What is freedom of expression index in Belarus?

Freedom of expression index in Belarus was 0.025 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest freedom of expression index recorded in Belarus?

The highest recorded value was 0.764 in 1993.

What is the lowest freedom of expression index recorded in Belarus?

The lowest recorded value was 0.012 in 1934.

How does Belarus rank for freedom of expression index?

Belarus ranks 172nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is freedom of expression index rising or falling in Belarus?

Over the last ten years it is down 91.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Belarus data come from?

The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom of Expression Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Freedom of Expression Index in Belarus

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

Belarus: Freedom of Expression Index was 0.025 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.025

Change on year

down 13.8%

World rank

172nd

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.764

in 1993

All-time low

0.012

in 1934

Years of data

231

1795–2025

Freedom of Expression Index in Belarus, 1795–2025

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

Analysis

In 2025, freedom of expression index in Belarus stood at 0.025.

That represents a change of down 13.8% on the previous year and down 91.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, freedom of expression index in Belarus peaked at 0.764 in 1993 and was at its lowest, 0.012, in 1934.

Belarus ranks 172nd of 176 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Freedom of Expression Index in Belarus, year by year

Annual values for Freedom of Expression Index in Belarus, 1795 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1795	0.087	—
1796	0.087	+0.0%
1797	0.087	+0.0%
1798	0.087	+0.0%
1799	0.087	+0.0%
1800	0.087	+0.0%
1801	0.087	+0.0%
1802	0.087	+0.0%
1803	0.087	+0.0%
1804	0.087	+0.0%
1805	0.087	+0.0%
1806	0.087	+0.0%
1807	0.087	+0.0%
1808	0.087	+0.0%
1809	0.087	+0.0%
1810	0.087	+0.0%
1811	0.087	+0.0%
1812	0.087	+0.0%
1813	0.087	+0.0%
1814	0.087	+0.0%
1815	0.087	+0.0%
1816	0.087	+0.0%
1817	0.087	+0.0%
1818	0.087	+0.0%
1819	0.087	+0.0%
1820	0.087	+0.0%
1821	0.087	+0.0%
1822	0.087	+0.0%
1823	0.087	+0.0%
1824	0.087	+0.0%
1825	0.087	+0.0%
1826	0.074	-14.9%
1827	0.074	+0.0%
1828	0.074	+0.0%
1829	0.074	+0.0%
1830	0.074	+0.0%
1831	0.074	+0.0%
1832	0.074	+0.0%
1833	0.074	+0.0%
1834	0.074	+0.0%
1835	0.074	+0.0%
1836	0.074	+0.0%
1837	0.074	+0.0%
1838	0.074	+0.0%
1839	0.074	+0.0%
1840	0.074	+0.0%
1841	0.074	+0.0%
1842	0.074	+0.0%
1843	0.074	+0.0%
1844	0.074	+0.0%
1845	0.074	+0.0%
1846	0.074	+0.0%
1847	0.074	+0.0%
1848	0.059	-20.3%
1849	0.059	+0.0%
1850	0.059	+0.0%
1851	0.059	+0.0%
1852	0.059	+0.0%
1853	0.059	+0.0%
1854	0.059	+0.0%
1855	0.143	+142.4%
1856	0.168	+17.5%
1857	0.168	+0.0%
1858	0.168	+0.0%
1859	0.168	+0.0%
1860	0.168	+0.0%
1861	0.168	+0.0%
1862	0.168	+0.0%
1863	0.168	+0.0%
1864	0.168	+0.0%
1865	0.194	+15.5%
1866	0.194	+0.0%
1867	0.194	+0.0%
1868	0.194	+0.0%
1869	0.194	+0.0%
1870	0.194	+0.0%
1871	0.194	+0.0%
1872	0.194	+0.0%
1873	0.167	-13.9%
1874	0.167	+0.0%
1875	0.167	+0.0%
1876	0.167	+0.0%
1877	0.167	+0.0%
1878	0.167	+0.0%
1879	0.167	+0.0%
1880	0.167	+0.0%
1881	0.171	+2.4%
1882	0.19	+11.1%
1883	0.19	+0.0%
1884	0.19	+0.0%
1885	0.19	+0.0%
1886	0.19	+0.0%
1887	0.19	+0.0%
1888	0.19	+0.0%
1889	0.19	+0.0%
1890	0.19	+0.0%
1891	0.19	+0.0%
1892	0.19	+0.0%
1893	0.19	+0.0%
1894	0.19	+0.0%
1895	0.19	+0.0%
1896	0.19	+0.0%
1897	0.19	+0.0%
1898	0.19	+0.0%
1899	0.19	+0.0%
1900	0.201	+5.8%
1901	0.199	-1.0%
1902	0.199	+0.0%
1903	0.199	+0.0%
1904	0.199	+0.0%
1905	0.238	+19.6%
1906	0.242	+1.7%
1907	0.239	-1.2%
1908	0.236	-1.3%
1909	0.235	-0.4%
1910	0.231	-1.7%
1911	0.231	+0.0%
1912	0.236	+2.2%
1913	0.236	+0.0%
1914	0.229	-3.0%
1915	0.221	-3.5%
1916	0.219	-0.9%
1917	0.146	-33.3%
1918	0.045	-69.2%
1919	0.031	-31.1%
1920	0.03	-3.2%
1921	0.032	+6.7%
1922	0.031	-3.1%
1923	0.027	-12.9%
1924	0.025	-7.4%
1925	0.022	-12.0%
1926	0.021	-4.5%
1927	0.019	-9.5%
1928	0.018	-5.3%
1929	0.018	+0.0%
1930	0.015	-16.7%
1931	0.015	+0.0%
1932	0.015	+0.0%
1933	0.015	+0.0%
1934	0.012	-20.0%
1935	0.012	+0.0%
1936	0.012	+0.0%
1937	0.012	+0.0%
1938	0.012	+0.0%
1939	0.012	+0.0%
1940	0.012	+0.0%
1941	0.012	+0.0%
1942	0.012	+0.0%
1943	0.012	+0.0%
1944	0.012	+0.0%
1945	0.014	+16.7%
1946	0.015	+7.1%
1947	0.014	-6.7%
1948	0.012	-14.3%
1949	0.012	+0.0%
1950	0.012	+0.0%
1951	0.012	+0.0%
1952	0.012	+0.0%
1953	0.016	+33.3%
1954	0.023	+43.7%
1955	0.025	+8.7%
1956	0.024	-4.0%
1957	0.029	+20.8%
1958	0.029	+0.0%
1959	0.03	+3.4%
1960	0.028	-6.7%
1961	0.028	+0.0%
1962	0.029	+3.6%
1963	0.029	+0.0%
1964	0.029	+0.0%
1965	0.027	-6.9%
1966	0.027	+0.0%
1967	0.027	+0.0%
1968	0.027	+0.0%
1969	0.025	-7.4%
1970	0.025	+0.0%
1971	0.026	+4.0%
1972	0.025	-3.8%
1973	0.025	+0.0%
1974	0.024	-4.0%
1975	0.026	+8.3%
1976	0.026	+0.0%
1977	0.025	-3.8%
1978	0.025	+0.0%
1979	0.025	+0.0%
1980	0.025	+0.0%
1981	0.025	+0.0%
1982	0.025	+0.0%
1983	0.025	+0.0%
1984	0.025	+0.0%
1985	0.038	+52.0%
1986	0.087	+128.9%
1987	0.286	+228.7%
1988	0.291	+1.7%
1989	0.369	+26.8%
1990	0.676	+83.2%
1991	0.687	+1.6%
1992	0.753	+9.6%
1993	0.764	+1.5%
1994	0.764	+0.0%
1995	0.679	-11.1%
1996	0.573	-15.6%
1997	0.458	-20.1%
1998	0.362	-21.0%
1999	0.301	-16.9%
2000	0.275	-8.6%
2001	0.256	-6.9%
2002	0.238	-7.0%
2003	0.235	-1.3%
2004	0.235	+0.0%
2005	0.239	+1.7%
2006	0.211	-11.7%
2007	0.197	-6.6%
2008	0.205	+4.1%
2009	0.199	-2.9%
2010	0.204	+2.5%
2011	0.186	-8.8%
2012	0.193	+3.8%
2013	0.258	+33.7%
2014	0.272	+5.4%
2015	0.29	+6.6%
2016	0.306	+5.5%
2017	0.302	-1.3%
2018	0.312	+3.3%
2019	0.315	+1.0%
2020	0.129	-59.0%
2021	0.056	-56.6%
2022	0.049	-12.5%
2023	0.03	-38.8%
2024	0.029	-3.3%
2025	0.025	-13.8%

Belarus compared with similar countries

Belarus's 0.025 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.6745, 4% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Belarus's 0.025 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.7935, 3% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1790s	0.087	0.087	0.087	5
1800s	0.087	0.087	0.087	10
1810s	0.087	0.087	0.087	10
1820s	0.0818	0.074	0.087	10
1830s	0.074	0.074	0.074	10
1840s	0.071	0.059	0.074	10
1850s	0.111	0.059	0.168	10
1860s	0.181	0.168	0.194	10
1870s	0.1751	0.167	0.194	10
1880s	0.1858	0.167	0.19	10
1890s	0.19	0.19	0.19	10
1900s	0.2187	0.199	0.242	10
1910s	0.1825	0.031	0.236	10
1920s	0.0243	0.018	0.032	10
1930s	0.0132	0.012	0.015	10
1940s	0.0127	0.012	0.015	10
1950s	0.0212	0.012	0.03	10
1960s	0.0276	0.025	0.029	10
1970s	0.0252	0.024	0.026	10
1980s	0.1196	0.025	0.369	10
1990s	0.6017	0.301	0.764	10
2000s	0.229	0.197	0.275	10
2010s	0.2638	0.186	0.315	10
2020s	0.053	0.025	0.129	6

Countries ranked near Belarus

169 Turkmenistan 0.038 compare
170 Laos 0.032 compare
171 Myanmar 0.026 compare
173 Eritrea 0.024 compare
174 Afghanistan 0.022 compare
175 Nicaragua 0.018 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Belarus

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 40,794 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 19,462 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0021 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 19,462 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0045 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 Belarus →

Frequently asked questions

What is freedom of expression index in Belarus?: Freedom of expression index in Belarus was 0.025 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest freedom of expression index recorded in Belarus?: The highest recorded value was 0.764 in 1993.
What is the lowest freedom of expression index recorded in Belarus?: The lowest recorded value was 0.012 in 1934.
How does Belarus rank for freedom of expression index?: Belarus ranks 172nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is freedom of expression index rising or falling in Belarus?: Over the last ten years it is down 91.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Belarus data come from?: The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom of Expression Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 231 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Freedom of Expression Index in Belarus. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/freedom-of-expression-index/belarus/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/freedom-of-expression-index/belarus/">Freedom of Expression Index in Belarus</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Freedom of Expression Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 30,035 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which people can discuss political matters at home and in the public sphere, the press, and media are free and can present different political perspectives, and the freedom of academic and cultural expression.