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Centralization of Political Power Index in India

India: Centralization of Political Power Index was 0.349 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
0.349
Change on year
up 17.9%
World rank
86th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.527
in 1789
All-time low
0.116
in 2010
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Centralization of Political Power Index in India, 1789–2025

0.10.20.30.40.5178919072025

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

Analysis

In 2025, centralization of political power index in India stood at 0.349.

The figure is up 17.9% on the previous year and up 114.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, centralization of political power index in India peaked at 0.527 in 1789 and was at its lowest, 0.116, in 2010.

That places India 86th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Centralization of Political Power Index in India, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.527 —
1790 0.527 +0.0%
1791 0.527 +0.0%
1792 0.527 +0.0%
1793 0.527 +0.0%
1794 0.527 +0.0%
1795 0.527 +0.0%
1796 0.527 +0.0%
1797 0.527 +0.0%
1798 0.527 +0.0%
1799 0.527 +0.0%
1800 0.527 +0.0%
1801 0.527 +0.0%
1802 0.527 +0.0%
1803 0.527 +0.0%
1804 0.527 +0.0%
1805 0.527 +0.0%
1806 0.527 +0.0%
1807 0.527 +0.0%
1808 0.527 +0.0%
1809 0.527 +0.0%
1810 0.527 +0.0%
1811 0.527 +0.0%
1812 0.527 +0.0%
1813 0.527 +0.0%
1814 0.527 +0.0%
1815 0.527 +0.0%
1816 0.527 +0.0%
1817 0.527 +0.0%
1818 0.527 +0.0%
1819 0.527 +0.0%
1820 0.527 +0.0%
1821 0.527 +0.0%
1822 0.527 +0.0%
1823 0.527 +0.0%
1824 0.527 +0.0%
1825 0.527 +0.0%
1826 0.527 +0.0%
1827 0.527 +0.0%
1828 0.527 +0.0%
1829 0.527 +0.0%
1830 0.527 +0.0%
1831 0.527 +0.0%
1832 0.527 +0.0%
1833 0.481 -8.7%
1834 0.481 +0.0%
1835 0.481 +0.0%
1836 0.481 +0.0%
1837 0.481 +0.0%
1838 0.481 +0.0%
1839 0.481 +0.0%
1840 0.481 +0.0%
1841 0.481 +0.0%
1842 0.481 +0.0%
1843 0.481 +0.0%
1844 0.481 +0.0%
1845 0.481 +0.0%
1846 0.481 +0.0%
1847 0.481 +0.0%
1848 0.481 +0.0%
1849 0.481 +0.0%
1850 0.481 +0.0%
1851 0.481 +0.0%
1852 0.481 +0.0%
1853 0.481 +0.0%
1854 0.481 +0.0%
1855 0.481 +0.0%
1856 0.481 +0.0%
1857 0.481 +0.0%
1858 0.481 +0.0%
1859 0.481 +0.0%
1860 0.481 +0.0%
1861 0.481 +0.0%
1862 0.481 +0.0%
1863 0.481 +0.0%
1864 0.481 +0.0%
1865 0.481 +0.0%
1866 0.481 +0.0%
1867 0.481 +0.0%
1868 0.481 +0.0%
1869 0.481 +0.0%
1870 0.481 +0.0%
1871 0.481 +0.0%
1872 0.481 +0.0%
1873 0.481 +0.0%
1874 0.481 +0.0%
1875 0.481 +0.0%
1876 0.481 +0.0%
1877 0.481 +0.0%
1878 0.481 +0.0%
1879 0.481 +0.0%
1880 0.481 +0.0%
1881 0.481 +0.0%
1882 0.481 +0.0%
1883 0.481 +0.0%
1884 0.481 +0.0%
1885 0.481 +0.0%
1886 0.481 +0.0%
1887 0.481 +0.0%
1888 0.481 +0.0%
1889 0.481 +0.0%
1890 0.481 +0.0%
1891 0.481 +0.0%
1892 0.481 +0.0%
1893 0.481 +0.0%
1894 0.481 +0.0%
1895 0.481 +0.0%
1896 0.481 +0.0%
1897 0.481 +0.0%
1898 0.481 +0.0%
1899 0.481 +0.0%
1900 0.465 -3.3%
1901 0.465 +0.0%
1902 0.465 +0.0%
1903 0.465 +0.0%
1904 0.465 +0.0%
1905 0.465 +0.0%
1906 0.465 +0.0%
1907 0.465 +0.0%
1908 0.465 +0.0%
1909 0.465 +0.0%
1910 0.446 -4.1%
1911 0.446 +0.0%
1912 0.446 +0.0%
1913 0.446 +0.0%
1914 0.446 +0.0%
1915 0.446 +0.0%
1916 0.446 +0.0%
1917 0.446 +0.0%
1918 0.446 +0.0%
1919 0.446 +0.0%
1920 0.446 +0.0%
1921 0.446 +0.0%
1922 0.446 +0.0%
1923 0.446 +0.0%
1924 0.446 +0.0%
1925 0.446 +0.0%
1926 0.446 +0.0%
1927 0.446 +0.0%
1928 0.446 +0.0%
1929 0.446 +0.0%
1930 0.446 +0.0%
1931 0.446 +0.0%
1932 0.446 +0.0%
1933 0.446 +0.0%
1934 0.446 +0.0%
1935 0.24 -46.2%
1936 0.24 +0.0%
1937 0.24 +0.0%
1938 0.24 +0.0%
1939 0.24 +0.0%
1940 0.24 +0.0%
1941 0.24 +0.0%
1942 0.24 +0.0%
1943 0.24 +0.0%
1944 0.24 +0.0%
1945 0.24 +0.0%
1946 0.24 +0.0%
1947 0.351 +46.2%
1948 0.324 -7.7%
1949 0.324 +0.0%
1950 0.245 -24.4%
1951 0.147 -40.0%
1952 0.147 +0.0%
1953 0.147 +0.0%
1954 0.147 +0.0%
1955 0.147 +0.0%
1956 0.147 +0.0%
1957 0.147 +0.0%
1958 0.147 +0.0%
1959 0.147 +0.0%
1960 0.147 +0.0%
1961 0.147 +0.0%
1962 0.147 +0.0%
1963 0.147 +0.0%
1964 0.147 +0.0%
1965 0.171 +16.3%
1966 0.171 +0.0%
1967 0.171 +0.0%
1968 0.171 +0.0%
1969 0.171 +0.0%
1970 0.207 +21.1%
1971 0.207 +0.0%
1972 0.207 +0.0%
1973 0.207 +0.0%
1974 0.207 +0.0%
1975 0.297 +43.5%
1976 0.344 +15.8%
1977 0.287 -16.6%
1978 0.144 -49.8%
1979 0.144 +0.0%
1980 0.144 +0.0%
1981 0.144 +0.0%
1982 0.144 +0.0%
1983 0.144 +0.0%
1984 0.144 +0.0%
1985 0.144 +0.0%
1986 0.144 +0.0%
1987 0.144 +0.0%
1988 0.144 +0.0%
1989 0.144 +0.0%
1990 0.125 -13.2%
1991 0.125 +0.0%
1992 0.125 +0.0%
1993 0.125 +0.0%
1994 0.125 +0.0%
1995 0.125 +0.0%
1996 0.123 -1.6%
1997 0.123 +0.0%
1998 0.123 +0.0%
1999 0.123 +0.0%
2000 0.123 +0.0%
2001 0.123 +0.0%
2002 0.123 +0.0%
2003 0.123 +0.0%
2004 0.123 +0.0%
2005 0.123 +0.0%
2006 0.123 +0.0%
2007 0.123 +0.0%
2008 0.123 +0.0%
2009 0.123 +0.0%
2010 0.116 -5.7%
2011 0.116 +0.0%
2012 0.116 +0.0%
2013 0.119 +2.6%
2014 0.13 +9.2%
2015 0.163 +25.4%
2016 0.17 +4.3%
2017 0.205 +20.6%
2018 0.215 +4.9%
2019 0.229 +6.5%
2020 0.255 +11.4%
2021 0.248 -2.7%
2022 0.262 +5.6%
2023 0.286 +9.2%
2024 0.296 +3.5%
2025 0.349 +17.9%

India compared with similar countries

  • India's 0.349 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.5475, 64% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • India's 0.349 is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.2325, 1.5× the median. (6 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.527 0.527 0.527 1
1790s 0.527 0.527 0.527 10
1800s 0.527 0.527 0.527 10
1810s 0.527 0.527 0.527 10
1820s 0.527 0.527 0.527 10
1830s 0.4948 0.481 0.527 10
1840s 0.481 0.481 0.481 10
1850s 0.481 0.481 0.481 10
1860s 0.481 0.481 0.481 10
1870s 0.481 0.481 0.481 10
1880s 0.481 0.481 0.481 10
1890s 0.481 0.481 0.481 10
1900s 0.465 0.465 0.465 10
1910s 0.446 0.446 0.446 10
1920s 0.446 0.446 0.446 10
1930s 0.343 0.24 0.446 10
1940s 0.2679 0.24 0.351 10
1950s 0.1568 0.147 0.245 10
1960s 0.159 0.147 0.171 10
1970s 0.2251 0.144 0.344 10
1980s 0.144 0.144 0.144 10
1990s 0.1242 0.123 0.125 10
2000s 0.123 0.123 0.123 10
2010s 0.1579 0.116 0.229 10
2020s 0.2827 0.248 0.349 6

Countries ranked near India

  1. 83 Sierra Leone 0.366 compare
  2. 84 Guyana 0.364 compare
  3. 85 Philippines 0.351 compare
  4. 87 Paraguay 0.348 compare
  5. 88 Hungary 0.34 compare
  6. 89 Liberia 0.336 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is centralization of political power index in India?
Centralization of political power index in India was 0.349 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest centralization of political power index recorded in India?
The highest recorded value was 0.527 in 1789.
What is the lowest centralization of political power index recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 0.116 in 2010.
How does India rank for centralization of political power index?
India ranks 86th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is centralization of political power index rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is up 114.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this India 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 India. 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/india/

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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.