Democracy in India

India: Democracy was 0 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0
World rank
143rd
of 172 countries
All-time high
5
in 1952
All-time low
0
in 1975
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Democracy in India, 1900–2025

012345190019622025

Source: Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

India recorded 0 for democracy in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 126 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 100.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in India peaked at 5 in 1952 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1975.

India ranks 143rd of 172 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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 3.8 2 5 10
1960s 4 4 4 10
1970s 2.8 0 5 10
1980s 4 4 4 10
1990s 4 4 4 10
2000s 3.9 3 4 10
2010s 2.1 0 3 10
2020s 0 0 0 6

Countries ranked near India

  1. 143 Afghanistan 0 compare
  2. 143 Belarus 0 compare
  3. 143 Burkina Faso 0 compare
  4. 143 Cambodia 0 compare
  5. 143 Central African Republic 0 compare
  6. 143 Cote d'Ivoire 0 compare
  7. 143 El Salvador 0 compare
  8. 143 Georgia 0 compare
  9. 143 Guinea 0 compare
  10. 143 Guinea-Bissau 0 compare
  11. 143 Haiti 0 compare
  12. 143 Hungary 0 compare
  13. 143 Indonesia 0 compare
  14. 143 Kuwait 0 compare
  15. 143 Kyrgyzstan 0 compare
  16. 143 Libya 0 compare
  17. 143 Madagascar 0 compare
  18. 143 Mali 0 compare
  19. 143 Mauritania 0 compare
  20. 143 Mozambique 0 compare
  21. 143 Myanmar 0 compare
  22. 143 Nicaragua 0 compare
  23. 143 Niger 0 compare
  24. 143 Pakistan 0 compare
  25. 143 Philippines 0 compare
  26. 143 Serbia 0 compare
  27. 143 Togo 0 compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in India?
Democracy in India was 0 in 2025, according to Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in India?
The highest recorded value was 5 in 1952.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1975.
How does India rank for democracy?
India ranks 143rd out of 172 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is down 100.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this India 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

Indicator
Democracy
Source
Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
175 places, 19,128 data points, 1900–2025
Last refreshed

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).