What is freedom of association index in Canada?

Freedom of association index in Canada was 0.865 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in Canada?

The highest recorded value was 0.895 in 1971.

What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in Canada?

The lowest recorded value was 0.748 in 1921.

How does Canada rank for freedom of association index?

Canada ranks 47th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is freedom of association index rising or falling in Canada?

Over the last ten years it is up 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Canada data come from?

The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom of Association Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Freedom of Association Index in Canada

Name: Freedom of Association Index in Canada
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Canada: Freedom of Association Index was 0.865 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

0.865

Change on year

down 0.2%

World rank

47th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.895

in 1971

All-time low

0.748

in 1921

Years of data

185

1841–2025

Freedom of Association Index in Canada, 1841–2025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2025, freedom of association index in Canada stood at 0.865.

That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, freedom of association index in Canada peaked at 0.895 in 1971 and was at its lowest, 0.748, in 1921.

That places Canada 47th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 185 years of available data.

Freedom of Association Index in Canada, year by year

Annual values for Freedom of Association Index in Canada, 1841 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1841	0.823	—
1842	0.844	+2.6%
1843	0.844	+0.0%
1844	0.843	-0.1%
1845	0.84	-0.4%
1846	0.84	+0.0%
1847	0.84	+0.0%
1848	0.839	-0.1%
1849	0.839	+0.0%
1850	0.839	+0.0%
1851	0.839	+0.0%
1852	0.838	-0.1%
1853	0.838	+0.0%
1854	0.839	+0.1%
1855	0.84	+0.1%
1856	0.84	+0.0%
1857	0.84	+0.0%
1858	0.84	+0.0%
1859	0.837	-0.4%
1860	0.837	+0.0%
1861	0.84	+0.4%
1862	0.84	+0.0%
1863	0.84	+0.0%
1864	0.84	+0.0%
1865	0.84	+0.0%
1866	0.84	+0.0%
1867	0.839	-0.1%
1868	0.839	+0.0%
1869	0.839	+0.0%
1870	0.839	+0.0%
1871	0.839	+0.0%
1872	0.837	-0.2%
1873	0.835	-0.2%
1874	0.838	+0.4%
1875	0.838	+0.0%
1876	0.838	+0.0%
1877	0.838	+0.0%
1878	0.839	+0.1%
1879	0.84	+0.1%
1880	0.84	+0.0%
1881	0.84	+0.0%
1882	0.841	+0.1%
1883	0.841	+0.0%
1884	0.841	+0.0%
1885	0.841	+0.0%
1886	0.841	+0.0%
1887	0.839	-0.2%
1888	0.838	-0.1%
1889	0.838	+0.0%
1890	0.838	+0.0%
1891	0.842	+0.5%
1892	0.842	+0.0%
1893	0.842	+0.0%
1894	0.842	+0.0%
1895	0.842	+0.0%
1896	0.842	+0.0%
1897	0.841	-0.1%
1898	0.841	+0.0%
1899	0.841	+0.0%
1900	0.841	+0.0%
1901	0.843	+0.2%
1902	0.843	+0.0%
1903	0.843	+0.0%
1904	0.844	+0.1%
1905	0.846	+0.2%
1906	0.846	+0.0%
1907	0.846	+0.0%
1908	0.846	+0.0%
1909	0.847	+0.1%
1910	0.847	+0.0%
1911	0.847	+0.0%
1912	0.849	+0.2%
1913	0.849	+0.0%
1914	0.836	-1.5%
1915	0.836	+0.0%
1916	0.836	+0.0%
1917	0.835	-0.1%
1918	0.82	-1.8%
1919	0.82	+0.0%
1920	0.832	+1.5%
1921	0.748	-10.1%
1922	0.766	+2.4%
1923	0.766	+0.0%
1924	0.766	+0.0%
1925	0.791	+3.3%
1926	0.79	-0.1%
1927	0.79	+0.0%
1928	0.79	+0.0%
1929	0.803	+1.6%
1930	0.803	+0.0%
1931	0.764	-4.9%
1932	0.764	+0.0%
1933	0.764	+0.0%
1934	0.764	+0.0%
1935	0.792	+3.7%
1936	0.8	+1.0%
1937	0.8	+0.0%
1938	0.837	+4.6%
1939	0.84	+0.4%
1940	0.804	-4.3%
1941	0.782	-2.7%
1942	0.782	+0.0%
1943	0.782	+0.0%
1944	0.769	-1.7%
1945	0.773	+0.5%
1946	0.861	+11.4%
1947	0.861	+0.0%
1948	0.861	+0.0%
1949	0.86	-0.1%
1950	0.859	-0.1%
1951	0.859	+0.0%
1952	0.859	+0.0%
1953	0.86	+0.1%
1954	0.861	+0.1%
1955	0.861	+0.0%
1956	0.861	+0.0%
1957	0.861	+0.0%
1958	0.861	+0.0%
1959	0.861	+0.0%
1960	0.89	+3.4%
1961	0.89	+0.0%
1962	0.89	+0.0%
1963	0.891	+0.1%
1964	0.891	+0.0%
1965	0.89	-0.1%
1966	0.888	-0.2%
1967	0.888	+0.0%
1968	0.889	+0.1%
1969	0.89	+0.1%
1970	0.888	-0.2%
1971	0.895	+0.8%
1972	0.894	-0.1%
1973	0.891	-0.3%
1974	0.87	-2.4%
1975	0.87	+0.0%
1976	0.87	+0.0%
1977	0.87	+0.0%
1978	0.87	+0.0%
1979	0.872	+0.2%
1980	0.874	+0.2%
1981	0.874	+0.0%
1982	0.874	+0.0%
1983	0.874	+0.0%
1984	0.885	+1.3%
1985	0.885	+0.0%
1986	0.885	+0.0%
1987	0.885	+0.0%
1988	0.884	-0.1%
1989	0.882	-0.2%
1990	0.882	+0.0%
1991	0.882	+0.0%
1992	0.882	+0.0%
1993	0.882	+0.0%
1994	0.883	+0.1%
1995	0.883	+0.0%
1996	0.883	+0.0%
1997	0.883	+0.0%
1998	0.882	-0.1%
1999	0.882	+0.0%
2000	0.883	+0.1%
2001	0.865	-2.0%
2002	0.852	-1.5%
2003	0.852	+0.0%
2004	0.852	+0.0%
2005	0.853	+0.1%
2006	0.856	+0.4%
2007	0.856	+0.0%
2008	0.856	+0.0%
2009	0.855	-0.1%
2010	0.855	+0.0%
2011	0.854	-0.1%
2012	0.854	+0.0%
2013	0.864	+1.2%
2014	0.864	+0.0%
2015	0.86	-0.5%
2016	0.866	+0.7%
2017	0.863	-0.3%
2018	0.863	+0.0%
2019	0.877	+1.6%
2020	0.869	-0.9%
2021	0.868	-0.1%
2022	0.867	-0.1%
2023	0.867	+0.0%
2024	0.867	+0.0%
2025	0.865	-0.2%

Canada compared with similar countries

Canada's 0.865 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.868, 100% of the median. (55 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1840s	0.8391	0.823	0.844	9
1850s	0.839	0.837	0.84	10
1860s	0.8394	0.837	0.84	10
1870s	0.8381	0.835	0.84	10
1880s	0.84	0.838	0.841	10
1890s	0.8413	0.838	0.842	10
1900s	0.8445	0.841	0.847	10
1910s	0.8375	0.82	0.849	10
1920s	0.7842	0.748	0.832	10
1930s	0.7928	0.764	0.84	10
1940s	0.8135	0.769	0.861	10
1950s	0.8603	0.859	0.861	10
1960s	0.8897	0.888	0.891	10
1970s	0.879	0.87	0.895	10
1980s	0.8802	0.874	0.885	10
1990s	0.8824	0.882	0.883	10
2000s	0.858	0.852	0.883	10
2010s	0.862	0.854	0.877	10
2020s	0.8672	0.865	0.869	6

Countries ranked near Canada

44 Montenegro 0.868 compare
44 Nepal 0.868 compare
44 Netherlands 0.868 compare
48 Finland 0.864 compare
49 Poland 0.862 compare
50 Slovenia 0.861 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Canada

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 416,028 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 360 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (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 360 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.01 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is freedom of association index in Canada?: Freedom of association index in Canada was 0.865 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in Canada?: The highest recorded value was 0.895 in 1971.
What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in Canada?: The lowest recorded value was 0.748 in 1921.
How does Canada rank for freedom of association index?: Canada ranks 47th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is freedom of association index rising or falling in Canada?: Over the last ten years it is up 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Canada data come from?: The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom of Association Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Freedom of Association Index in Canada. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 October 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/freedom-of-association-index/canada/

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About this data

Indicator: Freedom of Association Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 30,011 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which parties, including opposition parties, are allowed to form and participate in elections and the extent to which civil society organizations are allowed to form and operate freely.