Academic Freedom Index in Maldives
Maldives: Academic Freedom Index was 0.555 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Academic Freedom Index in Maldives, 2011–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for academic freedom index in Maldives is 0.555, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 13.1% on the previous year and up 50.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, academic freedom index in Maldives peaked at 0.641 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.354, in 2017.
Maldives ranks 101st of 174 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Academic Freedom Index in Maldives, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 0.479 | — |
| 2012 | 0.372 | -22.3% |
| 2013 | 0.378 | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 0.375 | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 0.368 | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 0.358 | -2.7% |
| 2017 | 0.354 | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 0.4 | +13.0% |
| 2019 | 0.466 | +16.5% |
| 2020 | 0.459 | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 0.583 | +27.0% |
| 2022 | 0.583 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.641 | +9.9% |
| 2024 | 0.639 | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 0.555 | -13.1% |
Maldives compared with similar countries
- Maldives's 0.555 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.5905, 94% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Maldives's 0.555 is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.537, 1.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Academic Freedom Index in Maldives changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +27.0% | 0.459 | 0.583 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.3944 | 0.354 | 0.479 | 9 |
| 2020s | 0.5767 | 0.459 | 0.641 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
- 98 Cote d'Ivoire 0.575 compare
- 99 Burkina Faso 0.562 compare
- 100 Tunisia 0.558 compare
- 102 Guinea-Bissau 0.523 compare
- 103 Bangladesh 0.519 compare
- 104 Tanzania 0.515 compare
More social development data for Maldives
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 62 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 62 (2025)
- Sovereign state gleditsch ward, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of -18.42 % change on previous year (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 Maldives?
- Academic freedom index in Maldives was 0.555 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest academic freedom index recorded in Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 0.641 in 2023.
- What is the lowest academic freedom index recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.354 in 2017.
- How does Maldives rank for academic freedom index?
- Maldives ranks 101st out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is academic freedom index rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is up 50.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Maldives 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 — 15 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.