Democracy in Kenya

Kenya: Democracy was 6 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
6
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
78th
of 197 countries
All-time high
6
in 1963
All-time low
0
in 1895
Years of data
131
1895–2025

Democracy in Kenya, 1895–2025

0246189519602025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for democracy in Kenya is 6, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 131 years on record.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in Kenya peaked at 6 in 1963 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1895.

Kenya ranks 78th of 197 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
1890s 0 0 0 5
1900s 0 0 0 10
1910s 0 0 0 10
1920s 2 2 2 10
1930s 2 2 2 10
1940s 2 2 2 10
1950s 2 2 2 10
1960s 2.4 1 6 10
1970s 1 1 1 10
1980s 1 1 1 10
1990s 2.6 1 3 10
2000s 4.8 3 6 10
2010s 5.1 3 6 10
2020s 6 6 6 6

Countries ranked near Kenya

  1. 78 Albania 6 compare
  2. 78 Armenia 6 compare
  3. 78 Bhutan 6 compare
  4. 78 Bolivia 6 compare
  5. 78 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 compare
  6. 78 Botswana 6 compare
  7. 78 Colombia 6 compare
  8. 78 East Timor 6 compare
  9. 78 Ecuador 6 compare
  10. 78 Gambia 6 compare
  11. 78 Guatemala 6 compare
  12. 78 Honduras 6 compare
  13. 78 Hungary 6 compare
  14. 78 India 6 compare
  15. 78 Indonesia 6 compare
  16. 78 Iraq 6 compare
  17. 78 Israel 6 compare
  18. 78 Lebanon 6 compare
  19. 78 Lesotho 6 compare
  20. 78 Liberia 6 compare
  21. 78 Malawi 6 compare
  22. 78 Malaysia 6 compare
  23. 78 Maldives 6 compare
  24. 78 Mexico 6 compare
  25. 78 Moldova 6 compare
  26. 78 Montenegro 6 compare
  27. 78 Nepal 6 compare
  28. 78 North Macedonia 6 compare
  29. 78 Paraguay 6 compare
  30. 78 Peru 6 compare
  31. 78 Philippines 6 compare
  32. 78 Senegal 6 compare
  33. 78 Slovakia 6 compare
  34. 78 Solomon Islands 6 compare
  35. 78 Sri Lanka 6 compare
  36. 78 Ukraine 6 compare
  37. 78 Zambia 6 compare

See the full ranking of 198 places →

More reference data data for Kenya

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in Kenya?
Democracy in Kenya was 6 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in Kenya?
The highest recorded value was 6 in 1963.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in Kenya?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1895.
How does Kenya rank for democracy?
Kenya ranks 78th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in Kenya?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Kenya 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 — 131 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).