Political Rights Rating in Nigeria
Nigeria: Political Rights Rating was 4 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
4
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
79th
of 199 countries
All-time high
7
in 1984
All-time low
2
in 1979
Years of data
53
1972–2025
Political Rights Rating in Nigeria, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 4 for political rights rating in 2025.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights rating in Nigeria peaked at 7 in 1984 and was at its lowest, 2, in 1979.
Nigeria ranks 79th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.
Political Rights Rating in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 6 | — |
| 1973 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 1978 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 2 | -60.0% |
| 1980 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 7 | +250.0% |
| 1985 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 6 | -14.3% |
| 1988 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 1989 | 6 | +20.0% |
| 1990 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 1991 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 7 | +40.0% |
| 1994 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 6 | -14.3% |
| 1999 | 4 | -33.3% |
| 2000 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 2009 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 2011 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2017 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4 | +33.3% |
| 2020 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 | +0.0% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 4 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5, 80% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 4 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6, 67% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.25 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| 1980s | 4.89 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| 1990s | 6 | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.2 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.7 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
- 79 Armenia 4 compare
- 79 Benin 4 compare
- 79 Gambia 4 compare
- 79 Georgia 4 compare
- 79 Guatemala 4 compare
- 79 Honduras 4 compare
- 79 Kenya 4 compare
- 79 Malaysia 4 compare
- 79 Maldives 4 compare
- 79 Papua New Guinea 4 compare
- 79 Serbia 4 compare
- 79 Sierra Leone 4 compare
- 79 Singapore 4 compare
- 79 Ukraine 4 compare
- 79 Zambia 4 compare
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)
- 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)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 28.49 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political rights rating in Nigeria?
- Political rights rating in Nigeria was 4 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights rating recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 1984.
- What is the lowest political rights rating recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 in 1979.
- How does Nigeria rank for political rights rating?
- Nigeria ranks 79th out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights rating rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria 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
CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the extent of free and fair elections, political pluralism and participation, and a functioning government. Lower ratings indicate more rights.