Democracy in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Democracy was 1 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Democracy in Nicaragua, 2005–2025
Source: Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, democracy in Nicaragua stood at 1. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 66.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Nicaragua peaked at 4 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 1, in 2021.
That places Nicaragua 80th out of 128 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Democracy in Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 4 | — |
| 2007 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2011 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 2 | -33.3% |
| 2019 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 2023 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 1 | +0.0% |
Nicaragua compared with similar countries
- Nicaragua's 1 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2, 50% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Nicaragua's 1 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 4, 25% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.67 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| 2010s | 2.6 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
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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 1 in 2025, according to Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 4 in 2005.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 in 2021.
- How does Nicaragua rank for democracy?
- Nicaragua ranks 80th out of 128 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is down 66.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nicaragua data come from?
- The figures come from Bertelsmann Transformation Index (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 — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between hard-line autocracies (score 1), moderate autocracies (score 2), highly defective democracies (score 3), defective democracies (score 4), and consolidating democracies (score 5).