Freedom of Association Index in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Freedom of Association Index was 0.853 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.853
Change on year
up 14.2%
World rank
53rd
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.853
in 2025
All-time low
0.448
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Freedom of Association Index in Sri Lanka, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom of association index in Sri Lanka is 0.853, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 126 years on record.
That represents a change of up 14.2% on the previous year and up 6.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom of association index in Sri Lanka peaked at 0.853 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.448, in 1900.
Sri Lanka ranks 53rd 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 Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.448 | — |
| 1901 | 0.448 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.448 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.448 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.448 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.448 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.448 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.448 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.448 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.448 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.448 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.46 | +2.7% |
| 1912 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.551 | +19.8% |
| 1921 | 0.557 | +1.1% |
| 1922 | 0.557 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.557 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.55 | -1.3% |
| 1925 | 0.55 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.55 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.55 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.55 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.55 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.55 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.67 | +21.8% |
| 1932 | 0.685 | +2.2% |
| 1933 | 0.685 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.685 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.685 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.72 | +5.1% |
| 1937 | 0.719 | -0.1% |
| 1938 | 0.719 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.719 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.641 | -10.8% |
| 1941 | 0.641 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.641 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.641 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.641 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.641 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.694 | +8.3% |
| 1947 | 0.72 | +3.7% |
| 1948 | 0.837 | +16.2% |
| 1949 | 0.806 | -3.7% |
| 1950 | 0.838 | +4.0% |
| 1951 | 0.838 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.828 | -1.2% |
| 1953 | 0.822 | -0.7% |
| 1954 | 0.822 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.822 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.818 | -0.5% |
| 1957 | 0.821 | +0.4% |
| 1958 | 0.814 | -0.9% |
| 1959 | 0.814 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.817 | +0.4% |
| 1961 | 0.815 | -0.2% |
| 1962 | 0.815 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.815 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.815 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.812 | -0.4% |
| 1966 | 0.812 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.812 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.812 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.812 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.81 | -0.2% |
| 1971 | 0.752 | -7.2% |
| 1972 | 0.761 | +1.2% |
| 1973 | 0.761 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.761 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.761 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.761 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.729 | -4.2% |
| 1978 | 0.747 | +2.5% |
| 1979 | 0.713 | -4.6% |
| 1980 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.713 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.709 | -0.6% |
| 1983 | 0.658 | -7.2% |
| 1984 | 0.658 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.658 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.658 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.658 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.643 | -2.3% |
| 1989 | 0.654 | +1.7% |
| 1990 | 0.674 | +3.1% |
| 1991 | 0.674 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.674 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.674 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.706 | +4.7% |
| 1995 | 0.712 | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 0.712 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.712 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.712 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.713 | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 0.73 | +2.4% |
| 2001 | 0.714 | -2.2% |
| 2002 | 0.725 | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 0.725 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.718 | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 0.655 | -8.8% |
| 2006 | 0.628 | -4.1% |
| 2007 | 0.632 | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 0.627 | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 0.624 | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 0.612 | -1.9% |
| 2011 | 0.6 | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 0.606 | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 0.638 | +5.3% |
| 2014 | 0.638 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.803 | +25.9% |
| 2016 | 0.798 | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 0.814 | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 0.841 | +3.3% |
| 2019 | 0.803 | -4.5% |
| 2020 | 0.752 | -6.4% |
| 2021 | 0.742 | -1.3% |
| 2022 | 0.768 | +3.5% |
| 2023 | 0.73 | -4.9% |
| 2024 | 0.747 | +2.3% |
| 2025 | 0.853 | +14.2% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.853 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.7185, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.853 is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.693, 1.2× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.448 | 0.448 | 0.448 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.4588 | 0.448 | 0.46 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.5522 | 0.55 | 0.557 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.6837 | 0.55 | 0.72 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.6903 | 0.641 | 0.837 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.8237 | 0.814 | 0.838 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.8137 | 0.812 | 0.817 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7556 | 0.713 | 0.81 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6722 | 0.643 | 0.713 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6963 | 0.674 | 0.713 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6778 | 0.624 | 0.73 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7153 | 0.6 | 0.841 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7653 | 0.73 | 0.853 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More social development data for Sri Lanka
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 213 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 148,369 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 3 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 3 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0068 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 148,369 (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 freedom of association index in Sri Lanka?
- Freedom of association index in Sri Lanka was 0.853 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 0.853 in 2025.
- What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.448 in 1900.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for freedom of association index?
- Sri Lanka ranks 53rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom of association index rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.