Political centralization index in South Sudan
South Sudan: Political centralization index was 0.847 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.847
Change on year
up 5.0%
World rank
26th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.977
in 1992
All-time low
0.34
in 1882
Years of data
186
1821–2025
Political centralization index in South Sudan, 1821–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, political centralization index in South Sudan stood at 0.847.
That represents a change of up 5.0% on the previous year and down 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political centralization index in South Sudan peaked at 0.977 in 1992 and was at its lowest, 0.34, in 1882.
That places South Sudan 26th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 186 years of available data.
Political centralization index in South Sudan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1821 | 0.825 | — |
| 1822 | 0.825 | +0.0% |
| 1823 | 0.825 | +0.0% |
| 1824 | 0.825 | +0.0% |
| 1825 | 0.877 | +6.3% |
| 1826 | 0.877 | +0.0% |
| 1827 | 0.877 | +0.0% |
| 1828 | 0.877 | +0.0% |
| 1829 | 0.877 | +0.0% |
| 1830 | 0.877 | +0.0% |
| 1831 | 0.877 | +0.0% |
| 1832 | 0.877 | +0.0% |
| 1833 | 0.877 | +0.0% |
| 1834 | 0.877 | +0.0% |
| 1835 | 0.877 | +0.0% |
| 1836 | 0.877 | +0.0% |
| 1837 | 0.827 | -5.7% |
| 1838 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1839 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1840 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1841 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1842 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1843 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1844 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1845 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1846 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1847 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1848 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1849 | 0.713 | -13.8% |
| 1850 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1851 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1852 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1853 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1854 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1855 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1856 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1857 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1858 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1859 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1860 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1861 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1862 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1863 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1864 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1865 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1867 | 0.541 | -24.1% |
| 1868 | 0.541 | +0.0% |
| 1869 | 0.541 | +0.0% |
| 1870 | 0.541 | +0.0% |
| 1871 | 0.541 | +0.0% |
| 1872 | 0.541 | +0.0% |
| 1873 | 0.541 | +0.0% |
| 1874 | 0.541 | +0.0% |
| 1875 | 0.541 | +0.0% |
| 1876 | 0.541 | +0.0% |
| 1877 | 0.541 | +0.0% |
| 1878 | 0.541 | +0.0% |
| 1882 | 0.34 | -37.2% |
| 1883 | 0.34 | +0.0% |
| 1884 | 0.346 | +1.8% |
| 1900 | 0.755 | +118.2% |
| 1901 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.755 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.84 | +11.3% |
| 1949 | 0.774 | -7.9% |
| 1950 | 0.774 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.774 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.774 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.73 | -5.7% |
| 1954 | 0.73 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.73 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.544 | -25.5% |
| 1957 | 0.529 | -2.8% |
| 1958 | 0.506 | -4.3% |
| 1959 | 0.787 | +55.5% |
| 1960 | 0.792 | +0.6% |
| 1961 | 0.792 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.792 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.792 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.701 | -11.5% |
| 1965 | 0.58 | -17.3% |
| 1966 | 0.571 | -1.6% |
| 1967 | 0.571 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.571 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.731 | +28.0% |
| 1970 | 0.78 | +6.7% |
| 1971 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.785 | +0.6% |
| 1975 | 0.704 | -10.3% |
| 1976 | 0.704 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.704 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.704 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.704 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.704 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.726 | +3.1% |
| 1982 | 0.812 | +11.8% |
| 1983 | 0.812 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.812 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.58 | -28.6% |
| 1986 | 0.649 | +11.9% |
| 1987 | 0.593 | -8.6% |
| 1988 | 0.593 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.827 | +39.5% |
| 1990 | 0.971 | +17.4% |
| 1991 | 0.971 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.977 | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 0.963 | -1.4% |
| 1994 | 0.963 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.963 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.963 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.963 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.963 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.963 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.977 | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 0.962 | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 0.962 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.962 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.956 | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 0.874 | -8.6% |
| 2006 | 0.874 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.86 | -1.6% |
| 2008 | 0.856 | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 0.858 | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 0.855 | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 0.776 | -9.2% |
| 2012 | 0.776 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.856 | +10.3% |
| 2014 | 0.871 | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 0.886 | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 0.885 | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 0.863 | -2.5% |
| 2018 | 0.914 | +5.9% |
| 2019 | 0.831 | -9.1% |
| 2020 | 0.816 | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 0.869 | +6.5% |
| 2022 | 0.823 | -5.3% |
| 2023 | 0.814 | -1.1% |
| 2024 | 0.807 | -0.9% |
| 2025 | 0.847 | +5.0% |
South Sudan compared with similar countries
- South Sudan's 0.847 is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.791, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- South Sudan's 0.847 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.683, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 0.8539 | 0.825 | 0.877 | 9 |
| 1830s | 0.862 | 0.827 | 0.877 | 10 |
| 1840s | 0.8156 | 0.713 | 0.827 | 10 |
| 1850s | 0.713 | 0.713 | 0.713 | 10 |
| 1860s | 0.6557 | 0.541 | 0.713 | 9 |
| 1870s | 0.541 | 0.541 | 0.541 | 9 |
| 1880s | 0.342 | 0.34 | 0.346 | 3 |
| 1900s | 0.755 | 0.755 | 0.755 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.755 | 0.755 | 0.755 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.755 | 0.755 | 0.755 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.755 | 0.755 | 0.755 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.7654 | 0.755 | 0.84 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.6878 | 0.506 | 0.787 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.6893 | 0.571 | 0.792 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7425 | 0.704 | 0.785 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.7108 | 0.58 | 0.827 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.966 | 0.963 | 0.977 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9141 | 0.856 | 0.977 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8513 | 0.776 | 0.914 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8293 | 0.807 | 0.869 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Sudan
- 24 Bahrain 0.871 compare
- 25 Yemen 0.848 compare
- 27 Guinea-Bissau 0.843 compare
- 28 United Arab Emirates 0.837 compare
- 29 Iran 0.834 compare
- 29 Kazakhstan 0.834 compare
More reference data data for South Sudan
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure left on Pasture 8,797 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 26,453 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.23 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Burning - Crop residues 0.0059 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3667 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric 19,422 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Burning - Crop 6.36 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 33.2 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.4032 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2004 (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political centralization index in South Sudan?
- Political centralization index in South Sudan was 0.847 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political centralization index recorded in South Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 0.977 in 1992.
- What is the lowest political centralization index recorded in South Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.34 in 1882.
- How does South Sudan rank for political centralization index?
- South Sudan ranks 26th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political centralization index rising or falling in South Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Sudan data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Political centralization index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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