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Freedom of association index in South Africa

South Africa: Freedom of association index was 0.87 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.87
Change on year
down 2.7%
World rank
41st
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.931
in 2009
All-time low
0.293
in 1960
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Freedom of association index in South Africa, 1900–2025

0.20.40.60.81190019622025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for freedom of association index in South Africa is 0.87, measured in 2025.

The figure is down 2.7% on the previous year and down 3.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, freedom of association index in South Africa peaked at 0.931 in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.293, in 1960.

That places South Africa 41st out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Freedom of association index in South Africa, year by year

Year Value Change
1900 0.331 —
1901 0.331 +0.0%
1902 0.331 +0.0%
1903 0.331 +0.0%
1904 0.331 +0.0%
1905 0.331 +0.0%
1906 0.331 +0.0%
1907 0.331 +0.0%
1908 0.331 +0.0%
1909 0.331 +0.0%
1910 0.405 +22.4%
1911 0.435 +7.4%
1912 0.435 +0.0%
1913 0.435 +0.0%
1914 0.435 +0.0%
1915 0.436 +0.2%
1916 0.438 +0.5%
1917 0.438 +0.0%
1918 0.438 +0.0%
1919 0.438 +0.0%
1920 0.436 -0.5%
1921 0.436 +0.0%
1922 0.436 +0.0%
1923 0.436 +0.0%
1924 0.434 -0.5%
1925 0.433 -0.2%
1926 0.433 +0.0%
1927 0.433 +0.0%
1928 0.433 +0.0%
1929 0.436 +0.7%
1930 0.438 +0.5%
1931 0.438 +0.0%
1932 0.438 +0.0%
1933 0.442 +0.9%
1934 0.444 +0.5%
1935 0.444 +0.0%
1936 0.444 +0.0%
1937 0.444 +0.0%
1938 0.443 -0.2%
1939 0.442 -0.2%
1940 0.442 +0.0%
1941 0.442 +0.0%
1942 0.442 +0.0%
1943 0.441 -0.2%
1944 0.44 -0.2%
1945 0.44 +0.0%
1946 0.44 +0.0%
1947 0.44 +0.0%
1948 0.358 -18.6%
1949 0.355 -0.8%
1950 0.329 -7.3%
1951 0.329 +0.0%
1952 0.329 +0.0%
1953 0.325 -1.2%
1954 0.324 -0.3%
1955 0.324 +0.0%
1956 0.324 +0.0%
1957 0.324 +0.0%
1958 0.325 +0.3%
1959 0.325 +0.0%
1960 0.293 -9.8%
1961 0.293 +0.0%
1962 0.294 +0.3%
1963 0.294 +0.0%
1964 0.294 +0.0%
1965 0.294 +0.0%
1966 0.294 +0.0%
1967 0.294 +0.0%
1968 0.294 +0.0%
1969 0.294 +0.0%
1970 0.294 +0.0%
1971 0.294 +0.0%
1972 0.294 +0.0%
1973 0.294 +0.0%
1974 0.294 +0.0%
1975 0.294 +0.0%
1976 0.294 +0.0%
1977 0.294 +0.0%
1978 0.294 +0.0%
1979 0.294 +0.0%
1980 0.297 +1.0%
1981 0.299 +0.7%
1982 0.299 +0.0%
1983 0.299 +0.0%
1984 0.299 +0.0%
1985 0.299 +0.0%
1986 0.299 +0.0%
1987 0.298 -0.3%
1988 0.297 -0.3%
1989 0.301 +1.3%
1990 0.457 +51.8%
1991 0.648 +41.8%
1992 0.648 +0.0%
1993 0.653 +0.8%
1994 0.897 +37.4%
1995 0.93 +3.7%
1996 0.93 +0.0%
1997 0.93 +0.0%
1998 0.93 +0.0%
1999 0.929 -0.1%
2000 0.929 +0.0%
2001 0.929 +0.0%
2002 0.929 +0.0%
2003 0.929 +0.0%
2004 0.93 +0.1%
2005 0.93 +0.0%
2006 0.929 -0.1%
2007 0.929 +0.0%
2008 0.929 +0.0%
2009 0.931 +0.2%
2010 0.923 -0.9%
2011 0.923 +0.0%
2012 0.927 +0.4%
2013 0.899 -3.0%
2014 0.901 +0.2%
2015 0.902 +0.1%
2016 0.902 +0.0%
2017 0.907 +0.6%
2018 0.896 -1.2%
2019 0.892 -0.4%
2020 0.89 -0.2%
2021 0.895 +0.6%
2022 0.895 +0.0%
2023 0.895 +0.0%
2024 0.894 -0.1%
2025 0.87 -2.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.331 0.331 0.331 10
1910s 0.4333 0.405 0.438 10
1920s 0.4346 0.433 0.436 10
1930s 0.4417 0.438 0.444 10
1940s 0.424 0.355 0.442 10
1950s 0.3258 0.324 0.329 10
1960s 0.2938 0.293 0.294 10
1970s 0.294 0.294 0.294 10
1980s 0.2987 0.297 0.301 10
1990s 0.7952 0.457 0.93 10
2000s 0.9294 0.929 0.931 10
2010s 0.9072 0.892 0.927 10
2020s 0.8898 0.87 0.895 6

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 38 Lesotho 0.873 compare
  2. 39 Czechia 0.872 compare
  3. 40 Honduras 0.871 compare
  4. 41 Namibia 0.87 compare
  5. 43 Armenia 0.869 compare
  6. 44 Montenegro 0.868 compare
  7. 44 Nepal 0.868 compare
  8. 44 Netherlands 0.868 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is freedom of association index in South Africa?
Freedom of association index in South Africa was 0.87 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.931 in 2009.
What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.293 in 1960.
How does South Africa rank for freedom of association index?
South Africa ranks 41st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is freedom of association index rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom of association index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Relationships involving this indicator

Comparisons with other indicators across countries. Each was re-measured with population and national income held constant, so a relationship that only reflected country size is not listed here.

All correlations →

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Freedom of association index in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/freedom-of-association-index/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Freedom of association index
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,011 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed