Democracy in Benin

Benin: Democracy was 3 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
3
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
116th
of 197 countries
All-time high
7
in 1995
All-time low
0
in 1892
Years of data
134
1892–2025

Democracy in Benin, 1892–2025

02468189219582025

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

Analysis

Benin recorded 3 for democracy in 2025.

That represents a change of down 57.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in Benin peaked at 7 in 1995 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1892.

That places Benin 116th out of 197 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1890s 0 0 0 8
1900s 0 0 0 10
1910s 0 0 0 10
1920s 0 0 0 10
1930s 0 0 0 10
1940s 0.6 0 2 10
1950s 2 2 2 10
1960s 0.4 0 1 10
1970s 0.1 0 1 10
1980s 1 1 1 10
1990s 6 1 7 10
2000s 7 7 7 10
2010s 6.3 1 7 10
2020s 2 1 3 6

Countries ranked near Benin

  1. 116 Algeria 3 compare
  2. 116 Angola 3 compare
  3. 116 Azerbaijan 3 compare
  4. 116 Burundi 3 compare
  5. 116 Cameroon 3 compare
  6. 116 Central African Republic 3 compare
  7. 116 Chad 3 compare
  8. 116 Comoros 3 compare
  9. 116 Congo 3 compare
  10. 116 Cote d'Ivoire 3 compare
  11. 116 Democratic Republic of Congo 3 compare
  12. 116 Djibouti 3 compare
  13. 116 Egypt 3 compare
  14. 116 El Salvador 3 compare
  15. 116 Equatorial Guinea 3 compare
  16. 116 Ethiopia 3 compare
  17. 116 Gabon 3 compare
  18. 116 Georgia 3 compare
  19. 116 Kazakhstan 3 compare
  20. 116 Kyrgyzstan 3 compare
  21. 116 Mauritania 3 compare
  22. 116 Mozambique 3 compare
  23. 116 Nigeria 3 compare
  24. 116 Pakistan 3 compare
  25. 116 Rwanda 3 compare
  26. 116 Serbia 3 compare
  27. 116 Sierra Leone 3 compare
  28. 116 Singapore 3 compare
  29. 116 Tajikistan 3 compare
  30. 116 Tanzania 3 compare
  31. 116 Thailand 3 compare
  32. 116 Togo 3 compare
  33. 116 Turkey 3 compare
  34. 116 Uganda 3 compare
  35. 116 Uzbekistan 3 compare
  36. 116 Zimbabwe 3 compare

See the full ranking of 198 places →

More reference data data for Benin

All data for Benin →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in Benin?
Democracy in Benin was 3 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in Benin?
The highest recorded value was 7 in 1995.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in Benin?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1892.
How does Benin rank for democracy?
Benin ranks 116th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in Benin?
Over the last ten years it is down 57.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Benin 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 — 134 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).