Statizoid

Democracy in Zambia

Zambia: Democracy was 6 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
6
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
78th
of 198 countries
All-time high
6
in 1991
All-time low
0
in 1911
Years of data
115
1911–2025

Democracy in Zambia, 1911–2025

0246191119682025

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

Analysis

In 2025, democracy in Zambia stood at 6. That is the highest value across all 115 years on record.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in Zambia peaked at 6 in 1991 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1911.

Zambia ranks 78th of 198 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.

Democracy in Zambia, year by year

Year Value Change
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 2 —
1927 2 +0.0%
1928 2 +0.0%
1929 2 +0.0%
1930 2 +0.0%
1931 2 +0.0%
1932 2 +0.0%
1933 2 +0.0%
1934 2 +0.0%
1935 2 +0.0%
1936 2 +0.0%
1937 2 +0.0%
1938 2 +0.0%
1939 2 +0.0%
1940 2 +0.0%
1941 2 +0.0%
1942 2 +0.0%
1943 2 +0.0%
1944 2 +0.0%
1945 2 +0.0%
1946 2 +0.0%
1947 2 +0.0%
1948 2 +0.0%
1949 2 +0.0%
1950 2 +0.0%
1951 2 +0.0%
1952 2 +0.0%
1953 2 +0.0%
1954 2 +0.0%
1955 2 +0.0%
1956 2 +0.0%
1957 2 +0.0%
1958 2 +0.0%
1959 2 +0.0%
1960 2 +0.0%
1961 2 +0.0%
1962 2 +0.0%
1963 2 +0.0%
1964 3 +50.0%
1965 3 +0.0%
1966 3 +0.0%
1967 3 +0.0%
1968 3 +0.0%
1969 3 +0.0%
1970 3 +0.0%
1971 3 +0.0%
1972 1 -66.7%
1973 1 +0.0%
1974 1 +0.0%
1975 1 +0.0%
1976 1 +0.0%
1977 1 +0.0%
1978 1 +0.0%
1979 1 +0.0%
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 6 +500.0%
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 6 +0.0%
2008 6 +0.0%
2009 6 +0.0%
2010 6 +0.0%
2011 6 +0.0%
2012 6 +0.0%
2013 6 +0.0%
2014 6 +0.0%
2015 6 +0.0%
2016 3 -50.0%
2017 3 +0.0%
2018 3 +0.0%
2019 3 +0.0%
2020 3 +0.0%
2021 6 +100.0%
2022 6 +0.0%
2023 6 +0.0%
2024 6 +0.0%
2025 6 +0.0%

Zambia compared with similar countries

  • Zambia's 6 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3, 2.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
  • Zambia's 6 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3, 2.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1910s 0 0 0 9
1920s 0.8 0 2 10
1930s 2 2 2 10
1940s 2 2 2 10
1950s 2 2 2 10
1960s 2.6 2 3 10
1970s 1.4 1 3 10
1980s 1 1 1 10
1990s 5.5 1 6 10
2000s 6 6 6 10
2010s 4.8 3 6 10
2020s 5.5 3 6 6

Countries ranked near Zambia

  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 Kenya 6 compare
  19. 78 Lebanon 6 compare
  20. 78 Lesotho 6 compare
  21. 78 Liberia 6 compare
  22. 78 Malawi 6 compare
  23. 78 Malaysia 6 compare
  24. 78 Maldives 6 compare
  25. 78 Mexico 6 compare
  26. 78 Moldova 6 compare
  27. 78 Montenegro 6 compare
  28. 78 Nepal 6 compare
  29. 78 North Macedonia 6 compare
  30. 78 Paraguay 6 compare
  31. 78 Peru 6 compare
  32. 78 Philippines 6 compare
  33. 78 Senegal 6 compare
  34. 78 Slovakia 6 compare
  35. 78 Solomon Islands 6 compare
  36. 78 Sri Lanka 6 compare
  37. 78 Ukraine 6 compare

See the full ranking of 198 places →

More public sector data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in Zambia?
Democracy in Zambia was 6 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 6 in 1991.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1911.
How does Zambia rank for democracy?
Zambia ranks 78th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Zambia 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.

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Democracy in Zambia. Statizoid, drawing on Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/stat/political-regime-lexical/zambia/

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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).