DEMOCRACYS.ORG / COUNTRY BRIEF
Nepal
Institutions and political conditions · 2025
#70of 179 places
−1.2points since 2015
55.4–71.4source-bound score area*
What the score says
Nepal scores 62.6 on the Democracys Standard. Its score was 63.8 in 2015, a fall of 1.2 points. The lowest-scoring dimension in 2025 is public reasoning (54.3).
What drove the change?
The score for Nepal fell 1.2 points, from 63.8 to 62.6 between 2015 and 2025. 2 of the five areas improved while 3 worsened, so the headline combines competing movements. Participation contributed the largest upward push in the score calculation.
This explains movement within the formula, not the causal effect of political events.
2025 context · Freedom House assessment
A protest crisis disrupted constitutional governance
Lethal force against demonstrators was followed by wider unrest, and an interim prime minister was selected through a process Freedom House describes as bypassing constitutional procedures. The account raises two separate concerns: protection of peaceful participation and the lawful transfer of executive authority during a crisis.
Read the country report · Freedom in the World 2026AI-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 test | 2025 | Since 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| Free and fair elections | 65.6 | +1.3 |
| Rights and checks on power | 74.6 | −8.3 |
| Public participation | 61.5 | +14.5 |
| Public reasoning | 54.3 | −9.3 |
| Political equality | 58.0 | −5.8 |
Dimension movements are not additive contributions to the overall score. The method also accounts for weak areas.
Three questions worth investigating
- Do leaders explain decisions, consult the public, answer opposing arguments, and consider the common good?
- Which documented changes in laws, institutions, or their implementation occurred during the period?
- 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.