Academic Freedom Index in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau: Academic Freedom Index was 0.523 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Academic Freedom Index in Guinea-Bissau, 1979–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Guinea-Bissau recorded 0.523 for academic freedom index in 2025.
That represents a change of down 13.7% on the previous year and down 20.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, academic freedom index in Guinea-Bissau peaked at 0.725 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.483, in 1981.
Guinea-Bissau ranks 102nd of 174 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
Academic Freedom Index in Guinea-Bissau, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0.499 | — |
| 1980 | 0.499 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.483 | -3.2% |
| 1982 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.49 | +1.4% |
| 1994 | 0.531 | +8.4% |
| 1995 | 0.633 | +19.2% |
| 1996 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.642 | +1.4% |
| 2000 | 0.646 | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 0.646 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.641 | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 0.641 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.652 | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 0.652 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.652 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.652 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.652 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.652 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.652 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.652 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.649 | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 0.661 | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 0.655 | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.655 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.655 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.655 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.67 | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 0.667 | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 0.7 | +4.9% |
| 2021 | 0.725 | +3.6% |
| 2022 | 0.691 | -4.7% |
| 2023 | 0.69 | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 0.606 | -12.2% |
| 2025 | 0.523 | -13.7% |
Guinea-Bissau compared with similar countries
- Guinea-Bissau's 0.523 is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.326, 1.6× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Guinea-Bissau's 0.523 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.519, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.499 | 0.499 | 0.499 | 1 |
| 1980s | 0.4846 | 0.483 | 0.499 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5644 | 0.483 | 0.642 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6486 | 0.641 | 0.652 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6571 | 0.649 | 0.67 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6558 | 0.523 | 0.725 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Guinea-Bissau
- 99 Burkina Faso 0.562 compare
- 100 Tunisia 0.558 compare
- 101 Maldives 0.555 compare
- 103 Bangladesh 0.519 compare
- 104 Tanzania 0.515 compare
- 105 Democratic Republic of Congo 0.506 compare
More social development data for Guinea-Bissau
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 24 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,800 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 20 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0008 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,800 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 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 Guinea-Bissau?
- Academic freedom index in Guinea-Bissau was 0.523 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest academic freedom index recorded in Guinea-Bissau?
- The highest recorded value was 0.725 in 2021.
- What is the lowest academic freedom index recorded in Guinea-Bissau?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.483 in 1981.
- How does Guinea-Bissau rank for academic freedom index?
- Guinea-Bissau ranks 102nd out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is academic freedom index rising or falling in Guinea-Bissau?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Guinea-Bissau 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 — 47 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.