Freedom of Association Index in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Freedom of Association Index was 0.424 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.424
Change on year
down 3.2%
World rank
128th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.665
in 1986
All-time low
0.289
in 1979
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Freedom of Association Index in Zimbabwe, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom of association index in Zimbabwe is 0.424, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 3.2% on the previous year and down 28.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom of association index in Zimbabwe peaked at 0.665 in 1986 and was at its lowest, 0.289, in 1979.
Zimbabwe ranks 128th 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 Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.366 | — |
| 1901 | 0.366 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.365 | -0.3% |
| 1903 | 0.365 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.365 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.363 | -0.5% |
| 1906 | 0.363 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.363 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.365 | +0.6% |
| 1909 | 0.367 | +0.5% |
| 1910 | 0.367 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.365 | -0.5% |
| 1912 | 0.365 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.365 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.361 | -1.1% |
| 1915 | 0.361 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.361 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.361 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.361 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.435 | +20.5% |
| 1920 | 0.362 | -16.8% |
| 1921 | 0.363 | +0.3% |
| 1922 | 0.363 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.492 | +35.5% |
| 1924 | 0.51 | +3.7% |
| 1925 | 0.518 | +1.6% |
| 1926 | 0.518 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.518 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.517 | -0.2% |
| 1929 | 0.515 | -0.4% |
| 1930 | 0.515 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.515 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.515 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.515 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.513 | -0.4% |
| 1935 | 0.513 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.513 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.513 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.513 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.517 | +0.8% |
| 1940 | 0.519 | +0.4% |
| 1941 | 0.519 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.519 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.519 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.519 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.509 | -1.9% |
| 1946 | 0.51 | +0.2% |
| 1947 | 0.511 | +0.2% |
| 1948 | 0.509 | -0.4% |
| 1949 | 0.506 | -0.6% |
| 1950 | 0.506 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.506 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.506 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.506 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.505 | -0.2% |
| 1955 | 0.505 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.505 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.433 | -14.3% |
| 1958 | 0.38 | -12.2% |
| 1959 | 0.31 | -18.4% |
| 1960 | 0.352 | +13.5% |
| 1961 | 0.352 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.351 | -0.3% |
| 1963 | 0.333 | -5.1% |
| 1964 | 0.326 | -2.1% |
| 1965 | 0.325 | -0.3% |
| 1966 | 0.316 | -2.8% |
| 1967 | 0.316 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.316 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.316 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.296 | -6.3% |
| 1971 | 0.295 | -0.3% |
| 1972 | 0.295 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.295 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.294 | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 0.294 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.294 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.295 | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 0.297 | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 0.289 | -2.7% |
| 1980 | 0.559 | +93.4% |
| 1981 | 0.654 | +17.0% |
| 1982 | 0.654 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.654 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.654 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.649 | -0.8% |
| 1986 | 0.665 | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 0.591 | -11.1% |
| 1988 | 0.591 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.591 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.593 | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 0.635 | +7.1% |
| 1992 | 0.635 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.635 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.635 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.637 | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 0.637 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.617 | -3.1% |
| 1998 | 0.593 | -3.9% |
| 1999 | 0.593 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.566 | -4.6% |
| 2001 | 0.575 | +1.6% |
| 2002 | 0.579 | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 0.58 | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 0.58 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.596 | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 0.601 | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 0.601 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.6 | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 0.595 | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 0.601 | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 0.607 | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 0.607 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.6 | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 0.594 | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 0.594 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.594 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.591 | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 0.589 | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 0.582 | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 0.534 | -8.2% |
| 2021 | 0.505 | -5.4% |
| 2022 | 0.512 | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 0.515 | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 0.438 | -15.0% |
| 2025 | 0.424 | -3.2% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 0.424 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.567, 75% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 0.424 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.5515, 77% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Freedom of Association Index in Zimbabwe changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | +93.4% | 0.289 | 0.559 |
| 1923 | +35.5% | 0.363 | 0.492 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.3648 | 0.363 | 0.367 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.3702 | 0.361 | 0.435 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.4676 | 0.362 | 0.518 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.5142 | 0.513 | 0.517 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.514 | 0.506 | 0.519 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.4662 | 0.31 | 0.506 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.3303 | 0.316 | 0.352 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.2944 | 0.289 | 0.297 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6262 | 0.559 | 0.665 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.621 | 0.593 | 0.637 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5873 | 0.566 | 0.601 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5959 | 0.582 | 0.607 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.488 | 0.424 | 0.534 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More social development data for Zimbabwe
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,570 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6,632 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0004 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6,632 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0005 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 Zimbabwe?
- Freedom of association index in Zimbabwe was 0.424 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 0.665 in 1986.
- What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.289 in 1979.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for freedom of association index?
- Zimbabwe ranks 128th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom of association index rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.