Academic Freedom Index in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Academic Freedom Index was 0.562 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Academic Freedom Index in Burkina Faso, 1960–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Burkina Faso recorded 0.562 for academic freedom index in 2025.
That represents a change of down 33.1% on the previous year and down 36.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, academic freedom index in Burkina Faso peaked at 0.923 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.401, in 1967.
Burkina Faso ranks 99th of 174 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Academic Freedom Index in Burkina Faso, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.403 | — |
| 1961 | 0.403 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.403 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.403 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.403 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.403 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.403 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.401 | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 0.401 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.401 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.401 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.401 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.401 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.401 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.44 | +9.7% |
| 1975 | 0.44 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.44 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.44 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.44 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.44 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.439 | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 0.439 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.502 | +14.4% |
| 1983 | 0.421 | -16.1% |
| 1984 | 0.444 | +5.5% |
| 1985 | 0.444 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.444 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.444 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.447 | +0.7% |
| 1989 | 0.447 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.47 | +5.1% |
| 1991 | 0.583 | +24.0% |
| 1992 | 0.583 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.583 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.583 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.583 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.583 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.583 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.607 | +4.1% |
| 1999 | 0.607 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.783 | +29.0% |
| 2001 | 0.792 | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 0.792 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.792 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.792 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.792 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.792 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.792 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.792 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.79 | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 0.874 | +10.6% |
| 2011 | 0.874 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.874 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.873 | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 0.873 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.881 | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 0.895 | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 0.895 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.895 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.895 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.883 | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 0.859 | -2.7% |
| 2022 | 0.923 | +7.5% |
| 2023 | 0.827 | -10.4% |
| 2024 | 0.84 | +1.6% |
| 2025 | 0.562 | -33.1% |
Burkina Faso compared with similar countries
- Burkina Faso's 0.562 is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.326, 1.7× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Burkina Faso's 0.562 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.519, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.4024 | 0.401 | 0.403 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.4244 | 0.401 | 0.44 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.4471 | 0.421 | 0.502 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5765 | 0.47 | 0.607 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7909 | 0.783 | 0.792 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8829 | 0.873 | 0.895 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8157 | 0.562 | 0.923 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Burkina Faso
More social development data for Burkina Faso
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 40,996 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 351,209 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0146 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 351,209 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0017 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is academic freedom index in Burkina Faso?
- Academic freedom index in Burkina Faso was 0.562 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest academic freedom index recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The highest recorded value was 0.923 in 2022.
- What is the lowest academic freedom index recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.401 in 1967.
- How does Burkina Faso rank for academic freedom index?
- Burkina Faso ranks 99th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is academic freedom index rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Burkina Faso data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Academic Freedom Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which academics can research, teach, publish, express opinions, and participate in academic bodies without interference, censorship, or institutional restrictions, and universities exercise institutional autonomy.