Democracy in India

India: Democracy was 3 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
3
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
94th
of 176 countries
All-time high
6
in 1952
All-time low
0
in 1789
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Democracy in India, 1789–2025

0246178919072025

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

Analysis

In 2025, democracy in India stood at 3.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 40.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in India peaked at 6 in 1952 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.

India ranks 94th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0 0 0 1
1790s 0 0 0 10
1800s 0 0 0 10
1810s 0 0 0 10
1820s 0 0 0 10
1830s 0 0 0 10
1840s 0 0 0 10
1850s 0 0 0 10
1860s 0 0 0 10
1870s 0 0 0 10
1880s 0 0 0 10
1890s 0 0 0 10
1900s 0 0 0 10
1910s 0 0 0 10
1920s 0 0 0 10
1930s 0 0 0 10
1940s 0.6 0 3 10
1950s 5.1 0 6 10
1960s 6 6 6 10
1970s 5.2 3 6 10
1980s 6 6 6 10
1990s 6 6 6 10
2000s 6 6 6 10
2010s 5.1 3 6 10
2020s 3 3 3 6

Countries ranked near India

  1. 94 Algeria 3 compare
  2. 94 Angola 3 compare
  3. 94 Azerbaijan 3 compare
  4. 94 Burundi 3 compare
  5. 94 Cambodia 3 compare
  6. 94 Cameroon 3 compare
  7. 94 Central African Republic 3 compare
  8. 94 Chad 3 compare
  9. 94 Comoros 3 compare
  10. 94 Congo 3 compare
  11. 94 Cote d'Ivoire 3 compare
  12. 94 Democratic Republic of Congo 3 compare
  13. 94 Djibouti 3 compare
  14. 94 Egypt 3 compare
  15. 94 El Salvador 3 compare
  16. 94 Equatorial Guinea 3 compare
  17. 94 Ethiopia 3 compare
  18. 94 Gabon 3 compare
  19. 94 Georgia 3 compare
  20. 94 Hungary 3 compare
  21. 94 Iraq 3 compare
  22. 94 Kazakhstan 3 compare
  23. 94 Kyrgyzstan 3 compare
  24. 94 Lebanon 3 compare
  25. 94 Mauritania 3 compare
  26. 94 Mozambique 3 compare
  27. 94 Nicaragua 3 compare
  28. 94 Pakistan 3 compare
  29. 94 Papua New Guinea 3 compare
  30. 94 Philippines 3 compare
  31. 94 Russia 3 compare
  32. 94 Rwanda 3 compare
  33. 94 Serbia 3 compare
  34. 94 Singapore 3 compare
  35. 94 Tajikistan 3 compare
  36. 94 Tanzania 3 compare
  37. 94 Thailand 3 compare
  38. 94 Togo 3 compare
  39. 94 Tunisia 3 compare
  40. 94 Turkey 3 compare
  41. 94 Uganda 3 compare
  42. 94 Ukraine 3 compare
  43. 94 Venezuela 3 compare
  44. 94 Zimbabwe 3 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in India?
Democracy in India was 3 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in India?
The highest recorded value was 6 in 1952.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
How does India rank for democracy?
India ranks 94th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is down 40.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this India data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Democracy
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 29,594 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Political regime of a country using the Regimes of the World classification by political scientists Anna Lührmann, Marcus Tannenberg and Staffan Lindberg, including ambiguous categories.