1 Iran 7 compare
- 1 Kazakhstan 7 compare
- 1 Kyrgyzstan 7 compare
- 1 Laos 7 compare
- 1 Libya 7 compare
- 1 Mali 7 compare
- 1 Myanmar 7 compare
- 1 Niger 7 compare
- 1 North Korea 7 compare
- 1 Russia 7 compare
- 1 Saudi Arabia 7 compare
- 1 Somalia 7 compare
- 1 South Sudan 7 compare
- 1 Sudan 7 compare
- 1 Syria 7 compare
- 1 Tajikistan 7 compare
- 1 Turkmenistan 7 compare
- 1 United Arab Emirates 7 compare
- 1 Uzbekistan 7 compare
- 1 Venezuela 7 compare
- 1 Vietnam 7 compare
- 1 Western Sahara 7 compare
- 1 Yemen 7 compare
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)
- 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)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of -0.3205 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political rights rating in Nicaragua?
- Political rights rating in Nicaragua was 7 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights rating recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 2021.
- What is the lowest political rights rating recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 in 1998.
- How does Nicaragua rank for political rights rating?
- Nicaragua ranks 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights rating rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is up 75.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nicaragua data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Political Rights Rating. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Identifies the extent of free and fair elections, political pluralism and participation, and a functioning government. Lower ratings indicate more rights.