What is varieties of democracy in Nicaragua?

Varieties of democracy in Nicaragua was 0.151 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest varieties of democracy recorded in Nicaragua?

The highest recorded value was 0.691 in 1993.

What is the lowest varieties of democracy recorded in Nicaragua?

The lowest recorded value was 0.026 in 1856.

How does Nicaragua rank for varieties of democracy?

Nicaragua ranks 154th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is varieties of democracy rising or falling in Nicaragua?

Over the last ten years it is down 52.5%. 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 Varieties of democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Varieties of democracy in Nicaragua

Name: Varieties of democracy in Nicaragua
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Nicaragua: Varieties of democracy was 0.151 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.151

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

154th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.691

in 1993

All-time low

0.026

in 1856

Years of data

187

1839–2025

Varieties of democracy in Nicaragua, 1839–2025

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

Analysis

Nicaragua recorded 0.151 for varieties of democracy in 2025.

The figure is down 52.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, varieties of democracy in Nicaragua peaked at 0.691 in 1993 and was at its lowest, 0.026, in 1856.

That places Nicaragua 154th 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.

Varieties of democracy in Nicaragua, year by year

Annual values for Varieties of democracy in Nicaragua, 1839 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1839	0.043	—
1840	0.065	+51.2%
1841	0.075	+15.4%
1842	0.075	+0.0%
1843	0.075	+0.0%
1844	0.075	+0.0%
1845	0.073	-2.7%
1846	0.075	+2.7%
1847	0.063	-16.0%
1848	0.059	-6.3%
1849	0.071	+20.3%
1850	0.075	+5.6%
1851	0.073	-2.7%
1852	0.075	+2.7%
1853	0.063	-16.0%
1854	0.058	-7.9%
1855	0.052	-10.3%
1856	0.026	-50.0%
1857	0.036	+38.5%
1858	0.098	+172.2%
1859	0.129	+31.6%
1860	0.182	+41.1%
1861	0.182	+0.0%
1862	0.182	+0.0%
1863	0.182	+0.0%
1864	0.182	+0.0%
1865	0.182	+0.0%
1866	0.182	+0.0%
1867	0.182	+0.0%
1868	0.182	+0.0%
1869	0.182	+0.0%
1870	0.182	+0.0%
1871	0.182	+0.0%
1872	0.182	+0.0%
1873	0.182	+0.0%
1874	0.182	+0.0%
1875	0.182	+0.0%
1876	0.182	+0.0%
1877	0.182	+0.0%
1878	0.182	+0.0%
1879	0.168	-7.7%
1880	0.166	-1.2%
1881	0.166	+0.0%
1882	0.166	+0.0%
1883	0.179	+7.8%
1884	0.182	+1.7%
1885	0.182	+0.0%
1886	0.203	+11.5%
1887	0.203	+0.0%
1888	0.222	+9.4%
1889	0.215	-3.2%
1890	0.194	-9.8%
1891	0.209	+7.7%
1892	0.169	-19.1%
1893	0.146	-13.6%
1894	0.11	-24.7%
1895	0.173	+57.3%
1896	0.099	-42.8%
1897	0.099	+0.0%
1898	0.099	+0.0%
1899	0.102	+3.0%
1900	0.107	+4.9%
1901	0.106	-0.9%
1902	0.099	-6.6%
1903	0.099	+0.0%
1904	0.099	+0.0%
1905	0.1	+1.0%
1906	0.1	+0.0%
1907	0.096	-4.0%
1908	0.096	+0.0%
1909	0.096	+0.0%
1910	0.101	+5.2%
1911	0.097	-4.0%
1912	0.099	+2.1%
1913	0.131	+32.3%
1914	0.133	+1.5%
1915	0.162	+21.8%
1916	0.162	+0.0%
1917	0.161	-0.6%
1918	0.161	+0.0%
1919	0.161	+0.0%
1920	0.162	+0.6%
1921	0.164	+1.2%
1922	0.164	+0.0%
1923	0.165	+0.6%
1924	0.168	+1.8%
1925	0.169	+0.6%
1926	0.113	-33.1%
1927	0.109	-3.5%
1928	0.099	-9.2%
1929	0.109	+10.1%
1930	0.108	-0.9%
1931	0.107	-0.9%
1932	0.107	+0.0%
1933	0.096	-10.3%
1934	0.152	+58.3%
1935	0.148	-2.6%
1936	0.146	-1.4%
1937	0.142	-2.7%
1938	0.142	+0.0%
1939	0.142	+0.0%
1940	0.143	+0.7%
1941	0.143	+0.0%
1942	0.143	+0.0%
1943	0.143	+0.0%
1944	0.143	+0.0%
1945	0.142	-0.7%
1946	0.142	+0.0%
1947	0.128	-9.9%
1948	0.137	+7.0%
1949	0.137	+0.0%
1950	0.139	+1.5%
1951	0.14	+0.7%
1952	0.14	+0.0%
1953	0.14	+0.0%
1954	0.14	+0.0%
1955	0.14	+0.0%
1956	0.172	+22.9%
1957	0.172	+0.0%
1958	0.172	+0.0%
1959	0.17	-1.2%
1960	0.172	+1.2%
1961	0.173	+0.6%
1962	0.174	+0.6%
1963	0.174	+0.0%
1964	0.175	+0.6%
1965	0.175	+0.0%
1966	0.174	-0.6%
1967	0.176	+1.1%
1968	0.175	-0.6%
1969	0.175	+0.0%
1970	0.175	+0.0%
1971	0.175	+0.0%
1972	0.161	-8.0%
1973	0.171	+6.2%
1974	0.172	+0.6%
1975	0.174	+1.2%
1976	0.174	+0.0%
1977	0.172	-1.1%
1978	0.172	+0.0%
1979	0.147	-14.5%
1980	0.182	+23.8%
1981	0.187	+2.7%
1982	0.17	-9.1%
1983	0.177	+4.1%
1984	0.198	+11.9%
1985	0.362	+82.8%
1986	0.365	+0.8%
1987	0.364	-0.3%
1988	0.382	+4.9%
1989	0.401	+5.0%
1990	0.631	+57.4%
1991	0.688	+9.0%
1992	0.688	+0.0%
1993	0.691	+0.4%
1994	0.69	-0.1%
1995	0.689	-0.1%
1996	0.676	-1.9%
1997	0.632	-6.5%
1998	0.632	+0.0%
1999	0.597	-5.5%
2000	0.586	-1.8%
2001	0.588	+0.3%
2002	0.601	+2.2%
2003	0.591	-1.7%
2004	0.591	+0.0%
2005	0.591	+0.0%
2006	0.563	-4.7%
2007	0.457	-18.8%
2008	0.445	-2.6%
2009	0.441	-0.9%
2010	0.436	-1.1%
2011	0.425	-2.5%
2012	0.371	-12.7%
2013	0.319	-14.0%
2014	0.319	+0.0%
2015	0.318	-0.3%
2016	0.305	-4.1%
2017	0.281	-7.9%
2018	0.221	-21.4%
2019	0.215	-2.7%
2020	0.215	+0.0%
2021	0.195	-9.3%
2022	0.158	-19.0%
2023	0.158	+0.0%
2024	0.151	-4.4%
2025	0.151	+0.0%

Nicaragua compared with similar countries

Nicaragua's 0.151 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.3475, 43% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Nicaragua's 0.151 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.667, 23% of the median. (25 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Varieties of democracy 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
1858	+172.2%	0.036	0.098
1985	+82.8%	0.198	0.362
1934	+58.3%	0.096	0.152
1990	+57.4%	0.401	0.631
1895	+57.3%	0.11	0.173
1840	+51.2%	0.043	0.065

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1830s	0.043	0.043	0.043	1
1840s	0.0706	0.059	0.075	10
1850s	0.0685	0.026	0.129	10
1860s	0.182	0.182	0.182	10
1870s	0.1806	0.168	0.182	10
1880s	0.1884	0.166	0.222	10
1890s	0.14	0.099	0.209	10
1900s	0.0998	0.096	0.107	10
1910s	0.1368	0.097	0.162	10
1920s	0.1422	0.099	0.169	10
1930s	0.129	0.096	0.152	10
1940s	0.1401	0.128	0.143	10
1950s	0.1525	0.139	0.172	10
1960s	0.1743	0.172	0.176	10
1970s	0.1693	0.147	0.175	10
1980s	0.2788	0.17	0.401	10
1990s	0.6614	0.597	0.691	10
2000s	0.5454	0.441	0.601	10
2010s	0.321	0.215	0.436	10
2020s	0.1713	0.151	0.215	6

Countries ranked near Nicaragua

151 Belarus 0.163 compare
152 Iran 0.159 compare
153 Tajikistan 0.158 compare
154 Hong Kong 0.151 compare
156 Turkmenistan 0.148 compare
157 Vietnam 0.146 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 varieties of democracy in Nicaragua?: Varieties of democracy in Nicaragua was 0.151 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest varieties of democracy recorded in Nicaragua?: The highest recorded value was 0.691 in 1993.
What is the lowest varieties of democracy recorded in Nicaragua?: The lowest recorded value was 0.026 in 1856.
How does Nicaragua rank for varieties of democracy?: Nicaragua ranks 154th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is varieties of democracy rising or falling in Nicaragua?: Over the last ten years it is down 52.5%. 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 Varieties of democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Varieties of democracy 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/varieties-democracy-vdem/nicaragua/

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About this data

Indicator: Varieties of democracy
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 29,649 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which political leaders are elected under comprehensive suffrage in free and fair elections, and freedoms of association and expression are guaranteed.