Democracy in Yemen
Yemen: Democracy was 0 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in Yemen, 1990–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for democracy in Yemen is 0, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
Over the whole period, democracy in Yemen peaked at 3 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0, in 2009.
That places Yemen 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 Yemen, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3 | — |
| 1991 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 2010 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 1 | — |
| 2013 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 2015 | 0 | — |
| 2016 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 0 | — |
| 2020 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 0 | — |
Yemen compared with similar countries
- Yemen's 0 is below the median for low income countries, which is 1. (25 countries reporting)
- Yemen's 0 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 2. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Yemen
- 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 Somalia 0 compare
- 176 South Sudan 0
- 176 Sudan 0 compare
- 176 United Arab Emirates 0
- 176 Vatican 0
More public sector data for Yemen
- Democracy, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (2014)
- 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 (2009)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (2009)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (2014)
- 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 Yemen?
- Democracy in Yemen was 0 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Yemen?
- The highest recorded value was 3 in 1990.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Yemen?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 2009.
- How does Yemen rank for democracy?
- Yemen ranks 176th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Where does this Yemen 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 — 36 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).