Democracy in Somalia
Somalia: Democracy was 0 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in Somalia, 1890–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, democracy in Somalia stood at 0. That is the lowest value across all 136 years on record.
Over the whole period, democracy in Somalia peaked at 6 in 1960 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1890.
That places Somalia 176th out of 198 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Democracy in Somalia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 0 | — |
| 1891 | 0 | — |
| 1892 | 0 | — |
| 1893 | 0 | — |
| 1894 | 0 | — |
| 1895 | 0 | — |
| 1896 | 0 | — |
| 1897 | 0 | — |
| 1898 | 0 | — |
| 1899 | 0 | — |
| 1900 | 0 | — |
| 1901 | 0 | — |
| 1902 | 0 | — |
| 1903 | 0 | — |
| 1904 | 0 | — |
| 1905 | 0 | — |
| 1906 | 0 | — |
| 1907 | 0 | — |
| 1908 | 0 | — |
| 1909 | 0 | — |
| 1910 | 0 | — |
| 1911 | 0 | — |
| 1912 | 0 | — |
| 1913 | 0 | — |
| 1914 | 0 | — |
| 1915 | 0 | — |
| 1916 | 0 | — |
| 1917 | 0 | — |
| 1918 | 0 | — |
| 1919 | 0 | — |
| 1920 | 0 | — |
| 1921 | 0 | — |
| 1922 | 0 | — |
| 1923 | 0 | — |
| 1924 | 0 | — |
| 1925 | 0 | — |
| 1926 | 0 | — |
| 1927 | 0 | — |
| 1928 | 0 | — |
| 1929 | 0 | — |
| 1930 | 0 | — |
| 1931 | 0 | — |
| 1932 | 0 | — |
| 1933 | 0 | — |
| 1934 | 0 | — |
| 1935 | 0 | — |
| 1936 | 0 | — |
| 1937 | 0 | — |
| 1938 | 0 | — |
| 1939 | 0 | — |
| 1940 | 0 | — |
| 1941 | 0 | — |
| 1942 | 0 | — |
| 1943 | 0 | — |
| 1944 | 0 | — |
| 1945 | 0 | — |
| 1946 | 0 | — |
| 1947 | 0 | — |
| 1948 | 0 | — |
| 1949 | 0 | — |
| 1950 | 0 | — |
| 1951 | 0 | — |
| 1952 | 0 | — |
| 1953 | 0 | — |
| 1954 | 0 | — |
| 1955 | 0 | — |
| 1956 | 2 | — |
| 1957 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 6 | +200.0% |
| 1961 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1970 | 0 | — |
| 1971 | 0 | — |
| 1972 | 0 | — |
| 1973 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | 0 | — |
| 1975 | 0 | — |
| 1976 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | 0 | — |
| 1979 | 1 | — |
| 1980 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1992 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | 0 | — |
| 1994 | 0 | — |
| 1995 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | 0 | — |
| 1997 | 0 | — |
| 1998 | 0 | — |
| 1999 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | 0 | — |
| 2003 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | 0 | — |
| 2005 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 0 | — |
| 2013 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | 0 | — |
| 2016 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 0 | — |
| 2020 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 0 | — |
Somalia compared with similar countries
- Somalia's 0 is below the median for low income countries, which is 1. (25 countries reporting)
- Somalia's 0 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.8 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 1960s | 5.4 | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Somalia
- 176 Afghanistan 0 compare
- 176 Bangladesh 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 South Sudan 0
- 176 Sudan 0 compare
- 176 United Arab Emirates 0
- 176 Vatican 0
- 176 Yemen 0 compare
More public sector data for Somalia
- Democracy, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (1991)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (2012)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (2012)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (1991)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (1991)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (1991)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 0 (2025)
- Elected parliament 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 0 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Somalia?
- Democracy in Somalia was 0 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Somalia?
- The highest recorded value was 6 in 1960.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Somalia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1890.
- How does Somalia rank for democracy?
- Somalia ranks 176th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Where does this Somalia 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).