V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · Neopatrimonial Rule Index
Neopatrimonial rule by country
How far does rule rest on personal loyalty and patronage rather than on rules?
Of the 176 countries compared in 2025, Denmark had the lowest reading, 0.008, and Nicaragua had the highest reading, 0.989. In the middle country the figure was 0.445. Among the 166 countries measured in every edition since 1990, the middle one moved from 0.545 to 0.445.
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Neopatrimonial rule · 2025
Context statistic
Lowest of 176Denmark
0.008012025 · position · derived
Who leads
The three countries at the lowest end of 176 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: User:Aconcagua · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2Photo: tiimta · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3Photo: User:Pieter Kuiper · Public domain, greyscale
02Every measured country
Neopatrimonial rule on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a lower value — the better end.
- 0.819–0.989
- 0.615–0.812
- 0.337–0.604
- 0.135–0.336
- 0.008–0.134
- No reading in 2025
- Europe
0.114
the middle country, of 40 measured · 49 members
Denmark0.008
Belarus0.940Lowest and highest reading in Europe.
- Oceania
0.240
the middle country, of 6 measured · 21 members
Australia0.016
Solomon Islands0.399Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.
- Americas
0.363
the middle country, of 27 measured · 48 members
Chile0.040
Nicaragua0.989Lowest and highest reading in Americas.
- Asia
0.633
the middle country, of 48 measured · 52 members
Japan0.090
Azerbaijan0.976Lowest and highest reading in Asia.
- Africa
0.681
the middle country, of 55 measured · 55 members
Seychelles0.064
Chad0.982Lowest and highest reading in Africa.
- Every region
20 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
- Northern Europe
0.036
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
Denmark0.008
Lithuania0.069Lowest and highest reading in Northern Europe.
- Western Europe
0.051
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Switzerland0.019
Austria0.093Lowest and highest reading in Western Europe.
- Southern Europe
0.246
the middle country, of 13 measured · 17 members
Spain0.072
Serbia0.721Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.
- Southern Africa
0.273
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
South Africa0.214
Eswatini0.714Lowest and highest reading in Southern Africa.
- Caribbean
0.308
the middle country, of 6 measured · 24 members
Barbados0.109
Cuba0.856Lowest and highest reading in Caribbean.
- Eastern Europe
0.327
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Czechia0.068Belarus0.940Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.
- South America
0.398
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
Chile0.040
Venezuela0.985Lowest and highest reading in South America.
- Eastern Asia
0.422
the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members
Japan0.090
North Korea0.967Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Central America
0.475
the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members
Costa Rica0.074Nicaragua0.989Lowest and highest reading in Central America.
- Southern Asia
0.508
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Sri Lanka0.167
Afghanistan0.899Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.
- Western Africa
0.609
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Cabo Verde0.191
Mauritania0.852Lowest and highest reading in Western Africa.
- South-eastern Asia
0.610
the middle country, of 10 measured · 11 members
Singapore0.120
Myanmar0.966Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Western Asia
0.656
the middle country, of 17 measured · 19 members
Israel0.115Azerbaijan0.976Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.
- Northern Africa
0.691
the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members
Tunisia0.399
Algeria0.812Lowest and highest reading in Northern Africa.
- Eastern Africa
0.759
the middle country, of 19 measured · 19 members
Seychelles0.064
Eritrea0.955Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Middle Africa
0.860
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
São Tomé and Príncipe0.304Chad0.982Lowest and highest reading in Middle Africa.
- Central Asia
0.906
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Kyrgyzstan0.757
Tajikistan0.961Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
Australia0.016
New Zealand0.021Lowest and highest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Melanesia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.
Vanuatu0.182Solomon Islands0.399Lowest and highest reading in Melanesia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
Canada0.070
United States0.123Lowest and highest reading in Northern America.
03The whole field at once
The spread
176 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 0.445; a quarter are above 0.765, and a quarter below 0.185. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 176 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first — position 1 is the highest value, the way V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg’s own tables read. “=” marks a position shared with another country. V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. ⚠ Higher is worse, the reverse of most V-Dem indices, so the derived position puts the most personalised regime first. It is built partly from the same questions as the Judicial Constraints and Political Corruption indices on this site, so it largely summarises what those two show.
Showing 25 of 176 countries
Values for 2025. The change column compares 2025 with 2024 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051990–2025 · 36 reference years
Over time
Each point is one year from 1990, all of them re-estimated together in V-Dem's v16 release. Read the direction over several years rather than a single step.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 166 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 176 | 0.445 | 0.185 – 0.765 | 0.445 |
| 2024 | 176 | 0.450 | 0.179 – 0.757 | 0.450 |
| 2023 | 176 | 0.453 | 0.191 – 0.777 | 0.453 |
| 2022 | 176 | 0.442 | 0.185 – 0.762 | 0.442 |
| 2021 | 176 | 0.447 | 0.191 – 0.765 | 0.447 |
| 2020 | 176 | 0.446 | 0.172 – 0.731 | 0.446 |
| 2019 | 176 | 0.445 | 0.169 – 0.722 | 0.445 |
| 2018 | 176 | 0.443 | 0.173 – 0.724 | 0.437 |
| 2017 | 176 | 0.431 | 0.180 – 0.734 | 0.429 |
| 2016 | 176 | 0.451 | 0.179 – 0.743 | 0.450 |
| 2015 | 176 | 0.457 | 0.184 – 0.746 | 0.456 |
| 2014 | 176 | 0.482 | 0.184 – 0.746 | 0.482 |
| 2013 | 176 | 0.483 | 0.180 – 0.752 | 0.478 |
| 2012 | 176 | 0.477 | 0.182 – 0.754 | 0.477 |
| 2011 | 176 | 0.472 | 0.184 – 0.753 | 0.472 |
| 2010 | 175 | 0.466 | 0.183 – 0.755 | 0.475 |
| 2009 | 175 | 0.483 | 0.181 – 0.755 | 0.489 |
| 2008 | 175 | 0.480 | 0.180 – 0.746 | 0.487 |
| 2007 | 175 | 0.492 | 0.183 – 0.744 | 0.500 |
| 2006 | 175 | 0.487 | 0.184 – 0.758 | 0.492 |
| 2005 | 175 | 0.481 | 0.184 – 0.755 | 0.483 |
| 2004 | 175 | 0.481 | 0.189 – 0.742 | 0.486 |
| 2003 | 175 | 0.493 | 0.184 – 0.755 | 0.500 |
| 2002 | 175 | 0.505 | 0.188 – 0.758 | 0.509 |
| 2001 | 175 | 0.499 | 0.186 – 0.774 | 0.504 |
| 2000 | 175 | 0.506 | 0.186 – 0.766 | 0.518 |
| 1999 | 175 | 0.541 | 0.191 – 0.769 | 0.542 |
| 1998 | 173 | 0.538 | 0.198 – 0.772 | 0.534 |
| 1997 | 172 | 0.541 | 0.205 – 0.763 | 0.535 |
| 1996 | 172 | 0.543 | 0.208 – 0.758 | 0.541 |
| 1995 | 172 | 0.532 | 0.215 – 0.763 | 0.523 |
| 1994 | 172 | 0.525 | 0.213 – 0.745 | 0.523 |
| 1993 | 172 | 0.524 | 0.214 – 0.759 | 0.521 |
| 1992 | 171 | 0.536 | 0.216 – 0.764 | 0.530 |
| 1991 | 169 | 0.543 | 0.201 – 0.767 | 0.542 |
| 1990 | 166 | 0.545 | 0.215 – 0.781 | 0.545 |
062024 → 2025
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after
Mauritius0.354 → 0.202 · 102nd → 129th−0.152
Bangladesh0.818 → 0.675 · 37th → 58th−0.143- Sri Lanka0.303 → 0.167 · 116th → 136th−0.136
Mali0.716 → 0.615 · 52nd → 70th−0.101
Syria0.898 → 0.803 · 20th → 40th−0.095
Worsened most
before → after
Guinea-Bissau0.650 → 0.811 · 62nd → 38th+0.161
Niger0.349 → 0.461 · 105th → 87th+0.112
Armenia0.509 → 0.615 · 81st → 70th+0.106
Burkina Faso0.567 → 0.658 · 75th → 63rd+0.091
Tanzania0.254 → 0.323 · 121st → 111th+0.069
176 countries were measured in both 2024 and 2025.
07Across every edition
Neopatrimonial rule in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
0.989
Neopatrimonial rule index (0–1; higher = more personalised rule)
Lowest reading on record
0.006
Neopatrimonial rule index (0–1; higher = more personalised rule)
Biggest improvement between editions
−0.635
0.862 → 0.227
Biggest decline between editions
+0.517
0.396 → 0.913
Most improved since first measured
−0.642
0.946 → 0.304
At the top most often
36 of 36
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About neopatrimonial rule
V-Dem's Neopatrimonial Rule Index asks how far a country is ruled through personal authority rather than rules: votes and loyalty traded for targeted favours, a chief executive the legislature and courts cannot check, and corruption at the top of the state. It runs from 0 to 1, and a higher figure means more personalised rule.
What the number is: Neopatrimonial rule index (0–1; higher = more personalised rule).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Governance & Institutions and Democracy & Civil Liberties, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Governance & InstitutionsDemocracy & Civil LibertiesWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where neopatrimonial rule is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Political Corruption IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries in commonρ 0.88
- Exclusion by Socio-Economic GroupV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 174 countries in commonρ 0.78
- Informal Employment RateILO · 86 countries in commonρ 0.69
Moves against
Where neopatrimonial rule is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Judicial Constraints on the Executive IndexKeyV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries in commonρ −0.96
- Liberal Democracy IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries in commonρ −0.95
- Voice and AccountabilityWorld Bank Group · 175 countries in commonρ −0.92
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 379 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
More from V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
11Questions
Neopatrimonial rule: questions and answers
Which country has the lowest neopatrimonial rule?
Denmark, at 0.008, among the 176 countries compared in 2025.
Which country has the highest neopatrimonial rule?
Nicaragua, at 0.989, among the 176 countries compared in 2025.
How many countries does the Neopatrimonial Rule Index cover?
176 in 2025. The number measured varies from 166 to 176 between editions.
What is the world average neopatrimonial rule?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 176 compared in 2025, the figure was 0.445.
Is this V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg’s own ranking?
No. V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.
How often is the Neopatrimonial Rule Index published?
This site holds 36 reference years, 1990–2025, all recalculated in V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg’s 2026 report on one method — not 36 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, under CC BY-SA 4.0. From the V-Dem Institute's Country-Year Core dataset (v16), University of Gothenburg, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. V-Dem's data runs back to 1789; the series here starts in 1990 so that every row belongs to a present-day country. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Neopatrimonial Rule Index — V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
From the V-Dem Institute's Country-Year Core dataset (v16), University of Gothenburg, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. V-Dem's data runs back to 1789; the series here starts in 1990 so that every row belongs to a present-day country.
Newest edition
Report year 2025Data year 2025
Cite the source as: Coppedge, M. et al. V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v16. Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project, University of Gothenburg.
Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0, checked 2026-09-29.
How this page reads the numbers
- V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Denmark — User:Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Australia — tiimta, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Sweden — User:Pieter Kuiper, Public domain
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Neopatrimonial rule by country: Neopatrimonial Rule Index, data from V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/neopatrimonial-rule