Statizoid

Democracy in Nigeria

Nigeria: Democracy was 1 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
1
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
87th
of 172 countries
All-time high
5
in 2012
All-time low
0
in 1983
Years of data
112
1914–2025

Democracy in Nigeria, 1914–2025

012345191419692025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for democracy in Nigeria is 1, measured in 2025.

That represents a change of down 80.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in Nigeria peaked at 5 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1983.

Nigeria ranks 87th of 172 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

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1910s 1 1 1 6
1920s 1 1 1 10
1930s 1 1 1 10
1940s 1 1 1 10
1950s 1.7 1 2 10
1960s 1.1 1 2 10
1970s 1.3 1 2 10
1980s 0.9 0 2 10
1990s 1.3 1 2 10
2000s 1.1 1 2 10
2010s 4 2 5 10
2020s 1.5 1 4 6

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 87 Albania 1 compare
  2. 87 Algeria 1 compare
  3. 87 Angola 1 compare
  4. 87 Azerbaijan 1 compare
  5. 87 Bahrain 1 compare
  6. 87 Bangladesh 1 compare
  7. 87 Burundi 1 compare
  8. 87 Cameroon 1 compare
  9. 87 Chad 1 compare
  10. 87 China 1 compare
  11. 87 Comoros 1 compare
  12. 87 Congo 1 compare
  13. 87 Cuba 1 compare
  14. 87 Democratic Republic of Congo 1 compare
  15. 87 Egypt 1 compare
  16. 87 Equatorial Guinea 1 compare
  17. 87 Eritrea 1 compare
  18. 87 Eswatini 1 compare
  19. 87 Ethiopia 1 compare
  20. 87 Gabon 1 compare
  21. 87 Iran 1 compare
  22. 87 Iraq 1 compare
  23. 87 Jordan 1 compare
  24. 87 Kazakhstan 1 compare
  25. 87 Laos 1 compare
  26. 87 Lebanon 1 compare
  27. 87 Malaysia 1 compare
  28. 87 Mongolia 1 compare
  29. 87 Morocco 1 compare
  30. 87 North Korea 1 compare
  31. 87 Oman 1 compare
  32. 87 Palestine 1 compare
  33. 87 Papua New Guinea 1 compare
  34. 87 Qatar 1 compare
  35. 87 Russia 1 compare
  36. 87 Rwanda 1 compare
  37. 87 Saudi Arabia 1 compare
  38. 87 Sierra Leone 1 compare
  39. 87 Singapore 1 compare
  40. 87 Somalia 1 compare
  41. 87 South Sudan 1 compare
  42. 87 Sudan 1 compare
  43. 87 Syria 1 compare
  44. 87 Tajikistan 1 compare
  45. 87 Tanzania 1 compare
  46. 87 Turkey 1 compare
  47. 87 Turkmenistan 1 compare
  48. 87 Uganda 1 compare
  49. 87 United Arab Emirates 1 compare
  50. 87 Uzbekistan 1 compare
  51. 87 Venezuela 1 compare
  52. 87 Vietnam 1 compare
  53. 87 Yemen 1 compare
  54. 87 Zimbabwe 1 compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in Nigeria?
Democracy in Nigeria was 1 in 2025, according to Episodes of Regime Transformation (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 1983.
How does Nigeria rank for democracy?
Nigeria ranks 87th out of 172 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is down 80.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Nigeria 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 — 112 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).