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Centralization of Political Power Index in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia: Centralization of Political Power Index was 0.793 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
0.793
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
37th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.925
in 1819
All-time low
0.768
in 2010
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Centralization of Political Power Index in Saudi Arabia, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.81178919072025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for centralization of political power index in Saudi Arabia is 0.793, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, centralization of political power index in Saudi Arabia peaked at 0.925 in 1819 and was at its lowest, 0.768, in 2010.

Saudi Arabia ranks 37th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Centralization of Political Power Index in Saudi Arabia, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.873 —
1790 0.873 +0.0%
1791 0.873 +0.0%
1792 0.873 +0.0%
1793 0.873 +0.0%
1794 0.873 +0.0%
1795 0.873 +0.0%
1796 0.873 +0.0%
1797 0.873 +0.0%
1798 0.873 +0.0%
1799 0.873 +0.0%
1800 0.873 +0.0%
1801 0.873 +0.0%
1802 0.873 +0.0%
1803 0.873 +0.0%
1804 0.873 +0.0%
1805 0.873 +0.0%
1806 0.873 +0.0%
1807 0.873 +0.0%
1808 0.873 +0.0%
1809 0.873 +0.0%
1810 0.873 +0.0%
1811 0.873 +0.0%
1812 0.873 +0.0%
1813 0.873 +0.0%
1814 0.873 +0.0%
1815 0.873 +0.0%
1816 0.873 +0.0%
1817 0.873 +0.0%
1818 0.873 +0.0%
1819 0.925 +6.0%
1820 0.925 +0.0%
1821 0.925 +0.0%
1822 0.873 -5.6%
1823 0.873 +0.0%
1824 0.873 +0.0%
1825 0.873 +0.0%
1826 0.873 +0.0%
1827 0.873 +0.0%
1828 0.873 +0.0%
1829 0.873 +0.0%
1830 0.873 +0.0%
1831 0.873 +0.0%
1832 0.873 +0.0%
1833 0.873 +0.0%
1834 0.873 +0.0%
1835 0.873 +0.0%
1836 0.873 +0.0%
1837 0.873 +0.0%
1838 0.873 +0.0%
1839 0.873 +0.0%
1840 0.873 +0.0%
1841 0.873 +0.0%
1842 0.873 +0.0%
1843 0.873 +0.0%
1844 0.873 +0.0%
1845 0.873 +0.0%
1846 0.873 +0.0%
1847 0.873 +0.0%
1848 0.873 +0.0%
1849 0.873 +0.0%
1850 0.873 +0.0%
1851 0.873 +0.0%
1852 0.873 +0.0%
1853 0.873 +0.0%
1854 0.873 +0.0%
1855 0.873 +0.0%
1856 0.873 +0.0%
1857 0.873 +0.0%
1858 0.873 +0.0%
1859 0.873 +0.0%
1860 0.873 +0.0%
1861 0.873 +0.0%
1862 0.873 +0.0%
1863 0.873 +0.0%
1864 0.873 +0.0%
1865 0.873 +0.0%
1866 0.873 +0.0%
1867 0.873 +0.0%
1868 0.873 +0.0%
1869 0.873 +0.0%
1870 0.873 +0.0%
1871 0.873 +0.0%
1872 0.873 +0.0%
1873 0.873 +0.0%
1874 0.873 +0.0%
1875 0.873 +0.0%
1876 0.873 +0.0%
1877 0.873 +0.0%
1878 0.873 +0.0%
1879 0.873 +0.0%
1880 0.873 +0.0%
1881 0.873 +0.0%
1882 0.873 +0.0%
1883 0.873 +0.0%
1884 0.873 +0.0%
1885 0.873 +0.0%
1886 0.873 +0.0%
1887 0.873 +0.0%
1888 0.873 +0.0%
1889 0.873 +0.0%
1890 0.873 +0.0%
1891 0.873 +0.0%
1892 0.873 +0.0%
1893 0.873 +0.0%
1894 0.873 +0.0%
1895 0.873 +0.0%
1896 0.873 +0.0%
1897 0.873 +0.0%
1898 0.873 +0.0%
1899 0.873 +0.0%
1900 0.873 +0.0%
1901 0.873 +0.0%
1902 0.873 +0.0%
1903 0.873 +0.0%
1904 0.873 +0.0%
1905 0.873 +0.0%
1906 0.873 +0.0%
1907 0.873 +0.0%
1908 0.873 +0.0%
1909 0.873 +0.0%
1910 0.873 +0.0%
1911 0.873 +0.0%
1912 0.873 +0.0%
1913 0.873 +0.0%
1914 0.873 +0.0%
1915 0.873 +0.0%
1916 0.873 +0.0%
1917 0.873 +0.0%
1918 0.873 +0.0%
1919 0.873 +0.0%
1920 0.873 +0.0%
1921 0.873 +0.0%
1922 0.873 +0.0%
1923 0.873 +0.0%
1924 0.873 +0.0%
1925 0.873 +0.0%
1926 0.895 +2.5%
1927 0.895 +0.0%
1928 0.895 +0.0%
1929 0.895 +0.0%
1930 0.895 +0.0%
1931 0.895 +0.0%
1932 0.835 -6.7%
1933 0.835 +0.0%
1934 0.835 +0.0%
1935 0.835 +0.0%
1936 0.835 +0.0%
1937 0.835 +0.0%
1938 0.835 +0.0%
1939 0.835 +0.0%
1940 0.835 +0.0%
1941 0.835 +0.0%
1942 0.835 +0.0%
1943 0.835 +0.0%
1944 0.835 +0.0%
1945 0.835 +0.0%
1946 0.835 +0.0%
1947 0.835 +0.0%
1948 0.835 +0.0%
1949 0.835 +0.0%
1950 0.839 +0.5%
1951 0.839 +0.0%
1952 0.839 +0.0%
1953 0.839 +0.0%
1954 0.805 -4.1%
1955 0.805 +0.0%
1956 0.805 +0.0%
1957 0.805 +0.0%
1958 0.805 +0.0%
1959 0.805 +0.0%
1960 0.805 +0.0%
1961 0.805 +0.0%
1962 0.787 -2.2%
1963 0.787 +0.0%
1964 0.787 +0.0%
1965 0.787 +0.0%
1966 0.787 +0.0%
1967 0.787 +0.0%
1968 0.787 +0.0%
1969 0.787 +0.0%
1970 0.787 +0.0%
1971 0.787 +0.0%
1972 0.787 +0.0%
1973 0.816 +3.7%
1974 0.816 +0.0%
1975 0.816 +0.0%
1976 0.816 +0.0%
1977 0.816 +0.0%
1978 0.816 +0.0%
1979 0.816 +0.0%
1980 0.816 +0.0%
1981 0.816 +0.0%
1982 0.816 +0.0%
1983 0.816 +0.0%
1984 0.816 +0.0%
1985 0.816 +0.0%
1986 0.816 +0.0%
1987 0.816 +0.0%
1988 0.816 +0.0%
1989 0.816 +0.0%
1990 0.816 +0.0%
1991 0.816 +0.0%
1992 0.821 +0.6%
1993 0.821 +0.0%
1994 0.821 +0.0%
1995 0.821 +0.0%
1996 0.821 +0.0%
1997 0.821 +0.0%
1998 0.821 +0.0%
1999 0.821 +0.0%
2000 0.821 +0.0%
2001 0.82 -0.1%
2002 0.82 +0.0%
2003 0.82 +0.0%
2004 0.82 +0.0%
2005 0.791 -3.5%
2006 0.791 +0.0%
2007 0.792 +0.1%
2008 0.769 -2.9%
2009 0.769 +0.0%
2010 0.768 -0.1%
2011 0.768 +0.0%
2012 0.768 +0.0%
2013 0.768 +0.0%
2014 0.768 +0.0%
2015 0.768 +0.0%
2016 0.768 +0.0%
2017 0.773 +0.7%
2018 0.773 +0.0%
2019 0.775 +0.3%
2020 0.784 +1.2%
2021 0.793 +1.1%
2022 0.793 +0.0%
2023 0.793 +0.0%
2024 0.793 +0.0%
2025 0.793 +0.0%

Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries

  • Saudi Arabia's 0.793 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.09, 8.8× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Saudi Arabia's 0.793 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.597, 1.3× the median. (23 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.873 0.873 0.873 1
1790s 0.873 0.873 0.873 10
1800s 0.873 0.873 0.873 10
1810s 0.8782 0.873 0.925 10
1820s 0.8834 0.873 0.925 10
1830s 0.873 0.873 0.873 10
1840s 0.873 0.873 0.873 10
1850s 0.873 0.873 0.873 10
1860s 0.873 0.873 0.873 10
1870s 0.873 0.873 0.873 10
1880s 0.873 0.873 0.873 10
1890s 0.873 0.873 0.873 10
1900s 0.873 0.873 0.873 10
1910s 0.873 0.873 0.873 10
1920s 0.8818 0.873 0.895 10
1930s 0.847 0.835 0.895 10
1940s 0.835 0.835 0.835 10
1950s 0.8186 0.805 0.839 10
1960s 0.7906 0.787 0.805 10
1970s 0.8073 0.787 0.816 10
1980s 0.816 0.816 0.816 10
1990s 0.82 0.816 0.821 10
2000s 0.8013 0.769 0.821 10
2010s 0.7697 0.768 0.775 10
2020s 0.7915 0.784 0.793 6

Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia

  1. 34 Democratic Republic of Congo 0.801 compare
  2. 35 Central African Republic 0.8 compare
  3. 36 Turkey 0.798 compare
  4. 38 Ethiopia 0.791 compare
  5. 38 Rwanda 0.791 compare
  6. 40 Comoros 0.785 compare
  7. 40 Togo 0.785 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Saudi Arabia

All data for Saudi Arabia →

Frequently asked questions

What is centralization of political power index in Saudi Arabia?
Centralization of political power index in Saudi Arabia was 0.793 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest centralization of political power index recorded in Saudi Arabia?
The highest recorded value was 0.925 in 1819.
What is the lowest centralization of political power index recorded in Saudi Arabia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.768 in 2010.
How does Saudi Arabia rank for centralization of political power index?
Saudi Arabia ranks 37th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is centralization of political power index rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabia. 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/saudi-arabia/

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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.