Democracy in Nigeria
Nigeria: Democracy was 5 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in Nigeria, 1914–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, democracy in Nigeria stood at 5. That is the highest value across all 112 years on record.
The figure is up 25.0% on the previous year and unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Nigeria peaked at 5 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1914.
Nigeria ranks 74th 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.3 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.9 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.3 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.7 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.33 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More reference data data for Nigeria
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.3216 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.3105 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 1.8 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.4187 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 1.76 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 860.32 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Nigeria?
- Democracy in Nigeria was 5 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 5 in 2012.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1914.
- How does Nigeria rank for democracy?
- Nigeria ranks 74th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Nigeria 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 — 112 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.