What is freedom of association index in United States?

Freedom of association index in United States was 0.913 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in United States?

The highest recorded value was 0.95 in 2017.

What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in United States?

The lowest recorded value was 0.796 in 1789.

How does United States rank for freedom of association index?

United States ranks 9th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is freedom of association index rising or falling in United States?

Over the last ten years it is down 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this United States 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 United States

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

United States: Freedom of Association Index was 0.913 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

0.913

Change on year

down 3.2%

World rank

9th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.95

in 2017

All-time low

0.796

in 1789

Years of data

237

1789–2025

Freedom of Association Index in United States, 1789–2025

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

Analysis

United States recorded 0.913 for freedom of association index in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.2% on the previous year and down 3.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, freedom of association index in United States peaked at 0.95 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.796, in 1789.

That places United States 9th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 237 years of available data.

Freedom of Association Index in United States, year by year

Annual values for Freedom of Association Index in United States, 1789 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1789	0.796	—
1790	0.797	+0.1%
1791	0.797	+0.0%
1792	0.798	+0.1%
1793	0.798	+0.0%
1794	0.798	+0.0%
1795	0.798	+0.0%
1796	0.803	+0.6%
1797	0.811	+1.0%
1798	0.847	+4.4%
1799	0.863	+1.9%
1800	0.862	-0.1%
1801	0.861	-0.1%
1802	0.864	+0.3%
1803	0.866	+0.2%
1804	0.827	-4.5%
1805	0.809	-2.2%
1806	0.81	+0.1%
1807	0.811	+0.1%
1808	0.811	+0.0%
1809	0.812	+0.1%
1810	0.808	-0.5%
1811	0.806	-0.2%
1812	0.807	+0.1%
1813	0.808	+0.1%
1814	0.811	+0.4%
1815	0.812	+0.1%
1816	0.811	-0.1%
1817	0.81	-0.1%
1818	0.812	+0.2%
1819	0.813	+0.1%
1820	0.813	+0.0%
1821	0.814	+0.1%
1822	0.811	-0.4%
1823	0.809	-0.2%
1824	0.808	-0.1%
1825	0.807	-0.1%
1826	0.809	+0.2%
1827	0.811	+0.2%
1828	0.81	-0.1%
1829	0.809	-0.1%
1830	0.811	+0.2%
1831	0.813	+0.2%
1832	0.812	-0.1%
1833	0.811	-0.1%
1834	0.836	+3.1%
1835	0.863	+3.2%
1836	0.862	-0.1%
1837	0.862	+0.0%
1838	0.864	+0.2%
1839	0.866	+0.2%
1840	0.866	+0.0%
1841	0.866	+0.0%
1842	0.864	-0.2%
1843	0.861	-0.3%
1844	0.863	+0.2%
1845	0.865	+0.2%
1846	0.865	+0.0%
1847	0.864	-0.1%
1848	0.864	+0.0%
1849	0.864	+0.0%
1850	0.864	+0.0%
1851	0.864	+0.0%
1852	0.864	+0.0%
1853	0.865	+0.1%
1854	0.865	+0.0%
1855	0.866	+0.1%
1856	0.865	-0.1%
1857	0.863	-0.2%
1858	0.863	+0.0%
1859	0.863	+0.0%
1860	0.864	+0.1%
1861	0.864	+0.0%
1862	0.864	+0.0%
1863	0.863	-0.1%
1864	0.864	+0.1%
1865	0.864	+0.0%
1866	0.864	+0.0%
1867	0.864	+0.0%
1868	0.864	+0.0%
1869	0.864	+0.0%
1870	0.863	-0.1%
1871	0.862	-0.1%
1872	0.862	+0.0%
1873	0.865	+0.3%
1874	0.865	+0.0%
1875	0.863	-0.2%
1876	0.863	+0.0%
1877	0.863	+0.0%
1878	0.863	+0.0%
1879	0.861	-0.2%
1880	0.862	+0.1%
1881	0.866	+0.5%
1882	0.866	+0.0%
1883	0.863	-0.3%
1884	0.863	+0.0%
1885	0.864	+0.1%
1886	0.864	+0.0%
1887	0.864	+0.0%
1888	0.861	-0.3%
1889	0.84	-2.4%
1890	0.84	+0.0%
1891	0.841	+0.1%
1892	0.841	+0.0%
1893	0.84	-0.1%
1894	0.841	+0.1%
1895	0.845	+0.5%
1896	0.845	+0.0%
1897	0.845	+0.0%
1898	0.845	+0.0%
1899	0.844	-0.1%
1900	0.844	+0.0%
1901	0.842	-0.2%
1902	0.842	+0.0%
1903	0.846	+0.5%
1904	0.846	+0.0%
1905	0.843	-0.4%
1906	0.842	-0.1%
1907	0.837	-0.6%
1908	0.837	+0.0%
1909	0.838	+0.1%
1910	0.838	+0.0%
1911	0.84	+0.2%
1912	0.84	+0.0%
1913	0.84	+0.0%
1914	0.815	-3.0%
1915	0.82	+0.6%
1916	0.82	+0.0%
1917	0.809	-1.3%
1918	0.809	+0.0%
1919	0.811	+0.2%
1920	0.843	+3.9%
1921	0.834	-1.1%
1922	0.835	+0.1%
1923	0.838	+0.4%
1924	0.838	+0.0%
1925	0.836	-0.2%
1926	0.836	+0.0%
1927	0.836	+0.0%
1928	0.837	+0.1%
1929	0.841	+0.5%
1930	0.84	-0.1%
1931	0.836	-0.5%
1932	0.836	+0.0%
1933	0.839	+0.4%
1934	0.841	+0.2%
1935	0.839	-0.2%
1936	0.834	-0.6%
1937	0.833	-0.1%
1938	0.833	+0.0%
1939	0.833	+0.0%
1940	0.84	+0.8%
1941	0.851	+1.3%
1942	0.851	+0.0%
1943	0.851	+0.0%
1944	0.851	+0.0%
1945	0.839	-1.4%
1946	0.842	+0.4%
1947	0.854	+1.4%
1948	0.854	+0.0%
1949	0.834	-2.3%
1950	0.837	+0.4%
1951	0.836	-0.1%
1952	0.835	-0.1%
1953	0.832	-0.4%
1954	0.824	-1.0%
1955	0.825	+0.1%
1956	0.825	+0.0%
1957	0.827	+0.2%
1958	0.828	+0.1%
1959	0.829	+0.1%
1960	0.838	+1.1%
1961	0.847	+1.1%
1962	0.847	+0.0%
1963	0.847	+0.0%
1964	0.854	+0.8%
1965	0.852	-0.2%
1966	0.852	+0.0%
1967	0.854	+0.2%
1968	0.854	+0.0%
1969	0.852	-0.2%
1970	0.868	+1.9%
1971	0.868	+0.0%
1972	0.869	+0.1%
1973	0.883	+1.6%
1974	0.883	+0.0%
1975	0.884	+0.1%
1976	0.884	+0.0%
1977	0.926	+4.8%
1978	0.926	+0.0%
1979	0.924	-0.2%
1980	0.932	+0.9%
1981	0.941	+1.0%
1982	0.942	+0.1%
1983	0.942	+0.0%
1984	0.941	-0.1%
1985	0.938	-0.3%
1986	0.938	+0.0%
1987	0.941	+0.3%
1988	0.941	+0.0%
1989	0.94	-0.1%
1990	0.94	+0.0%
1991	0.941	+0.1%
1992	0.941	+0.0%
1993	0.94	-0.1%
1994	0.94	+0.0%
1995	0.941	+0.1%
1996	0.941	+0.0%
1997	0.941	+0.0%
1998	0.941	+0.0%
1999	0.942	+0.1%
2000	0.941	-0.1%
2001	0.938	-0.3%
2002	0.938	+0.0%
2003	0.94	+0.2%
2004	0.939	-0.1%
2005	0.939	+0.0%
2006	0.939	+0.0%
2007	0.941	+0.2%
2008	0.941	+0.0%
2009	0.939	-0.2%
2010	0.94	+0.1%
2011	0.941	+0.1%
2012	0.941	+0.0%
2013	0.943	+0.2%
2014	0.943	+0.0%
2015	0.943	+0.0%
2016	0.943	+0.0%
2017	0.95	+0.7%
2018	0.95	+0.0%
2019	0.947	-0.3%
2020	0.94	-0.7%
2021	0.945	+0.5%
2022	0.945	+0.0%
2023	0.931	-1.5%
2024	0.943	+1.3%
2025	0.913	-3.2%

United States compared with similar countries

United States's 0.913 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.868, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1780s	0.796	0.796	0.796	1
1790s	0.811	0.797	0.863	10
1800s	0.8333	0.809	0.866	10
1810s	0.8098	0.806	0.813	10
1820s	0.8101	0.807	0.814	10
1830s	0.84	0.811	0.866	10
1840s	0.8642	0.861	0.866	10
1850s	0.8642	0.863	0.866	10
1860s	0.8639	0.863	0.864	10
1870s	0.863	0.861	0.865	10
1880s	0.8613	0.84	0.866	10
1890s	0.8427	0.84	0.845	10
1900s	0.8417	0.837	0.846	10
1910s	0.8242	0.809	0.84	10
1920s	0.8374	0.834	0.843	10
1930s	0.8364	0.833	0.841	10
1940s	0.8467	0.834	0.854	10
1950s	0.8298	0.824	0.837	10
1960s	0.8497	0.838	0.854	10
1970s	0.8915	0.868	0.926	10
1980s	0.9396	0.932	0.942	10
1990s	0.9408	0.94	0.942	10
2000s	0.9395	0.938	0.941	10
2010s	0.9441	0.94	0.95	10
2020s	0.9362	0.913	0.945	6

Countries ranked near United States

7 Norway 0.915 compare
7 Spain 0.915 compare
10 Ireland 0.912 compare
11 Estonia 0.908 compare
12 Malta 0.902 compare
12 Uruguay 0.902 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for United States

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 457,647 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 3,667 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (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 3,667 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0013 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 United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is freedom of association index in United States?: Freedom of association index in United States was 0.913 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in United States?: The highest recorded value was 0.95 in 2017.
What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in United States?: The lowest recorded value was 0.796 in 1789.
How does United States rank for freedom of association index?: United States ranks 9th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is freedom of association index rising or falling in United States?: Over the last ten years it is down 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United States 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 United States. 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/united-states/

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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.