Democracy in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Democracy was 0 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in Bangladesh, 1971–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Bangladesh recorded 0 for democracy in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 55 years on record.
The figure is down 100.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Bangladesh peaked at 6 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1971.
Bangladesh ranks 176th of 198 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Democracy in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0 | — |
| 1972 | 0 | — |
| 1973 | 3 | — |
| 1974 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1976 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | 1 | — |
| 1979 | 3 | +200.0% |
| 1980 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1983 | 0 | — |
| 1984 | 0 | — |
| 1985 | 0 | — |
| 1986 | 3 | — |
| 1987 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 6 | +100.0% |
| 1991 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 2008 | 6 | — |
| 2009 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 3 | -50.0% |
| 2015 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 2025 | 0 | — |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 0 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3. (47 countries reporting)
- Bangladesh's 0 is below the median for South Asia, which is 6. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.11 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 1980s | 1.8 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 1990s | 6 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.4 | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.2 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
- 176 Afghanistan 0 compare
- 176 Brunei 0
- 176 Burkina Faso 0 compare
- 176 China 0 compare
- 176 Eritrea 0 compare
- 176 Guinea-Bissau 0 compare
- 176 Haiti 0 compare
- 176 Kuwait 0 compare
- 176 Libya 0 compare
- 176 Madagascar 0 compare
- 176 Mali 0 compare
- 176 Myanmar 0 compare
- 176 Niger 0 compare
- 176 Palestine 0
- 176 Qatar 0 compare
- 176 Saudi Arabia 0
- 176 Somalia 0 compare
- 176 South Sudan 0
- 176 Sudan 0 compare
- 176 United Arab Emirates 0
- 176 Vatican 0
- 176 Yemen 0 compare
More public sector data for Bangladesh
- Democracy, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (2024)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (2024)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (2024)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (2024)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 0 (2025)
- Elected parliament 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Bangladesh?
- Democracy in Bangladesh was 0 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 6 in 1990.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1971.
- How does Bangladesh rank for democracy?
- Bangladesh ranks 176th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is down 100.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Bangladesh 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
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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).