Participation and Human Rights
Participation: Within this sub-category the Ibrahim Index measures: (i) Political Participation – extent to which citizens have relevant information and the freedom to participate in the political process. (ii) Effective Power to Govern – extent to which democratically elected leaders have the effective power to govern, or the extent of veto powers and political enclaves.  (iii) Free and Fair Elections – extent to which leaders are determined by free and fair elections. (iv)  Electoral Self-determination – right of citizens to freely decide their political system and leadership. (v) Free and Fair Executive Elections – integrity of executive elections.

Rights: Within this sub-category the Ibrahim Index measures: (i) Human Rights – likelihood of a state being accused of serious human rights violations. (ii) Political Rights – legitimacy of policy-making; electoral process including electoral laws; political pluralism; participation; corruption; and accountability. (iii) Workers’ Rights – laws for internationally-recognized rights in the workplace that govern pay, hours of work, forced labour, child labour, occupational safety, and the right to associate and bargain collectively . (iv) Freedom of Expression – extent to which citizens, organisations and media can express opinions freely . (v) Freedom of Association and Assembly – clustered indicator (an average) of the following variables: Freedom of Association and Assembly – extent to which independent political and/or civic groups can associate and assemble freely ; Freedom of Assembly and Association – existence and enforcement of laws that allow citizens the right to assemble freely and associate into groups such as political parties and trade unions among others ; Freedom of Association – likelihood that freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining will not be respected . (v) Press Freedom – clustered indicator (an average) of the following variables: Freedom of Speech and Press – extent to which freedoms of speech and press are affected by government censorship and ownership; Free Press – degree of print, broadcast, and internet freedom, including assessment of events impacting the media environment; Press Freedom Index – degree of freedom for journalists and news organisations, and efforts made by the authorities to ensure respect for this freedom. (vi) Civil Liberties – clustered indicator (an average) of the following variables: Protection of Civil Liberties – the extent to which civil liberties are guaranteed and protected, and citizens can seek redress for violations of these liberties ;  Civil Liberties – the extent of various citizens 'freedoms . (vii) Ratification and Initial Reporting of Core International Human Rights Conventions – assessment based on the number of the nine core international human rights treaties a country has ratified and submitted an initial report for.

Gender: Within this sub-category the Ibrahim Index measures: (i) Gender Equality – clustered indicator (average) of variables from the African Development Bank and the World Bank measuring the extent to which a state has enacted institutions and programs to enforce laws and policies that: Promote equal access for men and women to education and training; Promote equal access for men and women to resources; Provide equal legal status to men and women. (ii) Primary School Completion Rate, Female – female students successfully finishing the last year of primary school. (iii) Ratio of Girls to Boys in Primary and Secondary Education – ratio of total enrollment rate of girls to boys in both primary and secondary education. (iv)  Women’s Participation in the Labour Force – proportion of women aged 15 and older that are economically active. (v) Women in Parliament – parliamentary seats held by women. (vi)  Women’s Rights – existence and enforcement of laws that accord women internationally recognized economic rights (rights concerning employment); and political rights (including the r
Measures 3 indicators (a) Participation (b) Rights and (c) gender.