Which has higher freedom of expression index, Afghanistan or North Korea?

Afghanistan, at 0.022 against 0.013 in North Korea as of 2025.

How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and North Korea?

203 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Freedom of Expression Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Afghanistan vs North Korea: Freedom of Expression Index

Afghanistan

0.022

in 2025

North Korea

0.013

in 2025

Afghanistan rank

174th

North Korea rank

176th

Freedom of Expression Index over time

Afghanistan
North Korea

How they compare

Afghanistan currently reports 0.022 against 0.013 in North Korea, a difference of 0.009.

That makes Afghanistan's figure about 1.7 times North Korea's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 203 shared years of data; in 1789 it was Afghanistan ahead.

Afghanistan ranks 174th and North Korea ranks 176th of 176 countries.

Across the 23 decades both report, Afghanistan averaged higher in 21 and North Korea in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Afghanistan	North Korea	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0.086	0.071	0.015	Afghanistan
1790s	0.086	0.071	0.015	Afghanistan
1800s	0.086	0.071	0.015	Afghanistan
1810s	0.086	0.071	0.015	Afghanistan
1820s	0.086	0.071	0.015	Afghanistan
1830s	0.086	0.071	0.015	Afghanistan
1840s	0.086	0.071	0.015	Afghanistan
1850s	0.086	0.071	0.015	Afghanistan
1860s	0.086	0.071	0.015	Afghanistan
1870s	0.086	0.071	0.015	Afghanistan
1880s	0.08	0.0755	0.0045	Afghanistan
1890s	0.08	0.1441	0.0641	North Korea
1900s	0.0796	0.1274	0.0478	North Korea
1910s	0.1	0.065	0.035	Afghanistan
1940s	0.2076	0.0554	0.1522	Afghanistan
1950s	0.1739	0.0303	0.1436	Afghanistan
1960s	0.2397	0.0214	0.2183	Afghanistan
1970s	0.194	0.011	0.183	Afghanistan
1980s	0.1061	0.011	0.0951	Afghanistan
1990s	0.0665	0.011	0.0555	Afghanistan
2000s	0.5545	0.0122	0.5423	Afghanistan
2010s	0.6966	0.013	0.6836	Afghanistan
2020s	0.1762	0.013	0.1632	Afghanistan

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher freedom of expression index, Afghanistan or North Korea?: Afghanistan, at 0.022 against 0.013 in North Korea as of 2025.
What is the difference in freedom of expression index between Afghanistan and North Korea?: 0.009, with Afghanistan ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and North Korea?: 203 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do Afghanistan and North Korea rank globally for freedom of expression index?: Afghanistan ranks 174th and North Korea ranks 176th of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Freedom of Expression Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Afghanistan vs North Korea: Freedom of Expression Index. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/compare/freedom-of-expression-index/afghanistan/korea-dem-people-s-rep/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://social-development.statizoid.com/compare/freedom-of-expression-index/afghanistan/korea-dem-people-s-rep/">Afghanistan vs North Korea: Freedom of Expression Index</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Freedom of Expression Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 30,035 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which people can discuss political matters at home and in the public sphere, the press, and media are free and can present different political perspectives, and the freedom of academic and cultural expression.