Democracy index

Civil liberties by country

The V-Dem civil liberties index measures freedom from violence by the state, such as torture and political killings, along with private liberties like freedom of movement and religion, and political liberties like freedom of association. Here is how 179 countries score in 2025, and how that has changed since 2015.

Data: V-Dem v16, scores for 2025 · Page updated 27 October 2026

Highest score0.96Estonia

Lowest score0.02North Korea

World average0.65across 179 countries

Declined since 201598countries, against 35 that improved

Key findings

The highest scores in 2025 are in Estonia, Sweden and Denmark, and the lowest in Eritrea, Afghanistan and North Korea. Democracies average 0.87, against 0.45 for autocracies. Since 2015, 98 countries have lost at least 0.02 points and 35 have gained at least as much.

Top 15 countries, 2025Civil liberties index, 0 to 1

Estonia0.96

Sweden0.96

Denmark0.96

Ireland0.96

Belgium0.95

Switzerland0.95

Iceland0.95

Czechia0.95

New Zealand0.95

Finland0.95

Norway0.95

Luxembourg0.95

Spain0.94

Germany0.94

Latvia0.94

Lowest 15 countries, 2025Civil liberties index, 0 to 1

North Korea0.02

Afghanistan0.04

Eritrea0.05

Nicaragua0.08

Myanmar0.10

Turkmenistan0.11

Laos0.14

Palestine (Gaza)0.17

Equatorial Guinea0.17

Tajikistan0.17

Sudan0.17

Saudi Arabia0.18

China0.18

Yemen0.19

Rwanda0.19

Biggest changes since 2015

The largest declines were in Nicaragua, Afghanistan and Burkina Faso. The largest gains were in The Gambia, Syria and Uzbekistan.

Largest declines, 2015 to 2025Change in index points

Nicaragua−0.60

Afghanistan−0.48

Burkina Faso−0.38

Belarus−0.37

Myanmar−0.36

El Salvador−0.31

Hong Kong−0.24

Mozambique−0.22

Venezuela−0.21

Russia−0.21

Largest gains, 2015 to 2025Change in index points

The Gambia+0.55

Syria+0.27

Uzbekistan+0.24

Maldives+0.20

Bangladesh+0.17

Angola+0.13

Somalia+0.13

Lesotho+0.13

Malaysia+0.12

Seychelles+0.12

Full ranking: civil liberties index 2025


1	Estonia	0.96	+0.00	Liberal democracy	0.84
2	Sweden Take the test	0.96	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.85
3	Denmark Take the test	0.96	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.88
4	Ireland Take the test	0.96	±0.00	Liberal democracy	0.82
5	Belgium Take the test	0.95	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.79
6	Switzerland Take the test	0.95	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.84
7	Iceland Take the test	0.95	−0.00	Liberal democracy	0.72
8	Czechia Take the test	0.95	+0.00	Liberal democracy	0.79
9	New Zealand Take the test	0.95	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.79
10	Finland Take the test	0.95	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.81
11	Norway Take the test	0.95	−0.02	Liberal democracy	0.85
12	Luxembourg Take the test	0.95	−0.00	Liberal democracy	0.78
13	Spain Take the test	0.94	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.74
14	Germany Take the test	0.94	−0.02	Liberal democracy	0.78
15	Latvia	0.94	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.75
16	Uruguay Take the test	0.93	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.79
17	Costa Rica Take the test	0.93	−0.03	Liberal democracy	0.81
18	Taiwan	0.93	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.70
19	Chile Take the test	0.93	−0.02	Liberal democracy	0.78
20	Japan Take the test	0.93	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.73
21	Poland Take the test	0.92	−0.03	Electoral democracy	0.65
22	Barbados	0.92	±0.00	Liberal democracy	0.68
23	France Take the test	0.92	−0.03	Liberal democracy	0.80
24	Malta Take the test	0.92	+0.01	Electoral democracy	0.62
25	Suriname	0.91	+0.04	Electoral democracy	0.63
26	Lithuania	0.91	−0.02	Liberal democracy	0.71
27	Ghana	0.91	−0.01	Electoral democracy	0.61
28	South Korea Take the test	0.91	+0.03	Liberal democracy	0.74
29	Netherlands Take the test	0.91	−0.03	Liberal democracy	0.77
30	Cape Verde	0.91	−0.02	Electoral democracy	0.63
31	Austria Take the test	0.91	−0.04	Liberal democracy	0.76
32	Australia Take the test	0.91	−0.04	Liberal democracy	0.79
33	Seychelles	0.90	+0.12	Liberal democracy	0.68
34	Italy Take the test	0.90	−0.03	Liberal democracy	0.64
35	Canada Take the test	0.90	−0.04	Electoral democracy	0.74
36	Cyprus	0.90	−0.02	Liberal democracy	0.66
37	Sao Tome and Principe	0.89	−0.01	Electoral democracy	0.52
38	Trinidad and Tobago	0.89	−0.02	Liberal democracy	0.67
39	Croatia	0.89	−0.04	Electoral democracy	0.59
40	Namibia	0.88	+0.02	Electoral democracy	0.52
41	Slovenia	0.88	−0.05	Electoral democracy	0.59
42	Montenegro	0.88	+0.01	Electoral democracy	0.50
43	Vanuatu	0.88	−0.01	Electoral democracy	0.62
44	The Gambia	0.88	+0.55	Electoral democracy	0.52
45	Greece Take the test	0.88	−0.07	Electoral democracy	0.57
46	Romania	0.88	−0.05	Electoral democracy	0.46
47	Jamaica	0.88	−0.02	Electoral democracy	0.68
48	Panama	0.87	−0.03	Electoral democracy	0.57
49	Dominican Republic	0.87	+0.03	Electoral democracy	0.51
50	Timor-Leste	0.87	+0.04	Electoral democracy	0.55
51	Mauritius	0.87	−0.01	Electoral democracy	0.64
52	Albania	0.87	−0.02	Electoral autocracy	0.38
53	Brazil Take the test	0.87	+0.01	Electoral democracy	0.70
54	South Africa Take the test	0.86	−0.01	Electoral democracy	0.63
55	Slovakia	0.86	−0.08	Electoral democracy	0.57
56	Solomon Islands	0.86	+0.02	Electoral democracy	0.54
57	Bulgaria	0.85	−0.01	Electoral democracy	0.50
58	Guyana	0.85	−0.03	Electoral democracy	0.33
59	Botswana	0.84	−0.03	Electoral democracy	0.52
60	United Kingdom Take the test	0.84	−0.06	Electoral democracy	0.69
61	Moldova	0.84	+0.03	Electoral democracy	0.45
62	Liberia	0.84	−0.00	Electoral democracy	0.42
63	Portugal Take the test	0.84	−0.13	Electoral democracy	0.72
64	Benin	0.84	−0.03	Electoral autocracy	0.32
65	Lesotho	0.83	+0.13	Electoral democracy	0.51
66	United States Take the test	0.83	−0.13	Electoral democracy	0.57
67	Argentina Take the test	0.82	−0.05	Electoral democracy	0.52
68	Honduras	0.82	+0.06	Electoral democracy	0.38
69	Sri Lanka	0.82	+0.08	Electoral democracy	0.61
70	Kosovo	0.81	+0.02	Electoral democracy	0.46
71	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.81	−0.04	Electoral autocracy	0.34
72	Senegal	0.81	−0.06	Electoral democracy	0.48
73	Malawi	0.81	−0.01	Electoral democracy	0.46
74	Papua New Guinea	0.81	−0.00	Electoral autocracy	0.38
75	Paraguay	0.81	−0.03	Electoral democracy	0.38
76	Mongolia	0.80	−0.09	Electoral democracy	0.42
77	Peru Take the test	0.80	−0.09	Electoral democracy	0.51
78	Armenia	0.80	+0.02	Electoral democracy	0.37
79	Hungary	0.79	−0.09	Electoral autocracy	0.32
80	Sierra Leone	0.79	−0.02	Electoral autocracy	0.35
81	North Macedonia	0.79	+0.07	Electoral democracy	0.37
82	Gabon	0.79	−0.07	Electoral autocracy	0.18
83	Israel	0.79	−0.04	Electoral democracy	0.59
84	Fiji	0.77	+0.06	Electoral democracy	0.40
85	Zambia	0.77	+0.03	Electoral autocracy	0.38
86	Guatemala	0.77	+0.05	Electoral democracy	0.52
87	Colombia Take the test	0.77	−0.04	Electoral democracy	0.56
88	Haiti	0.74	−0.05	Closed autocracy	0.10
89	Nepal	0.74	−0.05	Electoral democracy	0.51
90	Bolivia	0.74	−0.10	Electoral democracy	0.35
91	Kenya	0.74	+0.04	Electoral democracy	0.45
92	Malaysia	0.74	+0.12	Electoral democracy	0.35
93	Serbia	0.73	−0.10	Electoral autocracy	0.21
94	Maldives	0.72	+0.20	Electoral democracy	0.42
95	Singapore	0.72	+0.01	Electoral autocracy	0.36
96	Bhutan	0.70	−0.03	Electoral democracy	0.46
97	Ivory Coast	0.70	−0.10	Electoral autocracy	0.23
98	Georgia	0.70	−0.18	Electoral autocracy	0.28
99	Ecuador Take the test	0.69	−0.11	Electoral democracy	0.39
100	Lebanon	0.69	−0.01	Electoral autocracy	0.27
101	Tunisia	0.69	−0.10	Electoral autocracy	0.27
102	Nigeria Take the test	0.67	+0.04	Electoral democracy	0.31
103	Tanzania	0.67	−0.07	Electoral autocracy	0.30
104	Jordan	0.67	+0.01	Closed autocracy	0.27
105	Madagascar	0.65	−0.11	Electoral autocracy	0.19
106	Niger	0.65	−0.15	Closed autocracy	0.18
107	Zanzibar	0.65	−0.00	Electoral autocracy	0.25
108	Morocco	0.65	+0.02	Closed autocracy	0.25
109	Indonesia	0.63	−0.16	Electoral autocracy	0.30
110	Somaliland	0.63	−0.07	Electoral autocracy	0.30
111	Bangladesh	0.63	+0.17	Closed autocracy	0.12
112	Mexico Take the test	0.63	−0.06	Electoral autocracy	0.22
113	Angola	0.62	+0.13	Electoral autocracy	0.16
114	Hong Kong	0.61	−0.24	Closed autocracy	0.14
115	Mali	0.61	−0.19	Closed autocracy	0.15
116	Togo	0.60	−0.09	Electoral autocracy	0.16
117	Ukraine	0.58	−0.05	Electoral autocracy	0.24
118	Philippines Take the test	0.56	−0.18	Electoral autocracy	0.29
119	Guinea-Bissau	0.56	−0.16	Closed autocracy	0.10
120	India Take the test	0.53	−0.13	Electoral autocracy	0.26
121	Iraq	0.52	+0.08	Electoral autocracy	0.22
122	Mauritania	0.51	−0.09	Electoral autocracy	0.13
123	Kazakhstan	0.51	+0.03	Electoral autocracy	0.13
124	El Salvador	0.51	−0.31	Electoral autocracy	0.09
125	Cameroon	0.51	−0.14	Electoral autocracy	0.11
126	Kuwait	0.49	−0.03	Closed autocracy	0.13
127	Mozambique	0.48	−0.22	Electoral autocracy	0.17
128	Thailand	0.48	+0.12	Electoral autocracy	0.31
129	Kyrgyzstan	0.48	−0.19	Electoral autocracy	0.18
130	Comoros	0.48	−0.18	Electoral autocracy	0.13
131	Pakistan	0.47	−0.03	Electoral autocracy	0.18
132	Burkina Faso	0.46	−0.38	Closed autocracy	0.10
133	Somalia	0.45	+0.13	Closed autocracy	0.13
134	Oman	0.45	+0.02	Closed autocracy	0.14
135	Central African Republic	0.44	−0.03	Electoral autocracy	0.10
136	Algeria	0.42	−0.19	Electoral autocracy	0.13
137	Palestine (West Bank)	0.42	−0.17	Electoral autocracy	0.11
138	Democratic Republic of the Congo	0.42	−0.00	Electoral autocracy	0.12
139	Djibouti	0.40	−0.03	Electoral autocracy	0.12
140	Türkiye	0.40	−0.10	Electoral autocracy	0.11
141	Vietnam	0.38	−0.06	Closed autocracy	0.10
142	Zimbabwe	0.38	−0.06	Electoral autocracy	0.15
143	Uzbekistan	0.37	+0.24	Closed autocracy	0.08
144	Qatar	0.36	−0.08	Closed autocracy	0.09
145	Guinea	0.35	−0.21	Closed autocracy	0.10
146	United Arab Emirates	0.34	−0.07	Closed autocracy	0.08
147	Republic of the Congo	0.33	+0.01	Electoral autocracy	0.12
148	Libya	0.32	−0.06	Closed autocracy	0.10
149	Syria	0.32	+0.27	Closed autocracy	0.05
150	Uganda	0.32	−0.21	Electoral autocracy	0.17
151	Venezuela	0.31	−0.21	Electoral autocracy	0.04
152	Ethiopia	0.30	−0.05	Electoral autocracy	0.10
153	Cuba	0.30	−0.04	Closed autocracy	0.06
154	Bahrain	0.30	+0.07	Closed autocracy	0.06
155	Azerbaijan	0.29	−0.14	Electoral autocracy	0.05
156	Chad	0.28	−0.11	Electoral autocracy	0.06
157	Burundi	0.27	+0.11	Electoral autocracy	0.06
158	Russia	0.27	−0.21	Electoral autocracy	0.06
159	Cambodia	0.26	−0.20	Electoral autocracy	0.05
160	Iran	0.25	−0.02	Electoral autocracy	0.10
161	Egypt	0.23	+0.06	Electoral autocracy	0.12
162	South Sudan	0.23	+0.06	Closed autocracy	0.06
163	Belarus	0.22	−0.37	Closed autocracy	0.04
164	Eswatini	0.21	−0.10	Closed autocracy	0.10
165	Rwanda	0.19	−0.21	Electoral autocracy	0.09
166	Yemen	0.19	+0.04	Closed autocracy	0.04
167	China	0.18	−0.08	Closed autocracy	0.04
168	Saudi Arabia	0.18	+0.01	Closed autocracy	0.05
169	Sudan	0.17	+0.02	Closed autocracy	0.03
170	Tajikistan	0.17	−0.08	Electoral autocracy	0.04
171	Equatorial Guinea	0.17	−0.04	Electoral autocracy	0.05
172	Palestine (Gaza)	0.17	−0.06	Closed autocracy	0.06
173	Laos	0.14	+0.03	Closed autocracy	0.11
174	Turkmenistan	0.11	+0.02	Closed autocracy	0.03
175	Myanmar	0.10	−0.36	Closed autocracy	0.01
176	Nicaragua	0.08	−0.60	Electoral autocracy	0.02
177	Eritrea	0.05	+0.00	Closed autocracy	0.01
178	Afghanistan	0.04	−0.48	Closed autocracy	0.02
179	North Korea	0.02	+0.01	Closed autocracy	0.01

Scores run from 0 to 1. Higher is better. Click a column heading to sort. Countries with a CoreOpinion test link to it.

Frequently asked questions

Which country scores highest on the V-Dem civil liberties index?

Estonia, with a score of 0.96 in 2025, followed by Sweden and Denmark.

What does the civil liberties index measure?

It measures freedom from violence by the state, such as torture and political killings, along with private liberties like freedom of movement and religion, and political liberties like freedom of association. Scores run from 0 to 1, and higher is better.

Where does this data come from?

From the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) dataset, version 16, which combines assessments by thousands of country experts. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where do you stand?

See how your own views compare with the parties in your country. CoreOpinion has political tests for 46 countries.

Find your country's test

Source and licence

All scores come from the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Country-Year dataset, version 16, produced by the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg. V-Dem combines the judgements of thousands of country experts into indices that run from 0 to 1, and reports measurement uncertainty for each one. Figures here refer to 2025, with changes measured against 2015. Small differences between countries, of a few hundredths, are often within that uncertainty.

The V-Dem data is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. The rankings and tables on these pages are derived from it and shared under the same licence. See v-dem.net for the full dataset and codebook.