Democracy in Benin
Benin: Democracy was 2 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in Benin, 1900–2025
Source: Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for democracy in Benin is 2, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 60.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Benin peaked at 5 in 1992 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1964.
That places Benin 84th out of 175 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.
Democracy in Benin, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 1 | — |
| 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 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 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 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 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 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 1963 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1965 | 0 | — |
| 1966 | 0 | — |
| 1967 | 1 | — |
| 1968 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1971 | 0 | — |
| 1972 | 0 | — |
| 1973 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | 1 | — |
| 1975 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 1991 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 5 | +150.0% |
| 1993 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 1997 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 2016 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 2018 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2019 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 2020 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 2 | — |
| 2023 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 2 | +0.0% |
Benin compared with similar countries
- Benin's 2 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1, 2.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Benin's 2 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1, 2.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1910s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1920s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1930s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1940s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1950s | 1.8 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.9 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.6 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1990s | 4 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| 2000s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.7 | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.33 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More reference data data for Benin
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1979 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.67 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1562 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6635 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.5244 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8505 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Benin?
- Democracy in Benin was 2 in 2025, according to Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 5 in 1992.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1964.
- How does Benin rank for democracy?
- Benin ranks 84th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is down 60.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Benin data come from?
- The figures come from Episodes of Regime Transformation (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
Political regime of a country using the classification by the Episodes of Regime Transformation-project. It distinguishes between hardening autocracies (score 0), stable autocracies (score 1), liberalizing autocracies (score 2), eroding democracies (score 3), stable democracies (score 4), and deepening democracies (score 5).