Which has higher freedom of expression index, Iran or South Sudan?

Iran, at 0.166 against 0.155 in South Sudan as of 2025.

How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and South Sudan?

174 years are reported by both, from 1837 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.

Iran vs South Sudan: Freedom of Expression Index

Iran

0.166

in 2025

South Sudan

0.155

in 2025

Iran rank

151st

South Sudan rank

153rd

Freedom of Expression Index over time

Iran
South Sudan

How they compare

Iran currently reports 0.166 against 0.155 in South Sudan, a difference of 0.011.

That makes Iran's figure about 1.1 times South Sudan's.

The two have swapped places 14 times across 174 shared years of data; in 1837 it was Iran ahead.

Iran ranks 151st and South Sudan ranks 153rd of 176 countries.

Across the 19 decades both report, Iran averaged higher in 10 and South Sudan in 9.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Iran	South Sudan	Difference	Ahead
1830s	0.128	0.088	0.04	Iran
1840s	0.1268	0.088	0.0388	Iran
1850s	0.122	0.088	0.034	Iran
1860s	0.122	0.1111	0.0109	Iran
1870s	0.122	0.1499	0.0279	South Sudan
1880s	0.122	0.3468	0.2248	South Sudan
1900s	0.2067	0.307	0.1003	South Sudan
1910s	0.371	0.307	0.064	Iran
1920s	0.1532	0.3145	0.1613	South Sudan
1930s	0.08	0.318	0.238	South Sudan
1940s	0.354	0.3186	0.0354	Iran
1950s	0.2203	0.4128	0.1925	South Sudan
1960s	0.093	0.3932	0.3002	South Sudan
1970s	0.1041	0.1541	0.05	South Sudan
1980s	0.0716	0.3553	0.2837	South Sudan
1990s	0.1983	0.1262	0.0721	Iran
2000s	0.2868	0.1922	0.0946	Iran
2010s	0.1833	0.1819	0.0014	Iran
2020s	0.1697	0.1462	0.0235	Iran

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher freedom of expression index, Iran or South Sudan?: Iran, at 0.166 against 0.155 in South Sudan as of 2025.
What is the difference in freedom of expression index between Iran and South Sudan?: 0.011, with Iran ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and South Sudan?: 174 years are reported by both, from 1837 to 2025.
How do Iran and South Sudan rank globally for freedom of expression index?: Iran ranks 151st and South Sudan ranks 153rd 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

Iran vs South Sudan: Freedom of Expression Index. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 November 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/compare/freedom-of-expression-index/iran-islamic-rep/south-sudan/

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/iran-islamic-rep/south-sudan/">Iran vs South Sudan: 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: 30 October 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.