Democracy in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Democracy was 3 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
3
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
94th
of 176 countries
All-time high
6
in 1990
All-time low
0
in 1839
Years of data
186
1839–2025
Democracy in Nicaragua, 1839–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Nicaragua recorded 3 for democracy in 2025.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Nicaragua peaked at 6 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1839.
Nicaragua 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.
Democracy in Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1839 | 0 | — |
| 1840 | 0 | — |
| 1841 | 0 | — |
| 1842 | 0 | — |
| 1843 | 0 | — |
| 1844 | 0 | — |
| 1845 | 0 | — |
| 1846 | 0 | — |
| 1847 | 0 | — |
| 1848 | 0 | — |
| 1849 | 0 | — |
| 1850 | 0 | — |
| 1851 | 0 | — |
| 1852 | 0 | — |
| 1853 | 0 | — |
| 1854 | 0 | — |
| 1855 | 0 | — |
| 1856 | 0 | — |
| 1857 | 1 | — |
| 1858 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1859 | 0 | — |
| 1860 | 0 | — |
| 1861 | 0 | — |
| 1862 | 0 | — |
| 1863 | 0 | — |
| 1864 | 0 | — |
| 1865 | 0 | — |
| 1866 | 0 | — |
| 1867 | 0 | — |
| 1868 | 0 | — |
| 1869 | 0 | — |
| 1870 | 0 | — |
| 1871 | 0 | — |
| 1872 | 0 | — |
| 1873 | 0 | — |
| 1874 | 0 | — |
| 1875 | 0 | — |
| 1876 | 0 | — |
| 1877 | 0 | — |
| 1878 | 0 | — |
| 1879 | 1 | — |
| 1880 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1881 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1882 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1883 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1884 | 0 | — |
| 1885 | 0 | — |
| 1886 | 0 | — |
| 1887 | 0 | — |
| 1888 | 0 | — |
| 1889 | 1 | — |
| 1890 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1891 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1892 | 0 | — |
| 1893 | 0 | — |
| 1894 | 3 | — |
| 1895 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1896 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1897 | 0 | — |
| 1898 | 0 | — |
| 1899 | 1 | — |
| 1900 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1901 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 3 | +200.0% |
| 1913 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 2 | -33.3% |
| 1915 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 1917 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 3 | +200.0% |
| 1921 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 1 | -66.7% |
| 1937 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 1948 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1949 | 0 | — |
| 1950 | 2 | — |
| 1951 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 3 | +50.0% |
| 1964 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 2 | -33.3% |
| 1974 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1980 | 0 | — |
| 1981 | 0 | — |
| 1982 | 0 | — |
| 1983 | 0 | — |
| 1984 | 0 | — |
| 1985 | 3 | — |
| 1986 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 6 | +100.0% |
| 1991 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 4 | -33.3% |
| 2008 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2009 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 3 | +0.0% |
Nicaragua compared with similar countries
- Nicaragua's 3 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nicaragua's 3 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 6, 50% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1850s | 0.1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1870s | 0.1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1880s | 0.4 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0.8 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 1900s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1910s | 1.6 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 1920s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1930s | 2.2 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.9 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 1950s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1960s | 2.7 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 1970s | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 1980s | 1.5 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 1990s | 6 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.2 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
- 94 Algeria 3 compare
- 94 Angola 3 compare
- 94 Azerbaijan 3 compare
- 94 Burundi 3 compare
- 94 Cambodia 3 compare
- 94 Cameroon 3 compare
- 94 Central African Republic 3 compare
- 94 Chad 3 compare
- 94 Comoros 3 compare
- 94 Congo 3 compare
- 94 Cote d'Ivoire 3 compare
- 94 Democratic Republic of Congo 3 compare
- 94 Djibouti 3 compare
- 94 Egypt 3 compare
- 94 El Salvador 3 compare
- 94 Equatorial Guinea 3 compare
- 94 Ethiopia 3 compare
- 94 Gabon 3 compare
- 94 Georgia 3 compare
- 94 Hungary 3 compare
- 94 India 3 compare
- 94 Iraq 3 compare
- 94 Kazakhstan 3 compare
- 94 Kyrgyzstan 3 compare
- 94 Lebanon 3 compare
- 94 Mauritania 3 compare
- 94 Mozambique 3 compare
- 94 Pakistan 3 compare
- 94 Papua New Guinea 3 compare
- 94 Philippines 3 compare
- 94 Russia 3 compare
- 94 Rwanda 3 compare
- 94 Serbia 3 compare
- 94 Singapore 3 compare
- 94 Tajikistan 3 compare
- 94 Tanzania 3 compare
- 94 Thailand 3 compare
- 94 Togo 3 compare
- 94 Tunisia 3 compare
- 94 Turkey 3 compare
- 94 Uganda 3 compare
- 94 Ukraine 3 compare
- 94 Venezuela 3 compare
- 94 Zimbabwe 3 compare
More reference data data for Nicaragua
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4575 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0819 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.4557 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 9.61 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 14.12 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4457 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Nicaragua?
- Democracy in Nicaragua was 3 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 6 in 1990.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1839.
- How does Nicaragua rank for democracy?
- Nicaragua ranks 94th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Nicaragua 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 — 186 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.