Statizoid

Clientelism Index in Nigeria

Nigeria: Clientelism Index was 0.702 in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)
0.702
Change on year
down 13.2%
World rank
45th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.918
in 1984
All-time low
0.702
in 2025
Years of data
112
1914–2025

Clientelism Index in Nigeria, 1914–2025

00.20.40.60.81191419692025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for clientelism index in Nigeria is 0.702, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 112 years on record.

That represents a change of down 13.2% on the previous year and down 7.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, clientelism index in Nigeria peaked at 0.918 in 1984 and was at its lowest, 0.702, in 2025.

Nigeria ranks 45th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Clientelism Index in Nigeria, year by year

Year Value Change
1914 0.859 —
1915 0.859 +0.0%
1916 0.859 +0.0%
1917 0.859 +0.0%
1918 0.859 +0.0%
1919 0.859 +0.0%
1920 0.859 +0.0%
1921 0.859 +0.0%
1922 0.801 -6.8%
1923 0.801 +0.0%
1924 0.801 +0.0%
1925 0.801 +0.0%
1926 0.801 +0.0%
1927 0.801 +0.0%
1928 0.801 +0.0%
1929 0.801 +0.0%
1930 0.801 +0.0%
1931 0.801 +0.0%
1932 0.801 +0.0%
1933 0.801 +0.0%
1934 0.801 +0.0%
1935 0.801 +0.0%
1936 0.801 +0.0%
1937 0.801 +0.0%
1938 0.801 +0.0%
1939 0.801 +0.0%
1940 0.801 +0.0%
1941 0.801 +0.0%
1942 0.801 +0.0%
1943 0.801 +0.0%
1944 0.801 +0.0%
1945 0.801 +0.0%
1946 0.839 +4.7%
1947 0.839 +0.0%
1948 0.839 +0.0%
1949 0.839 +0.0%
1950 0.839 +0.0%
1951 0.839 +0.0%
1952 0.839 +0.0%
1953 0.839 +0.0%
1954 0.839 +0.0%
1955 0.839 +0.0%
1956 0.839 +0.0%
1957 0.839 +0.0%
1958 0.839 +0.0%
1959 0.838 -0.1%
1960 0.824 -1.7%
1961 0.824 +0.0%
1962 0.824 +0.0%
1963 0.824 +0.0%
1964 0.824 +0.0%
1965 0.875 +6.2%
1966 0.875 +0.0%
1967 0.863 -1.4%
1968 0.863 +0.0%
1969 0.863 +0.0%
1970 0.863 +0.0%
1971 0.863 +0.0%
1972 0.849 -1.6%
1973 0.849 +0.0%
1974 0.849 +0.0%
1975 0.849 +0.0%
1976 0.849 +0.0%
1977 0.849 +0.0%
1978 0.849 +0.0%
1979 0.864 +1.8%
1980 0.88 +1.9%
1981 0.88 +0.0%
1982 0.88 +0.0%
1983 0.896 +1.8%
1984 0.918 +2.5%
1985 0.918 +0.0%
1986 0.918 +0.0%
1987 0.918 +0.0%
1988 0.918 +0.0%
1989 0.835 -9.0%
1990 0.851 +1.9%
1991 0.851 +0.0%
1992 0.86 +1.1%
1993 0.865 +0.6%
1994 0.862 -0.3%
1995 0.862 +0.0%
1996 0.862 +0.0%
1997 0.862 +0.0%
1998 0.857 -0.6%
1999 0.814 -5.0%
2000 0.815 +0.1%
2001 0.815 +0.0%
2002 0.815 +0.0%
2003 0.833 +2.2%
2004 0.84 +0.8%
2005 0.84 +0.0%
2006 0.84 +0.0%
2007 0.845 +0.6%
2008 0.841 -0.5%
2009 0.848 +0.8%
2010 0.852 +0.5%
2011 0.817 -4.1%
2012 0.804 -1.6%
2013 0.748 -7.0%
2014 0.748 +0.0%
2015 0.76 +1.6%
2016 0.76 +0.0%
2017 0.771 +1.4%
2018 0.771 +0.0%
2019 0.79 +2.5%
2020 0.818 +3.5%
2021 0.812 -0.7%
2022 0.812 +0.0%
2023 0.786 -3.2%
2024 0.809 +2.9%
2025 0.702 -13.2%

Nigeria compared with similar countries

  • Nigeria's 0.702 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.6325, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Nigeria's 0.702 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.6135, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1910s 0.859 0.859 0.859 6
1920s 0.8126 0.801 0.859 10
1930s 0.801 0.801 0.801 10
1940s 0.8162 0.801 0.839 10
1950s 0.8389 0.838 0.839 10
1960s 0.8459 0.824 0.875 10
1970s 0.8533 0.849 0.864 10
1980s 0.8961 0.835 0.918 10
1990s 0.8546 0.814 0.865 10
2000s 0.8332 0.815 0.848 10
2010s 0.7821 0.748 0.852 10
2020s 0.7898 0.702 0.818 6

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 42 Comoros 0.705 compare
  2. 42 Eswatini 0.705 compare
  3. 44 Zimbabwe 0.703 compare
  4. 46 Djibouti 0.697 compare
  5. 47 Mozambique 0.692 compare
  6. 48 Solomon Islands 0.674 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is clientelism index in Nigeria?
Clientelism index in Nigeria was 0.702 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest clientelism index recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 0.918 in 1984.
What is the lowest clientelism index recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 0.702 in 2025.
How does Nigeria rank for clientelism index?
Nigeria ranks 45th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is clientelism index rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Clientelism Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 112 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.

All correlations →

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Clientelism Index in Nigeria. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/clientelism-index/nigeria/

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About this data

Indicator
Clientelism Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 24,366 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Composite index measuring the extent to which politics hinge on clientelistic exchanges of targeted goods, jobs, or cash for electoral support; higher values denote more pervasive clientelism.