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2025 country profile

How democratic is
Tajikistan?

Tajikistan scores 14.3 out of 100 and ranks 170 of 179 in our independent 2025 democracy measure. Its lowest-scoring test is rights and checks on power. Explore the evidence and history below.

Democracys.org beta estimate, derived from V-Dem v16. A measure of political institutions and conditions—not a percentage of democracy or a judgment of people.

Printable country briefCompare this country

DEMOCRACYS SCORE

14.3out of 100Far from the standard
2025 rank170 of 179
10-year change−0.1
25-year change−13.8
Source-bound range8.7–17.9
Weakest areaRights & checks

The source-bound range is an uncertainty guide, not a confidence interval for this combined score. How to read the range →

SCORE HISTORY

Tajikistan, 1990–2025

The shaded area is a plain-language uncertainty guide. Treat small score differences cautiously.

About uncertainty

BEYOND THE NUMBERS

What changed on the ground?

A documented development to help interpret the institutions behind the score.

2025 context · Freedom House assessment

A sustained crackdown keeps alternatives from organizing

Freedom House describes the political opposition and independent media as severely weakened by continuing repression. This is ongoing institutional context, not a newly identified turning point. It explains why a relatively flat score can still represent a closed system: stability in the number does not imply openness or accountability.

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 →

UNDERSTAND THE CHANGE

What drove the score?

Choose comparison period

2015–2025 · the measured story

The score for Tajikistan fell 0.1 points, from 14.4 to 14.3 between 2015 and 2025. 3 of the five areas improved while 2 worsened, so the headline combines competing movements. Political equality contributed the largest downward push in the score calculation.

Read the political context ↓

Largest influence on the calculation

Political equality

The evidence rates the distribution of political influence, rights, and access across social groups less favorably.

Area score
24.3 → 16.8
Approx. contribution to overall change
−1.3 points

Moving in the other direction

Participation

The evidence rates opportunities to participate through civic organizations, direct democracy, and local or regional institutions more favorably.

Area score
11.8 → 16.3
Approx. contribution to overall change
+0.9 points

These contributions explain the calculation—not the causes. The five area scores combine several indicators; they do not identify which individual law, election, or event changed.

When did the biggest shifts appear?

The largest year-to-year movements within this period. These are changes in annual estimates, not precise dates of political events.

  1. 2015–2016−0.6 points

    The overall score fell from 14.4 to 13.8. Political equality supplied the largest downward contribution to that year’s calculated change.

  2. 2019–2020+0.8 points

    The overall score rose from 13.1 to 13.9. Public reasoning supplied the largest upward contribution to that year’s calculated change.

  3. 2023–2024+0.7 points

    The overall score rose from 13.2 to 13.9. Rights and checks supplied the largest upward contribution to that year’s calculated change.

Highest published score in this window: 14.4 in 2015. Small differences may fall within the source’s uncertainty.

See all five areas and how contributions are calculated
Changes in inputs versus contributions to the overall score
Area20152025Input changeApprox. contribution
Political equality24.316.8−7.5−1.3
Participation11.816.3+4.5+0.9
Elections18.415.8−2.6−0.5
Rights and checks8.910.6+1.7+0.4
Public reasoning10.912.5+1.6+0.4

We change the five inputs from their starting to ending values in every possible order, then average each area’s effect on the formula. This distributes the formula’s interactions (a Shapley allocation). It is a mathematical attribution, not a causal estimate.

Inputs and published scores are rounded, so contributions are approximate and may not add exactly to the displayed total. No significance test is implied. Read the full scoring method →

BENEATH THE SCORE

Five dimensions of democracy

The headline score cannot show where a political system is strong or constrained. These five tests can. Each has equal weight in the beta standard.

01

Free and fair elections

Can people choose their leaders through broad voting rights, honest elections, free political groups, and open public debate?

15.8
02

Rights and checks on power

Are basic freedoms protected, laws applied fairly, courts independent, and leaders prevented from abusing power?

10.6
03

Public participation

Can people shape public life through civic groups, direct voting, and meaningful local and regional government?

16.3
04

Public reasoning

Do leaders explain decisions, consult the public, answer opposing arguments, and consider the common good?

12.5
05

Political equality

Do different social groups have equal rights, access, resources, and a real chance to influence political power?

16.8

HOW TO READ THIS PROFILE

Two kinds of evidence.
One clearer picture.

The score breakdown identifies which parts of the measure changed most. The country report adds documented political context. Together they help explain the institutions at stake—but they do not prove that a specific event produced a specific number of points.

Why this score differs from other democracy indices →

What a declining score can—and cannot—tell us about democratic backsliding

A recent improvement can coexist with a long-term decline. Always compare the dates, check the linked source, and consider developments the selected narrative does not cover.

ANNUAL DATA

Tajikistan score table

Download Tajikistan CSV
YearScoreSource-bound rangeElectionsRights & checksParticipationReasoningEquality
202514.38.7–17.915.810.616.312.516.8
202413.99.0–17.816.89.114.311.119.6
202313.28.6–16.916.47.614.211.118.3
202213.68.3–17.016.47.614.612.318.5
202113.78.9–17.217.18.313.911.618.8
202013.99.0–17.517.09.015.310.718.8
201913.18.4–16.216.49.513.78.718.5
201813.38.7–16.816.410.513.28.019.9
201713.78.9–17.116.89.015.19.819.4
201613.88.9–17.017.48.113.411.121.1
201514.49.2–17.918.48.911.810.924.3
201416.811.1–20.920.111.012.115.528.0
201317.611.8–21.820.611.012.518.428.0
201220.514.4–25.122.213.116.318.435.6
201120.814.6–25.422.513.517.018.435.6
201021.315.4–26.222.513.318.020.235.6
200922.416.3–27.323.014.920.120.435.7
200822.216.2–27.222.914.720.020.235.7
200723.116.7–28.022.714.420.723.936.4
200623.317.1–28.422.615.021.323.336.7
200523.417.1–28.322.815.421.323.336.7
200424.718.3–30.024.317.622.923.337.0
200324.718.5–30.324.517.823.323.336.3
200224.718.3–30.224.117.723.623.336.3
200125.619.0–30.924.418.824.023.339.3
200028.121.0–34.023.918.925.633.041.7
199926.719.4–32.520.916.926.430.741.9
199825.217.9–31.019.616.321.530.741.8
199724.317.6–30.318.214.321.928.742.6
199622.816.1–28.417.314.219.525.441.6
199522.816.0–28.117.313.919.525.442.3
199422.115.2–27.319.412.219.719.844.6
199321.213.9–26.521.712.215.018.244.6
199225.417.7–31.727.813.718.220.354.6
199132.224.1–39.430.627.516.326.470.2
199031.623.7–38.425.930.314.826.771.0

CITE THIS PROFILE

Source and attribution

Democracys.org (2026), “Tajikistan Democracy Score, 1990–2025,” Democracys Standard v1.0 beta; derived from Coppedge et al. (2026), V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v16.

Open source DOI

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