Which has higher freedom of expression index, South Africa or United Kingdom?

South Africa, at 0.837 against 0.833 in United Kingdom as of 2025.

What is the difference in freedom of expression index between South Africa and United Kingdom?

0.004, with South Africa ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and United Kingdom?

126 years are reported by both, from 1900 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.

South Africa vs United Kingdom: Freedom of Expression Index

South Africa

0.837

in 2025

United Kingdom

0.833

in 2025

South Africa rank

51st

United Kingdom rank

53rd

Freedom of Expression Index over time

South Africa
United Kingdom

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 0.837 against 0.833 in United Kingdom, a difference of 0.004.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was United Kingdom ahead.

South Africa ranks 51st and United Kingdom ranks 53rd of 176 countries.

United Kingdom has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	South Africa	United Kingdom	Difference	Ahead
1900s	0.417	0.8475	0.4305	United Kingdom
1910s	0.416	0.8176	0.4016	United Kingdom
1920s	0.416	0.851	0.435	United Kingdom
1930s	0.416	0.8441	0.4281	United Kingdom
1940s	0.395	0.8395	0.4445	United Kingdom
1950s	0.337	0.907	0.57	United Kingdom
1960s	0.2969	0.9087	0.6118	United Kingdom
1970s	0.2719	0.9119	0.64	United Kingdom
1980s	0.2507	0.891	0.6403	United Kingdom
1990s	0.6855	0.9177	0.2322	United Kingdom
2000s	0.8761	0.9609	0.0848	United Kingdom
2010s	0.8713	0.9549	0.0836	United Kingdom
2020s	0.8472	0.918	0.0708	United Kingdom

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher freedom of expression index, South Africa or United Kingdom?: South Africa, at 0.837 against 0.833 in United Kingdom as of 2025.
What is the difference in freedom of expression index between South Africa and United Kingdom?: 0.004, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and United Kingdom?: 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
How do South Africa and United Kingdom rank globally for freedom of expression index?: South Africa ranks 51st and United Kingdom ranks 53rd 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

South Africa vs United Kingdom: Freedom of Expression Index. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 07 November 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/compare/freedom-of-expression-index/south-africa/united-kingdom/

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/south-africa/united-kingdom/">South Africa vs United Kingdom: 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.