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Ivory Coast

Institutions and political conditions · 2025

48.2out of 100

#110of 179 places

−10.8points since 2015

39.6–56.2source-bound score area*

What the score says

Ivory Coast scores 48.2 on the Democracys Standard. Its score was 59.0 in 2015, a fall of 10.8 points. The lowest-scoring dimension in 2025 is free and fair elections (39.4).

What drove the change?

The score for Ivory Coast fell 10.8 points, from 59.0 to 48.2 between 2015 and 2025. All five areas declined. Public reasoning contributed the largest downward push in the score calculation.

This explains movement within the formula, not the causal effect of political events.

2025 context · Freedom House assessment

Candidate exclusions reduced meaningful presidential choice

Leading opposition candidates were excluded before the incumbent won a fourth term. Authorities also prohibited rallies by excluded parties and dispersed an opposition demonstration, according to Freedom House. The combination affects both access to the ballot and the ability to organize outside it.

Read the country report · Freedom in the World 2026

AI-assisted source summary · not independently expert-reviewed

What this context does—and does not—explain

This is a selected development, not a complete political history. Its date may differ from the selected comparison period. It is not evidence that one event caused a particular number of points, and it may describe progress even when this index declines.

The scores use V-Dem. The narrative summarizes a separate assessment by Freedom House, whose definitions and coverage differ. Neither organization endorses this website. The summary is AI-assisted, source-linked, and has not received independent country-expert review. Source checked October 5, 2026.

Why democracy measures can disagree →

Look beneath the headline

Democracy test2025Since 2015
Free and fair elections39.4−7.9
Rights and checks on power46.7−9.6
Public participation56.8−1.4
Public reasoning49.8−31.4
Political equality49.2−5.3

Dimension movements are not additive contributions to the overall score. The method also accounts for weak areas.

Three questions worth investigating

  1. Can people choose their leaders through broad voting rights, honest elections, free political groups, and open public debate?
  2. Which documented changes in laws, institutions, or their implementation occurred during the period?
  3. What evidence challenges your explanation, and whose experience is missing?

Use primary records and country expertise. A change in an estimate alone does not identify its cause.

Read with care

This is an independent educational beta, not a V-Dem endorsement. Scores are not percentages of democracy or judgments about a people. Small differences may be within uncertainty. *The score area is obtained from source bounds; it is not a formal confidence interval for this composite or its change.

For an activity to use with this brief, open the classroom exercise. No sign-up or email required.