What is freedom of association index in Malaysia?

Freedom of association index in Malaysia was 0.791 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

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

The highest recorded value was 0.793 in 2024.

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

The lowest recorded value was 0.175 in 1942.

How does Malaysia rank for freedom of association index?

Malaysia ranks 79th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is freedom of association index rising or falling in Malaysia?

Over the last ten years it is up 19.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Malaysia 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 Malaysia

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

Malaysia: Freedom of Association Index was 0.791 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

0.791

Change on year

down 0.3%

World rank

79th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.793

in 2024

All-time low

0.175

in 1942

Years of data

126

1900–2025

Freedom of Association Index in Malaysia, 1900–2025

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

Analysis

In 2025, freedom of association index in Malaysia stood at 0.791.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 19.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, freedom of association index in Malaysia peaked at 0.793 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.175, in 1942.

Malaysia ranks 79th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.

Freedom of Association Index in Malaysia, year by year

Annual values for Freedom of Association Index in Malaysia, 1900 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1900	0.213	—
1901	0.213	+0.0%
1902	0.213	+0.0%
1903	0.213	+0.0%
1904	0.213	+0.0%
1905	0.213	+0.0%
1906	0.213	+0.0%
1907	0.213	+0.0%
1908	0.213	+0.0%
1909	0.213	+0.0%
1910	0.213	+0.0%
1911	0.213	+0.0%
1912	0.213	+0.0%
1913	0.213	+0.0%
1914	0.213	+0.0%
1915	0.213	+0.0%
1916	0.213	+0.0%
1917	0.213	+0.0%
1918	0.213	+0.0%
1919	0.213	+0.0%
1920	0.213	+0.0%
1921	0.213	+0.0%
1922	0.213	+0.0%
1923	0.213	+0.0%
1924	0.213	+0.0%
1925	0.213	+0.0%
1926	0.213	+0.0%
1927	0.213	+0.0%
1928	0.213	+0.0%
1929	0.213	+0.0%
1930	0.213	+0.0%
1931	0.213	+0.0%
1932	0.213	+0.0%
1933	0.213	+0.0%
1934	0.213	+0.0%
1935	0.213	+0.0%
1936	0.213	+0.0%
1937	0.213	+0.0%
1938	0.213	+0.0%
1939	0.213	+0.0%
1940	0.213	+0.0%
1941	0.213	+0.0%
1942	0.175	-17.8%
1943	0.175	+0.0%
1944	0.175	+0.0%
1945	0.175	+0.0%
1946	0.358	+104.6%
1947	0.358	+0.0%
1948	0.378	+5.6%
1949	0.378	+0.0%
1950	0.384	+1.6%
1951	0.384	+0.0%
1952	0.384	+0.0%
1953	0.384	+0.0%
1954	0.384	+0.0%
1955	0.474	+23.4%
1956	0.534	+12.7%
1957	0.506	-5.2%
1958	0.506	+0.0%
1959	0.508	+0.4%
1960	0.511	+0.6%
1961	0.511	+0.0%
1962	0.511	+0.0%
1963	0.511	+0.0%
1964	0.53	+3.7%
1965	0.539	+1.7%
1966	0.519	-3.7%
1967	0.519	+0.0%
1968	0.519	+0.0%
1969	0.501	-3.5%
1970	0.414	-17.4%
1971	0.414	+0.0%
1972	0.414	+0.0%
1973	0.414	+0.0%
1974	0.457	+10.4%
1975	0.535	+17.1%
1976	0.535	+0.0%
1977	0.535	+0.0%
1978	0.535	+0.0%
1979	0.534	-0.2%
1980	0.565	+5.8%
1981	0.558	-1.2%
1982	0.564	+1.1%
1983	0.566	+0.4%
1984	0.566	+0.0%
1985	0.566	+0.0%
1986	0.562	-0.7%
1987	0.556	-1.1%
1988	0.556	+0.0%
1989	0.556	+0.0%
1990	0.589	+5.9%
1991	0.595	+1.0%
1992	0.595	+0.0%
1993	0.595	+0.0%
1994	0.595	+0.0%
1995	0.598	+0.5%
1996	0.599	+0.2%
1997	0.599	+0.0%
1998	0.599	+0.0%
1999	0.63	+5.2%
2000	0.647	+2.7%
2001	0.647	+0.0%
2002	0.647	+0.0%
2003	0.651	+0.6%
2004	0.653	+0.3%
2005	0.654	+0.2%
2006	0.661	+1.1%
2007	0.661	+0.0%
2008	0.651	-1.5%
2009	0.634	-2.6%
2010	0.636	+0.3%
2011	0.634	-0.3%
2012	0.634	+0.0%
2013	0.641	+1.1%
2014	0.661	+3.1%
2015	0.661	+0.0%
2016	0.672	+1.7%
2017	0.692	+3.0%
2018	0.731	+5.6%
2019	0.732	+0.1%
2020	0.683	-6.7%
2021	0.725	+6.1%
2022	0.75	+3.4%
2023	0.753	+0.4%
2024	0.793	+5.3%
2025	0.791	-0.3%

Malaysia compared with similar countries

Malaysia's 0.791 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.7185, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Malaysia's 0.791 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.708, 1.1× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1900s	0.213	0.213	0.213	10
1910s	0.213	0.213	0.213	10
1920s	0.213	0.213	0.213	10
1930s	0.213	0.213	0.213	10
1940s	0.2598	0.175	0.378	10
1950s	0.4448	0.384	0.534	10
1960s	0.5171	0.501	0.539	10
1970s	0.4787	0.414	0.535	10
1980s	0.5615	0.556	0.566	10
1990s	0.5994	0.589	0.63	10
2000s	0.6506	0.634	0.661	10
2010s	0.6694	0.634	0.732	10
2020s	0.7492	0.683	0.793	6

Countries ranked near Malaysia

76 Senegal 0.798 compare
77 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.793 compare
77 Kenya 0.793 compare
80 Albania 0.785 compare
81 Maldives 0.777 compare
81 Peru 0.777 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Malaysia

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 150,164 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,477 (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 2,477 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0042 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 Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is freedom of association index in Malaysia?: Freedom of association index in Malaysia was 0.791 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in Malaysia?: The highest recorded value was 0.793 in 2024.
What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in Malaysia?: The lowest recorded value was 0.175 in 1942.
How does Malaysia rank for freedom of association index?: Malaysia ranks 79th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is freedom of association index rising or falling in Malaysia?: Over the last ten years it is up 19.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malaysia 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 Malaysia. 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/malaysia/

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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.