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V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · Military Dimension Index

Military role in government by country

How far does the head of government's hold on power rest on the military?

Of the 176 countries compared in 2025, 76 countries shared the lowest reading, 0.000, and 5 countries shared the highest reading, 1.000. In the middle country the figure was 0.100.

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Part ofDemocracy & Civil LibertiesPeace & Security

Military role in government · 2025

Context statistic

76 countries share the lowest value, 0.000 — no single country is named first.

012025 · values only

Who leads

The three countries at the lowest end of 176 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.

Lowest in 2025 · shared

76 countries share the lowest reading, 0.000

No single country is named first: picking one from a shared value would be a choice the data does not make.

Highest in 2025

  1. Niger1.000
  2. Myanmar1.000
  3. Mali1.000

Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.

Lowest on each continent

02Every measured country

Military role in government 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.

All regions

Darker is a lower value — the better end.

  • 0.300–1.000
  • 0.125–0.286
  • 0.000–0.111
  • No reading in 2025
  • Europe

    0.000

    the middle country, of 40 measured · 49 members

    36 share 0.000

    2 share 0.167

    Lowest and highest reading in Europe.

  • Oceania

    0.000

    the middle country, of 6 measured · 21 members

    5 share 0.000

    Fiji0.250

    Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.

  • Americas

    0.062

    the middle country, of 27 measured · 48 members

    12 share 0.000

    Venezuela0.375

    Lowest and highest reading in Americas.

  • Asia

    0.106

    the middle country, of 48 measured · 52 members

    18 share 0.000

    Myanmar1.000

    Lowest and highest reading in Asia.

  • Africa

    0.300

    the middle country, of 55 measured · 55 members

    5 share 0.000

    4 share 1.000

    Lowest and highest reading in Africa.

20 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
  • Eastern Asia

    0.000

    the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members

    5 share 0.000

    China0.111

    Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Asia.

  • Eastern Europe

    0.000

    the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members

    7 share 0.000

    Russia0.167

    Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.

  • Northern Europe

    0.000

    the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members

    9 share 0.000

    Latvia0.167

    Lowest and highest reading in Northern Europe.

  • Southern Europe

    0.000

    the middle country, of 13 measured · 17 members

    13 share 0.000

    13 share 0.000

    Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.

  • Western Europe

    0.000

    the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members

    7 share 0.000

    7 share 0.000

    Lowest and highest reading in Western Europe.

  • Caribbean

    0.031

    the middle country, of 6 measured · 24 members

    3 share 0.000

    Cuba0.125

    Lowest and highest reading in Caribbean.

  • Central America

    0.056

    the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members

    3 share 0.000

    Honduras0.300

    Lowest and highest reading in Central America.

  • Western Asia

    0.094

    the middle country, of 17 measured · 19 members

    7 share 0.000

    Syria0.875

    Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.

  • South America

    0.113

    the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members

    4 share 0.000

    Venezuela0.375

    Lowest and highest reading in South America.

  • Central Asia

    0.125

    the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members

    2 share 0.000

    Turkmenistan0.167

    Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.

  • Southern Asia

    0.143

    the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members

    2 share 0.000

    Afghanistan0.600

    Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.

  • South-eastern Asia

    0.163

    the middle country, of 10 measured · 11 members

    2 share 0.000

    Myanmar1.000

    Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.

  • Southern Africa

    0.167

    the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members

    South Africa0.000

    Botswana0.500

    Lowest and highest reading in Southern Africa.

  • Eastern Africa

    0.214

    the middle country, of 19 measured · 19 members

    2 share 0.000

    Madagascar0.875

    Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.

  • Western Africa

    0.333

    the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members

    Cabo Verde0.000

    4 share 1.000

    Lowest and highest reading in Western Africa.

  • Middle Africa

    0.375

    the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members

    São Tomé and Príncipe0.083

    3 share 0.500

    Lowest and highest reading in Middle Africa.

  • Northern Africa

    0.375

    the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members

    Morocco0.000

    Sudan0.750

    Lowest and highest reading in Northern Africa.

  • Australia and New Zealand

    2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.

    2 share 0.000

    2 share 0.000

    Lowest 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.

    3 share 0.000

    Fiji0.250

    Lowest and highest reading in Melanesia.

  • Northern America

    2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.

    2 share 0.000

    2 share 0.000

    Lowest 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 0.100; a quarter are above 0.250, and a quarter below 0.000. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.

00.250.50.751Africa55 comparedCabo Verde: 0.000Mauritius: 0.000Morocco: 0.000South Africa: 0.000Tanzania: 0.000São Tomé and Príncipe: 0.083Ghana: 0.100Kenya: 0.100Lesotho: 0.100Senegal: 0.100Tunisia: 0.100Somaliland: 0.100Seychelles: 0.125Zambia: 0.125South Sudan: 0.125Gambia: 0.143Equatorial Guinea: 0.167Eritrea: 0.167Eswatini: 0.167Namibia: 0.200Somalia: 0.200Mozambique: 0.214Central African Republic: 0.250Libya: 0.250Sierra Leone: 0.250Ethiopia: 0.286Malawi: 0.286Burundi: 0.300Togo: 0.300Nigeria: 0.312Cameroon: 0.333Côte d’Ivoire: 0.333Liberia: 0.333Zimbabwe: 0.333Rwanda: 0.357Angola: 0.375Comoros: 0.375Mauritania: 0.375Djibouti: 0.400Uganda: 0.400DR Congo: 0.417Algeria: 0.500Benin: 0.500Botswana: 0.500Chad: 0.500Egypt: 0.500Gabon: 0.500Republic of the Congo: 0.500Sudan: 0.750Madagascar: 0.875Burkina Faso: 0.900Guinea: 1.000Guinea-Bissau: 1.000Mali: 1.000Niger: 1.000Cabo Verde 0.000Niger 1.000Americas27 comparedArgentina: 0.000Barbados: 0.000Canada: 0.000Chile: 0.000Costa Rica: 0.000Jamaica: 0.000Nicaragua: 0.000Panama: 0.000Paraguay: 0.000Suriname: 0.000Trinidad and Tobago: 0.000United States: 0.000Mexico: 0.056Haiti: 0.062Peru: 0.071Dominican Republic: 0.100Guyana: 0.100Colombia: 0.125Cuba: 0.125Brazil: 0.167El Salvador: 0.200Guatemala: 0.200Uruguay: 0.200Ecuador: 0.214Bolivia: 0.250Honduras: 0.300Venezuela: 0.375Argentina 0.000Venezuela 0.375Asia48 comparedArmenia: 0.000Azerbaijan: 0.000Cyprus: 0.000Georgia: 0.000Hong Kong: 0.000Israel: 0.000Japan: 0.000Kazakhstan: 0.000Kuwait: 0.000Kyrgyzstan: 0.000Malaysia: 0.000Mongolia: 0.000Nepal: 0.000Saudi Arabia: 0.000South Korea: 0.000Sri Lanka: 0.000Taiwan: 0.000Vietnam: 0.000Jordan: 0.071North Korea: 0.083Iran: 0.092Lebanon: 0.094Oman: 0.100Türkiye: 0.100China: 0.111Laos: 0.125Maldives: 0.125Singapore: 0.125Tajikistan: 0.125Timor-Leste: 0.125United Arab Emirates: 0.125India: 0.143Uzbekistan: 0.143Bahrain: 0.150Bhutan: 0.167Turkmenistan: 0.167Iraq: 0.200Philippines: 0.200Qatar: 0.200Bangladesh: 0.250Thailand: 0.250Pakistan: 0.300Yemen: 0.300Cambodia: 0.333Indonesia: 0.417Afghanistan: 0.600Syria: 0.875Myanmar: 1.000Armenia 0.000Myanmar 1.000Europe40 comparedAlbania: 0.000Austria: 0.000Belgium: 0.000Bulgaria: 0.000Czechia: 0.000Denmark: 0.000Estonia: 0.000Finland: 0.000France: 0.000Germany: 0.000Greece: 0.000Hungary: 0.000Iceland: 0.000Ireland: 0.000Italy: 0.000Lithuania: 0.000Luxembourg: 0.000Malta: 0.000Moldova: 0.000Netherlands: 0.000Norway: 0.000Poland: 0.000Portugal: 0.000Romania: 0.000Serbia: 0.000Slovenia: 0.000Spain: 0.000Sweden: 0.000Switzerland: 0.000United Kingdom: 0.000Croatia: 0.000North Macedonia: 0.000Bosnia and Herzegovina: 0.000Slovakia: 0.000Montenegro: 0.000Kosovo: 0.000Ukraine: 0.050Belarus: 0.100Latvia: 0.167Russia: 0.167Albania 0.000 · Russia 0.167Oceania6 comparedAustralia: 0.000New Zealand: 0.000Papua New Guinea: 0.000Solomon Islands: 0.000Vanuatu: 0.000Fiji: 0.250Australia 0.000 · Fiji 0.250middle country 0.100

04All 176 ever measured

Every country

In order, lowest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. ⚠ Most countries share a reading of exactly 0, so no position is derived — an order in which dozens of countries share one place says nothing. Readings between 0 and 1 mean one of the two conditions holds, or that power is split between a head of state and a head of government on different footings.

The raw table

Showing 25 of 176 countries

  1. AlbaniaSouthern Europe0.000
  2. ArgentinaSouth America0.000
  3. ArmeniaWestern Asia0.000
  4. AustraliaAustralia and New Zealand0.000
  5. AustriaWestern Europe0.000
  6. AzerbaijanWestern Asia0.000
  7. BarbadosCaribbean0.000
  8. BelgiumWestern Europe0.000
  9. Bosnia and HerzegovinaSouthern Europe0.000
  10. BulgariaEastern Europe0.000
  11. Cabo VerdeWestern Africa0.000
  12. CanadaNorthern America0.000
  13. ChileSouth America0.000
  14. Costa RicaCentral America0.000
  15. CroatiaSouthern Europe0.000
  16. CyprusWestern Asia0.000
  17. CzechiaEastern Europe0.000
  18. DenmarkNorthern Europe0.000
  19. EstoniaNorthern Europe0.000
  20. FinlandNorthern Europe0.000
  21. FranceWestern Europe0.000
  22. GeorgiaWestern Asia0.000
  23. GermanyWestern Europe0.000
  24. GreeceSouthern Europe0.000
  25. Hong KongEastern Asia0.000

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. For most countries the line is flat at zero; where it moves, it moves in steps, usually in the year of a coup or of a return to civilian rule.

00.10.20.319901995200020052010201520202025AfricaAsiaAmericasEuropeOceania
  • the middle country
  • the middle half of countries
  • the middle of the 168 countries measured every time
  • each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
YearCountriesMiddle countryMiddle halfMeasured every time
20251760.1000.000 – 0.2500.100
20241760.1000.000 – 0.2500.100
20231760.1000.000 – 0.2500.100
20221760.1090.000 – 0.2230.111
20211760.0960.000 – 0.2180.100
20201760.1000.000 – 0.2500.100
20191760.0900.000 – 0.2220.096
20181760.0810.000 – 0.2160.083
20171760.0800.000 – 0.2160.083
20161760.1000.000 – 0.2230.100
20151760.1000.000 – 0.2220.100
20141760.0960.000 – 0.2200.100
20131760.0960.000 – 0.2160.100
20121760.0960.000 – 0.2140.100
20111760.0880.000 – 0.2020.096
20101750.1000.000 – 0.2080.104
20091750.0880.000 – 0.2110.096
20081750.0880.000 – 0.2110.096
20071750.0880.000 – 0.2080.096
20061750.0880.000 – 0.2180.096
20051750.0880.000 – 0.2110.097
20041750.0830.000 – 0.2140.100
20031750.0830.000 – 0.2140.100
20021750.0830.000 – 0.2320.100
20011750.0830.000 – 0.2320.100
20001750.0830.000 – 0.2140.100
19991750.0830.000 – 0.2500.100
19981740.0920.000 – 0.2500.100
19971730.1000.000 – 0.2500.100
19961730.1000.000 – 0.2500.100
19951730.1000.000 – 0.2500.100
19941730.1000.000 – 0.2500.100
19931730.1000.000 – 0.2500.100
19921720.1000.000 – 0.2860.100
19911710.1000.000 – 0.2680.100
19901680.1000.000 – 0.2860.100

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
  1. Gabon1.000 → 0.500−0.500
  2. Morocco0.250 → 0.000−0.250
  3. Eswatini0.375 → 0.167−0.208
  4. Kuwait0.167 → 0.000−0.167
  5. Suriname0.167 → 0.000−0.167

Worsened most

before → after
  1. Guinea-Bissau0.125 → 1.000+0.875
  2. Madagascar0.200 → 0.875+0.675
  3. Botswana0.250 → 0.500+0.250
  4. Benin0.286 → 0.500+0.214
  5. Republic of the Congo0.300 → 0.500+0.200

176 countries were measured in both 2024 and 2025.

07Across every edition

Military role in government in records

The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.

08The measure

About military role in government

V-Dem's Military Dimension Index asks how far a country's chief executive owes their position to the armed forces: whether they took office through a coup, a rebellion or appointment by the military, and whether the military could remove them. It runs from 0 to 1; a higher figure means a larger military role, and most countries read exactly 0.

What the number is: Military dimension index (0–1; higher = larger military role).

What it does not measure

It concerns who puts the executive in power and can remove it, not military spending or the size of the armed forces.

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.

All statistics

In the Country Index

Context, with no vote

This statistic is published in full under Democracy & Civil Liberties and Peace & Security, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.

Democracy & Civil LibertiesPeace & SecurityWhich statistics vote, and why

Moves with

Where military role in government is higher, these tend to be higher too.

Moves against

Where military role in government is higher, these tend to be lower.

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.

On the same subject

10Keep reading

Explore further

The countries at either end

More from V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg

11Questions

Military role in government: questions and answers

Which country has the lowest military role in government?

76 countries share the lowest reading, 0.000, among the 176 compared in 2025, so no single country is named.

Which country has the highest military role in government?

5 countries share the highest reading, 1.000, among the 176 compared in 2025, so no single country is named.

How many countries does the Military Dimension Index cover?

176 in 2025. The number measured varies from 168 to 176 between editions.

What is the world average military role in government?

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 0.100.

Is this V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg’s own ranking?

No ranking is shown. V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.

How often is the Military Dimension 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

Military Dimension 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 2026-09-26.

The full 2025 table, row for row

How this page reads the numbers

  • No rank or position is shown: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
  • 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.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Military role in government by country: Military Dimension Index, data from V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/military-dimension

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