Statizoid

Clientelism index in Nicaragua

Nicaragua: Clientelism index was 0.859 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
0.859
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
13th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.985
in 1973
All-time low
0.265
in 1981
Years of data
188
1838–2025

Clientelism index in Nicaragua, 1838–2025

0.20.40.60.81183819312025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Nicaragua recorded 0.859 for clientelism index in 2025.

That represents a change of up 28.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, clientelism index in Nicaragua peaked at 0.985 in 1973 and was at its lowest, 0.265, in 1981.

That places Nicaragua 13th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 188 years of available data.

Clientelism index in Nicaragua, year by year

Year Value Change
1838 0.943 —
1839 0.943 +0.0%
1840 0.943 +0.0%
1841 0.943 +0.0%
1842 0.943 +0.0%
1843 0.943 +0.0%
1844 0.943 +0.0%
1845 0.943 +0.0%
1846 0.943 +0.0%
1847 0.943 +0.0%
1848 0.943 +0.0%
1849 0.943 +0.0%
1850 0.943 +0.0%
1851 0.943 +0.0%
1852 0.943 +0.0%
1853 0.943 +0.0%
1854 0.943 +0.0%
1855 0.943 +0.0%
1856 0.943 +0.0%
1857 0.945 +0.2%
1858 0.955 +1.1%
1859 0.923 -3.4%
1860 0.923 +0.0%
1861 0.923 +0.0%
1862 0.923 +0.0%
1863 0.923 +0.0%
1864 0.923 +0.0%
1865 0.923 +0.0%
1866 0.923 +0.0%
1867 0.923 +0.0%
1868 0.923 +0.0%
1869 0.923 +0.0%
1870 0.923 +0.0%
1871 0.923 +0.0%
1872 0.923 +0.0%
1873 0.923 +0.0%
1874 0.923 +0.0%
1875 0.923 +0.0%
1876 0.923 +0.0%
1877 0.923 +0.0%
1878 0.923 +0.0%
1879 0.923 +0.0%
1880 0.923 +0.0%
1881 0.923 +0.0%
1882 0.923 +0.0%
1883 0.923 +0.0%
1884 0.923 +0.0%
1885 0.923 +0.0%
1886 0.923 +0.0%
1887 0.923 +0.0%
1888 0.923 +0.0%
1889 0.923 +0.0%
1890 0.923 +0.0%
1891 0.923 +0.0%
1892 0.923 +0.0%
1893 0.921 -0.2%
1894 0.918 -0.3%
1895 0.918 +0.0%
1896 0.921 +0.3%
1897 0.921 +0.0%
1898 0.921 +0.0%
1899 0.921 +0.0%
1900 0.921 +0.0%
1901 0.923 +0.2%
1902 0.934 +1.2%
1903 0.934 +0.0%
1904 0.934 +0.0%
1905 0.933 -0.1%
1906 0.928 -0.5%
1907 0.928 +0.0%
1908 0.928 +0.0%
1909 0.928 +0.0%
1910 0.899 -3.1%
1911 0.924 +2.8%
1912 0.936 +1.3%
1913 0.93 -0.6%
1914 0.931 +0.1%
1915 0.938 +0.8%
1916 0.937 -0.1%
1917 0.934 -0.3%
1918 0.934 +0.0%
1919 0.934 +0.0%
1920 0.936 +0.2%
1921 0.942 +0.6%
1922 0.942 +0.0%
1923 0.942 +0.0%
1924 0.938 -0.4%
1925 0.928 -1.1%
1926 0.928 +0.0%
1927 0.938 +1.1%
1928 0.903 -3.7%
1929 0.91 +0.8%
1930 0.908 -0.2%
1931 0.901 -0.8%
1932 0.902 +0.1%
1933 0.922 +2.2%
1934 0.928 +0.7%
1935 0.947 +2.0%
1936 0.962 +1.6%
1937 0.977 +1.6%
1938 0.977 +0.0%
1939 0.977 +0.0%
1940 0.977 +0.0%
1941 0.977 +0.0%
1942 0.977 +0.0%
1943 0.977 +0.0%
1944 0.977 +0.0%
1945 0.977 +0.0%
1946 0.977 +0.0%
1947 0.967 -1.0%
1948 0.966 -0.1%
1949 0.966 +0.0%
1950 0.975 +0.9%
1951 0.978 +0.3%
1952 0.978 +0.0%
1953 0.978 +0.0%
1954 0.978 +0.0%
1955 0.978 +0.0%
1956 0.978 +0.0%
1957 0.979 +0.1%
1958 0.979 +0.0%
1959 0.979 +0.0%
1960 0.979 +0.0%
1961 0.979 +0.0%
1962 0.979 +0.0%
1963 0.98 +0.1%
1964 0.98 +0.0%
1965 0.98 +0.0%
1966 0.98 +0.0%
1967 0.979 -0.1%
1968 0.983 +0.4%
1969 0.983 +0.0%
1970 0.983 +0.0%
1971 0.983 +0.0%
1972 0.984 +0.1%
1973 0.985 +0.1%
1974 0.984 -0.1%
1975 0.983 -0.1%
1976 0.983 +0.0%
1977 0.983 +0.0%
1978 0.983 +0.0%
1979 0.93 -5.4%
1980 0.287 -69.1%
1981 0.265 -7.7%
1982 0.265 +0.0%
1983 0.265 +0.0%
1984 0.265 +0.0%
1985 0.321 +21.1%
1986 0.323 +0.6%
1987 0.323 +0.0%
1988 0.323 +0.0%
1989 0.323 +0.0%
1990 0.397 +22.9%
1991 0.48 +20.9%
1992 0.48 +0.0%
1993 0.48 +0.0%
1994 0.48 +0.0%
1995 0.48 +0.0%
1996 0.489 +1.9%
1997 0.665 +36.0%
1998 0.665 +0.0%
1999 0.665 +0.0%
2000 0.665 +0.0%
2001 0.664 -0.2%
2002 0.6 -9.6%
2003 0.6 +0.0%
2004 0.6 +0.0%
2005 0.6 +0.0%
2006 0.563 -6.2%
2007 0.57 +1.2%
2008 0.602 +5.6%
2009 0.592 -1.7%
2010 0.592 +0.0%
2011 0.589 -0.5%
2012 0.607 +3.1%
2013 0.671 +10.5%
2014 0.671 +0.0%
2015 0.671 +0.0%
2016 0.672 +0.1%
2017 0.653 -2.8%
2018 0.716 +9.6%
2019 0.716 +0.0%
2020 0.716 +0.0%
2021 0.777 +8.5%
2022 0.815 +4.9%
2023 0.806 -1.1%
2024 0.859 +6.6%
2025 0.859 +0.0%

Nicaragua compared with similar countries

  • Nicaragua's 0.859 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.6325, 1.4× the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Nicaragua's 0.859 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.514, 1.7× the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 0.943 0.943 0.943 2
1840s 0.943 0.943 0.943 10
1850s 0.9424 0.923 0.955 10
1860s 0.923 0.923 0.923 10
1870s 0.923 0.923 0.923 10
1880s 0.923 0.923 0.923 10
1890s 0.921 0.918 0.923 10
1900s 0.9291 0.921 0.934 10
1910s 0.9297 0.899 0.938 10
1920s 0.9307 0.903 0.942 10
1930s 0.9401 0.901 0.977 10
1940s 0.9738 0.966 0.977 10
1950s 0.978 0.975 0.979 10
1960s 0.9802 0.979 0.983 10
1970s 0.9781 0.93 0.985 10
1980s 0.296 0.265 0.323 10
1990s 0.5281 0.397 0.665 10
2000s 0.6056 0.563 0.665 10
2010s 0.6558 0.589 0.716 10
2020s 0.8053 0.716 0.859 6

Countries ranked near Nicaragua

  1. 10 Papua New Guinea 0.869 compare
  2. 11 Madagascar 0.867 compare
  3. 12 Burundi 0.862 compare
  4. 14 Congo 0.854 compare
  5. 15 Turkmenistan 0.846 compare
  6. 16 Cameroon 0.842 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Nicaragua

All data for Nicaragua →

Frequently asked questions

What is clientelism index in Nicaragua?
Clientelism index in Nicaragua was 0.859 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest clientelism index recorded in Nicaragua?
The highest recorded value was 0.985 in 1973.
What is the lowest clientelism index recorded in Nicaragua?
The lowest recorded value was 0.265 in 1981.
How does Nicaragua rank for clientelism index?
Nicaragua ranks 13th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is clientelism index rising or falling in Nicaragua?
Over the last ten years it is up 28.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Nicaragua data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Clientelism index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Relationships involving this indicator

Comparisons with other indicators across countries. Each was re-measured with population and national income held constant, so a relationship that only reflected country size is not listed here.

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Clientelism index in Nicaragua. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 14 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/clientelism-index/nicaragua/

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About this data

Indicator
Clientelism index
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 24,366 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed