Democracy in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Democracy was 0 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0
World rank
175th
of 197 countries
All-time high
3
in 1987
All-time low
0
in 1789
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Democracy in Afghanistan, 1789–2025

0123178919072025

Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2025, democracy in Afghanistan stood at 0. That is the lowest value across all 237 years on record.

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

Over the whole period, democracy in Afghanistan peaked at 3 in 1987 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1789.

Afghanistan ranks 175th of 197 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
1780s 0 0 0 1
1790s 0 0 0 10
1800s 0 0 0 10
1810s 0 0 0 10
1820s 0 0 0 10
1830s 0 0 0 10
1840s 0 0 0 10
1850s 0 0 0 10
1860s 0 0 0 10
1870s 0 0 0 10
1880s 0 0 0 10
1890s 0 0 0 10
1900s 0 0 0 10
1910s 0 0 0 10
1920s 0 0 0 10
1930s 0.8 0 1 10
1940s 1 1 1 10
1950s 1 1 1 10
1960s 1.6 1 2 10
1970s 1.3 1 2 10
1980s 1.4 0 3 10
1990s 0.6 0 3 10
2000s 1.6 0 3 10
2010s 3 3 3 10
2020s 0.5 0 3 6

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 175 Bangladesh 0 compare
  2. 175 Brunei 0 compare
  3. 175 Burkina Faso 0 compare
  4. 175 China 0 compare
  5. 175 Eritrea 0 compare
  6. 175 Guinea-Bissau 0 compare
  7. 175 Haiti 0 compare
  8. 175 Kuwait 0 compare
  9. 175 Libya 0 compare
  10. 175 Madagascar 0 compare
  11. 175 Mali 0 compare
  12. 175 Myanmar 0 compare
  13. 175 Niger 0 compare
  14. 175 Palestine 0 compare
  15. 175 Qatar 0 compare
  16. 175 Saudi Arabia 0 compare
  17. 175 Somalia 0 compare
  18. 175 South Sudan 0 compare
  19. 175 Sudan 0 compare
  20. 175 United Arab Emirates 0 compare
  21. 175 Vatican 0 compare
  22. 175 Yemen 0 compare

See the full ranking of 198 places →

More reference data data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in Afghanistan?
Democracy in Afghanistan was 0 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was 3 in 1987.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1789.
How does Afghanistan rank for democracy?
Afghanistan ranks 175th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is down 100.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
The figures come from Lexical 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 — 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Democracy
Source
Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
198 places, 32,485 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between non-electoral autocracies (score 0), one-party autocracies (score 1), multi-party autocracies without elected executive (score 2), multi-party autocracies (score 3), exclusive democracies (score 4), male democracies (score 5), electoral democracies (score 6), and full democracies (score 7).