Democracy in Western Sahara
Western Sahara: Democracy was 1 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in Western Sahara, 1963–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, democracy in Western Sahara stood at 1. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Western Sahara peaked at 1 in 2008 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1963.
Western Sahara ranks 159th 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 1970s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Western Sahara
- 159 Belarus 1 compare
- 159 Cambodia 1 compare
- 159 Cuba 1 compare
- 159 Eswatini 1 compare
- 159 Guinea 1 compare
- 159 Laos 1 compare
- 159 Nicaragua 1 compare
- 159 North Korea 1 compare
- 159 Oman 1 compare
- 159 Russia 1 compare
- 159 Syria 1 compare
- 159 Tunisia 1 compare
- 159 Turkmenistan 1 compare
- 159 Venezuela 1 compare
- 159 Vietnam 1 compare
More reference data data for Western Sahara
- Chief executive of the government is elected 1 (2025)
- Free country 0 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 7 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
- Elected parliament 1 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Average age of mothers at childbirth 29.99 years (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 2.16 live births per woman (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Western Sahara?
- Democracy in Western Sahara was 1 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Western Sahara?
- The highest recorded value was 1 in 2008.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Western Sahara?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1963.
- How does Western Sahara rank for democracy?
- Western Sahara ranks 159th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Western Sahara?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Western Sahara 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 — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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).