Varieties of democracy in Nigeria
Nigeria: Varieties of democracy was 0.505 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
0.505
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
85th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.556
in 2017
All-time low
0.109
in 1920
Years of data
112
1914–2025
Varieties of democracy in Nigeria, 1914–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, varieties of democracy in Nigeria stood at 0.505.
That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and down 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, varieties of democracy in Nigeria peaked at 0.556 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.109, in 1920.
That places Nigeria 85th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Varieties of democracy in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | 0.114 | — |
| 1915 | 0.114 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.114 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.114 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.114 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.113 | -0.9% |
| 1920 | 0.109 | -3.5% |
| 1921 | 0.109 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.133 | +22.0% |
| 1923 | 0.14 | +5.3% |
| 1924 | 0.14 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.14 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.14 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.14 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.14 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.14 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.14 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.14 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.14 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.14 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.141 | +0.7% |
| 1935 | 0.141 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.141 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.141 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.141 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.141 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.141 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.141 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.141 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.141 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.141 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.138 | -2.1% |
| 1946 | 0.142 | +2.9% |
| 1947 | 0.144 | +1.4% |
| 1948 | 0.144 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.144 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.144 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.144 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.149 | +3.5% |
| 1953 | 0.18 | +20.8% |
| 1954 | 0.184 | +2.2% |
| 1955 | 0.18 | -2.2% |
| 1956 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.19 | +5.6% |
| 1958 | 0.211 | +11.1% |
| 1959 | 0.181 | -14.2% |
| 1960 | 0.25 | +38.1% |
| 1961 | 0.249 | -0.4% |
| 1962 | 0.249 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.249 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.249 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.233 | -6.4% |
| 1966 | 0.213 | -8.6% |
| 1967 | 0.181 | -15.0% |
| 1968 | 0.181 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.181 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.181 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.181 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.181 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.179 | -1.1% |
| 1974 | 0.179 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.18 | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 0.181 | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 0.191 | +5.5% |
| 1978 | 0.2 | +4.7% |
| 1979 | 0.262 | +31.0% |
| 1980 | 0.376 | +43.5% |
| 1981 | 0.376 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.376 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.311 | -17.3% |
| 1984 | 0.187 | -39.9% |
| 1985 | 0.189 | +1.1% |
| 1986 | 0.193 | +2.1% |
| 1987 | 0.193 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.193 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.199 | +3.1% |
| 1990 | 0.203 | +2.0% |
| 1991 | 0.204 | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 0.223 | +9.3% |
| 1993 | 0.229 | +2.7% |
| 1994 | 0.197 | -14.0% |
| 1995 | 0.189 | -4.1% |
| 1996 | 0.189 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.2 | +5.8% |
| 1998 | 0.222 | +11.0% |
| 1999 | 0.376 | +69.4% |
| 2000 | 0.471 | +25.3% |
| 2001 | 0.471 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.471 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.428 | -9.1% |
| 2004 | 0.412 | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 0.412 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.417 | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 0.408 | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 0.414 | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 0.413 | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 0.43 | +4.1% |
| 2011 | 0.481 | +11.9% |
| 2012 | 0.506 | +5.2% |
| 2013 | 0.52 | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 0.525 | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 0.554 | +5.5% |
| 2016 | 0.555 | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 0.556 | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 0.555 | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 0.52 | -6.3% |
| 2020 | 0.512 | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 0.488 | -4.7% |
| 2022 | 0.49 | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 0.484 | -1.2% |
| 2024 | 0.499 | +3.1% |
| 2025 | 0.505 | +1.2% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 0.505 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.3475, 1.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 0.505 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.317, 1.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Varieties of democracy in Nigeria 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | +69.4% | 0.222 | 0.376 |
| 1980 | +43.5% | 0.262 | 0.376 |
| 1984 | -39.9% | 0.311 | 0.187 |
| 1960 | +38.1% | 0.181 | 0.25 |
| 1979 | +31.0% | 0.2 | 0.262 |
| 2000 | +25.3% | 0.376 | 0.471 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0.1138 | 0.113 | 0.114 | 6 |
| 1920s | 0.1331 | 0.109 | 0.14 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.1406 | 0.14 | 0.141 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.1417 | 0.138 | 0.144 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.1743 | 0.144 | 0.211 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.2235 | 0.181 | 0.25 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1915 | 0.179 | 0.262 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2593 | 0.187 | 0.376 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2232 | 0.189 | 0.376 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4317 | 0.408 | 0.471 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5202 | 0.43 | 0.556 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4963 | 0.484 | 0.512 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
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)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is varieties of democracy in Nigeria?
- Varieties of democracy in Nigeria was 0.505 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest varieties of democracy recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 0.556 in 2017.
- What is the lowest varieties of democracy recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.109 in 1920.
- How does Nigeria rank for varieties of democracy?
- Nigeria ranks 85th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is varieties of democracy rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Nigeria 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 112 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.