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Centralization of Political Power Index in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Centralization of Political Power Index was 0.927 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
0.927
Change on year
down 1.8%
World rank
17th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.962
in 2022
All-time low
0.668
in 1964
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Centralization of Political Power Index in Afghanistan, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.81178919072025

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

Analysis

In 2025, centralization of political power index in Afghanistan stood at 0.927.

The figure is down 1.8% on the previous year and up 26.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, centralization of political power index in Afghanistan peaked at 0.962 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.668, in 1964.

That places Afghanistan 17th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 237 years of available data.

Centralization of Political Power Index in Afghanistan, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.914 —
1790 0.914 +0.0%
1791 0.914 +0.0%
1792 0.914 +0.0%
1793 0.914 +0.0%
1794 0.914 +0.0%
1795 0.914 +0.0%
1796 0.914 +0.0%
1797 0.914 +0.0%
1798 0.914 +0.0%
1799 0.914 +0.0%
1800 0.914 +0.0%
1801 0.914 +0.0%
1802 0.914 +0.0%
1803 0.914 +0.0%
1804 0.914 +0.0%
1805 0.914 +0.0%
1806 0.914 +0.0%
1807 0.914 +0.0%
1808 0.914 +0.0%
1809 0.914 +0.0%
1810 0.914 +0.0%
1811 0.914 +0.0%
1812 0.914 +0.0%
1813 0.914 +0.0%
1814 0.914 +0.0%
1815 0.914 +0.0%
1816 0.914 +0.0%
1817 0.914 +0.0%
1818 0.914 +0.0%
1819 0.914 +0.0%
1820 0.914 +0.0%
1821 0.914 +0.0%
1822 0.914 +0.0%
1823 0.914 +0.0%
1824 0.914 +0.0%
1825 0.914 +0.0%
1826 0.914 +0.0%
1827 0.914 +0.0%
1828 0.914 +0.0%
1829 0.914 +0.0%
1830 0.914 +0.0%
1831 0.914 +0.0%
1832 0.914 +0.0%
1833 0.914 +0.0%
1834 0.914 +0.0%
1835 0.914 +0.0%
1836 0.914 +0.0%
1837 0.914 +0.0%
1838 0.914 +0.0%
1839 0.914 +0.0%
1840 0.916 +0.2%
1841 0.916 +0.0%
1842 0.916 +0.0%
1843 0.916 +0.0%
1844 0.916 +0.0%
1845 0.916 +0.0%
1846 0.916 +0.0%
1847 0.916 +0.0%
1848 0.916 +0.0%
1849 0.916 +0.0%
1850 0.916 +0.0%
1851 0.916 +0.0%
1852 0.916 +0.0%
1853 0.916 +0.0%
1854 0.916 +0.0%
1855 0.916 +0.0%
1856 0.916 +0.0%
1857 0.916 +0.0%
1858 0.916 +0.0%
1859 0.916 +0.0%
1860 0.916 +0.0%
1861 0.916 +0.0%
1862 0.916 +0.0%
1863 0.916 +0.0%
1864 0.916 +0.0%
1865 0.916 +0.0%
1866 0.916 +0.0%
1867 0.916 +0.0%
1868 0.916 +0.0%
1869 0.916 +0.0%
1870 0.916 +0.0%
1871 0.916 +0.0%
1872 0.916 +0.0%
1873 0.916 +0.0%
1874 0.916 +0.0%
1875 0.916 +0.0%
1876 0.916 +0.0%
1877 0.916 +0.0%
1878 0.916 +0.0%
1879 0.916 +0.0%
1880 0.916 +0.0%
1881 0.916 +0.0%
1882 0.916 +0.0%
1883 0.916 +0.0%
1884 0.916 +0.0%
1885 0.916 +0.0%
1886 0.916 +0.0%
1887 0.916 +0.0%
1888 0.916 +0.0%
1889 0.916 +0.0%
1890 0.916 +0.0%
1891 0.916 +0.0%
1892 0.916 +0.0%
1893 0.916 +0.0%
1894 0.916 +0.0%
1895 0.916 +0.0%
1896 0.916 +0.0%
1897 0.916 +0.0%
1898 0.916 +0.0%
1899 0.916 +0.0%
1900 0.905 -1.2%
1901 0.905 +0.0%
1902 0.871 -3.8%
1903 0.871 +0.0%
1904 0.871 +0.0%
1905 0.871 +0.0%
1906 0.871 +0.0%
1907 0.871 +0.0%
1908 0.871 +0.0%
1909 0.871 +0.0%
1910 0.871 +0.0%
1911 0.871 +0.0%
1912 0.871 +0.0%
1913 0.871 +0.0%
1914 0.871 +0.0%
1915 0.871 +0.0%
1916 0.871 +0.0%
1917 0.871 +0.0%
1918 0.871 +0.0%
1919 0.857 -1.6%
1920 0.857 +0.0%
1921 0.866 +1.1%
1922 0.867 +0.1%
1923 0.786 -9.3%
1924 0.786 +0.0%
1925 0.786 +0.0%
1926 0.786 +0.0%
1927 0.79 +0.5%
1928 0.79 +0.0%
1929 0.79 +0.0%
1930 0.79 +0.0%
1931 0.79 +0.0%
1932 0.79 +0.0%
1933 0.79 +0.0%
1934 0.79 +0.0%
1935 0.79 +0.0%
1936 0.79 +0.0%
1937 0.79 +0.0%
1938 0.79 +0.0%
1939 0.79 +0.0%
1940 0.79 +0.0%
1941 0.79 +0.0%
1942 0.79 +0.0%
1943 0.79 +0.0%
1944 0.79 +0.0%
1945 0.79 +0.0%
1946 0.79 +0.0%
1947 0.79 +0.0%
1948 0.79 +0.0%
1949 0.79 +0.0%
1950 0.778 -1.5%
1951 0.778 +0.0%
1952 0.778 +0.0%
1953 0.778 +0.0%
1954 0.778 +0.0%
1955 0.778 +0.0%
1956 0.778 +0.0%
1957 0.778 +0.0%
1958 0.778 +0.0%
1959 0.778 +0.0%
1960 0.778 +0.0%
1961 0.778 +0.0%
1962 0.778 +0.0%
1963 0.771 -0.9%
1964 0.668 -13.4%
1965 0.668 +0.0%
1966 0.668 +0.0%
1967 0.668 +0.0%
1968 0.668 +0.0%
1969 0.668 +0.0%
1970 0.668 +0.0%
1971 0.668 +0.0%
1972 0.668 +0.0%
1973 0.691 +3.4%
1974 0.838 +21.3%
1975 0.838 +0.0%
1976 0.838 +0.0%
1977 0.838 +0.0%
1978 0.824 -1.7%
1979 0.828 +0.5%
1980 0.858 +3.6%
1981 0.858 +0.0%
1982 0.852 -0.7%
1983 0.852 +0.0%
1984 0.852 +0.0%
1985 0.852 +0.0%
1986 0.852 +0.0%
1987 0.84 -1.4%
1988 0.833 -0.8%
1989 0.833 +0.0%
1990 0.821 -1.4%
1991 0.835 +1.7%
1992 0.828 -0.8%
1993 0.888 +7.2%
1994 0.888 +0.0%
1995 0.901 +1.5%
1996 0.903 +0.2%
1997 0.88 -2.5%
1998 0.88 +0.0%
1999 0.88 +0.0%
2000 0.88 +0.0%
2001 0.865 -1.7%
2002 0.815 -5.8%
2003 0.813 -0.2%
2004 0.794 -2.3%
2005 0.826 +4.0%
2006 0.729 -11.7%
2007 0.73 +0.1%
2008 0.727 -0.4%
2009 0.73 +0.4%
2010 0.729 -0.1%
2011 0.729 +0.0%
2012 0.722 -1.0%
2013 0.723 +0.1%
2014 0.727 +0.6%
2015 0.734 +1.0%
2016 0.742 +1.1%
2017 0.749 +0.9%
2018 0.768 +2.5%
2019 0.779 +1.4%
2020 0.78 +0.1%
2021 0.925 +18.6%
2022 0.962 +4.0%
2023 0.942 -2.1%
2024 0.944 +0.2%
2025 0.927 -1.8%

Afghanistan compared with similar countries

  • Afghanistan's 0.927 is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.791, 1.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Afghanistan's 0.927 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.597, 1.6× the median. (23 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.914 0.914 0.914 1
1790s 0.914 0.914 0.914 10
1800s 0.914 0.914 0.914 10
1810s 0.914 0.914 0.914 10
1820s 0.914 0.914 0.914 10
1830s 0.914 0.914 0.914 10
1840s 0.916 0.916 0.916 10
1850s 0.916 0.916 0.916 10
1860s 0.916 0.916 0.916 10
1870s 0.916 0.916 0.916 10
1880s 0.916 0.916 0.916 10
1890s 0.916 0.916 0.916 10
1900s 0.8778 0.871 0.905 10
1910s 0.8696 0.857 0.871 10
1920s 0.8104 0.786 0.867 10
1930s 0.79 0.79 0.79 10
1940s 0.79 0.79 0.79 10
1950s 0.778 0.778 0.778 10
1960s 0.7113 0.668 0.778 10
1970s 0.7699 0.668 0.838 10
1980s 0.8482 0.833 0.858 10
1990s 0.8704 0.821 0.903 10
2000s 0.7909 0.727 0.88 10
2010s 0.7402 0.722 0.779 10
2020s 0.9133 0.78 0.962 6

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 14 Burundi 0.936 compare
  2. 15 China 0.931 compare
  3. 16 Cambodia 0.93 compare
  4. 18 Syria 0.914 compare
  5. 19 Vatican 0.906 compare
  6. 20 Uzbekistan 0.901 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is centralization of political power index in Afghanistan?
Centralization of political power index in Afghanistan was 0.927 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest centralization of political power index recorded in Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was 0.962 in 2022.
What is the lowest centralization of political power index recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was 0.668 in 1964.
How does Afghanistan rank for centralization of political power index?
Afghanistan ranks 17th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is centralization of political power index rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is up 26.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Centralization of Political Power Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Centralization of Political Power Index in Afghanistan. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-centralization-index/afghanistan/

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About this data

Indicator
Centralization of Political Power Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 29,802 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which the executive is unconstrained by the legislature, judiciary, electoral management body, and other oversight.