Democracy in Kenya

Kenya: Democracy was 5 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
5
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
74th
of 176 countries
All-time high
6
in 2023
All-time low
0
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Democracy in Kenya, 1900–2025

0246190019622025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for democracy in Kenya is 5, measured in 2025.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in Kenya peaked at 6 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1900.

That places Kenya 74th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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
1900s 0 0 0 10
1910s 0 0 0 10
1920s 0 0 0 10
1930s 0 0 0 10
1940s 0 0 0 10
1950s 0 0 0 10
1960s 2.1 0 3 10
1970s 2.9 2 3 10
1980s 2.7 2 3 10
1990s 3 3 3 10
2000s 3.8 3 5 10
2010s 4.1 3 5 10
2020s 4.83 4 6 6

Countries ranked near Kenya

  1. 74 Bhutan 5 compare
  2. 74 Fiji 5 compare
  3. 74 Guyana 5 compare
  4. 74 Honduras 5 compare
  5. 74 Malawi 5 compare
  6. 74 Malaysia 5 compare
  7. 74 Maldives 5 compare
  8. 74 Moldova 5 compare
  9. 74 Mongolia 5 compare
  10. 74 Namibia 5 compare
  11. 74 Nigeria 5 compare
  12. 74 North Macedonia 5 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Kenya

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in Kenya?
Democracy in Kenya was 5 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in Kenya?
The highest recorded value was 6 in 2023.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in Kenya?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1900.
How does Kenya rank for democracy?
Kenya ranks 74th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in Kenya?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Kenya 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 — 126 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.