What is freedom of expression index in Egypt?

Freedom of expression index in Egypt was 0.179 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

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

The highest recorded value was 0.686 in 2012.

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

The lowest recorded value was 0.088 in 1799.

How does Egypt rank for freedom of expression index?

Egypt ranks 147th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is freedom of expression index rising or falling in Egypt?

Over the last ten years it is up 9.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Egypt 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 Egypt

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

Egypt: Freedom of Expression Index was 0.179 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.179

Change on year

up 0.6%

World rank

147th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.686

in 2012

All-time low

0.088

in 1799

Years of data

237

1789–2025

Freedom of Expression Index in Egypt, 1789–2025

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

Analysis

In 2025, freedom of expression index in Egypt stood at 0.179.

That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 9.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, freedom of expression index in Egypt peaked at 0.686 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.088, in 1799.

Egypt ranks 147th 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 Egypt, year by year

Annual values for Freedom of Expression Index in Egypt, 1789 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1789	0.097	—
1790	0.097	+0.0%
1791	0.097	+0.0%
1792	0.097	+0.0%
1793	0.097	+0.0%
1794	0.097	+0.0%
1795	0.097	+0.0%
1796	0.097	+0.0%
1797	0.097	+0.0%
1798	0.097	+0.0%
1799	0.088	-9.3%
1800	0.088	+0.0%
1801	0.088	+0.0%
1802	0.088	+0.0%
1803	0.088	+0.0%
1804	0.088	+0.0%
1805	0.088	+0.0%
1806	0.088	+0.0%
1807	0.088	+0.0%
1808	0.088	+0.0%
1809	0.088	+0.0%
1810	0.088	+0.0%
1811	0.088	+0.0%
1812	0.088	+0.0%
1813	0.088	+0.0%
1814	0.088	+0.0%
1815	0.088	+0.0%
1816	0.088	+0.0%
1817	0.088	+0.0%
1818	0.088	+0.0%
1819	0.088	+0.0%
1820	0.088	+0.0%
1821	0.088	+0.0%
1822	0.088	+0.0%
1823	0.088	+0.0%
1824	0.088	+0.0%
1825	0.088	+0.0%
1826	0.088	+0.0%
1827	0.088	+0.0%
1828	0.088	+0.0%
1829	0.088	+0.0%
1830	0.088	+0.0%
1831	0.088	+0.0%
1832	0.088	+0.0%
1833	0.088	+0.0%
1834	0.088	+0.0%
1835	0.088	+0.0%
1836	0.088	+0.0%
1837	0.088	+0.0%
1838	0.088	+0.0%
1839	0.088	+0.0%
1840	0.088	+0.0%
1841	0.088	+0.0%
1842	0.088	+0.0%
1843	0.088	+0.0%
1844	0.088	+0.0%
1845	0.088	+0.0%
1846	0.088	+0.0%
1847	0.088	+0.0%
1848	0.088	+0.0%
1849	0.088	+0.0%
1850	0.088	+0.0%
1851	0.088	+0.0%
1852	0.088	+0.0%
1853	0.088	+0.0%
1854	0.088	+0.0%
1855	0.088	+0.0%
1856	0.088	+0.0%
1857	0.088	+0.0%
1858	0.088	+0.0%
1859	0.088	+0.0%
1860	0.088	+0.0%
1861	0.088	+0.0%
1862	0.088	+0.0%
1863	0.121	+37.5%
1864	0.121	+0.0%
1865	0.121	+0.0%
1866	0.121	+0.0%
1867	0.121	+0.0%
1868	0.121	+0.0%
1869	0.121	+0.0%
1870	0.121	+0.0%
1871	0.121	+0.0%
1872	0.121	+0.0%
1873	0.121	+0.0%
1874	0.121	+0.0%
1875	0.121	+0.0%
1876	0.121	+0.0%
1877	0.121	+0.0%
1878	0.161	+33.1%
1879	0.37	+129.8%
1880	0.37	+0.0%
1881	0.341	-7.8%
1882	0.341	+0.0%
1883	0.341	+0.0%
1884	0.341	+0.0%
1885	0.341	+0.0%
1886	0.341	+0.0%
1887	0.341	+0.0%
1888	0.341	+0.0%
1889	0.341	+0.0%
1890	0.341	+0.0%
1891	0.341	+0.0%
1892	0.341	+0.0%
1893	0.341	+0.0%
1894	0.341	+0.0%
1895	0.341	+0.0%
1896	0.341	+0.0%
1897	0.341	+0.0%
1898	0.341	+0.0%
1899	0.341	+0.0%
1900	0.379	+11.1%
1901	0.374	-1.3%
1902	0.374	+0.0%
1903	0.374	+0.0%
1904	0.374	+0.0%
1905	0.374	+0.0%
1906	0.374	+0.0%
1907	0.374	+0.0%
1908	0.374	+0.0%
1909	0.374	+0.0%
1910	0.374	+0.0%
1911	0.374	+0.0%
1912	0.374	+0.0%
1913	0.374	+0.0%
1914	0.375	+0.3%
1915	0.382	+1.9%
1916	0.382	+0.0%
1917	0.382	+0.0%
1918	0.382	+0.0%
1919	0.395	+3.4%
1920	0.397	+0.5%
1921	0.397	+0.0%
1922	0.397	+0.0%
1923	0.42	+5.8%
1924	0.42	+0.0%
1925	0.42	+0.0%
1926	0.42	+0.0%
1927	0.42	+0.0%
1928	0.42	+0.0%
1929	0.42	+0.0%
1930	0.398	-5.2%
1931	0.385	-3.3%
1932	0.385	+0.0%
1933	0.385	+0.0%
1934	0.385	+0.0%
1935	0.385	+0.0%
1936	0.385	+0.0%
1937	0.385	+0.0%
1938	0.385	+0.0%
1939	0.385	+0.0%
1940	0.385	+0.0%
1941	0.385	+0.0%
1942	0.385	+0.0%
1943	0.385	+0.0%
1944	0.385	+0.0%
1945	0.385	+0.0%
1946	0.385	+0.0%
1947	0.385	+0.0%
1948	0.385	+0.0%
1949	0.385	+0.0%
1950	0.402	+4.4%
1951	0.399	-0.7%
1952	0.273	-31.6%
1953	0.202	-26.0%
1954	0.137	-32.2%
1955	0.137	+0.0%
1956	0.13	-5.1%
1957	0.13	+0.0%
1958	0.13	+0.0%
1959	0.13	+0.0%
1960	0.13	+0.0%
1961	0.13	+0.0%
1962	0.136	+4.6%
1963	0.136	+0.0%
1964	0.136	+0.0%
1965	0.136	+0.0%
1966	0.136	+0.0%
1967	0.136	+0.0%
1968	0.136	+0.0%
1969	0.136	+0.0%
1970	0.178	+30.9%
1971	0.216	+21.3%
1972	0.233	+7.9%
1973	0.242	+3.9%
1974	0.242	+0.0%
1975	0.242	+0.0%
1976	0.262	+8.3%
1977	0.25	-4.6%
1978	0.248	-0.8%
1979	0.248	+0.0%
1980	0.283	+14.1%
1981	0.296	+4.6%
1982	0.296	+0.0%
1983	0.296	+0.0%
1984	0.296	+0.0%
1985	0.296	+0.0%
1986	0.321	+8.4%
1987	0.321	+0.0%
1988	0.321	+0.0%
1989	0.336	+4.7%
1990	0.336	+0.0%
1991	0.336	+0.0%
1992	0.336	+0.0%
1993	0.336	+0.0%
1994	0.35	+4.2%
1995	0.346	-1.1%
1996	0.346	+0.0%
1997	0.339	-2.0%
1998	0.339	+0.0%
1999	0.339	+0.0%
2000	0.361	+6.5%
2001	0.361	+0.0%
2002	0.361	+0.0%
2003	0.361	+0.0%
2004	0.361	+0.0%
2005	0.359	-0.6%
2006	0.362	+0.8%
2007	0.366	+1.1%
2008	0.366	+0.0%
2009	0.361	-1.4%
2010	0.371	+2.8%
2011	0.612	+65.0%
2012	0.686	+12.1%
2013	0.315	-54.1%
2014	0.171	-45.7%
2015	0.164	-4.1%
2016	0.158	-3.7%
2017	0.157	-0.6%
2018	0.158	+0.6%
2019	0.142	-10.1%
2020	0.156	+9.9%
2021	0.15	-3.8%
2022	0.159	+6.0%
2023	0.171	+7.5%
2024	0.178	+4.1%
2025	0.179	+0.6%

Egypt compared with similar countries

Egypt's 0.179 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.579, 31% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Egypt's 0.179 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.367, 49% of the median. (23 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1780s	0.097	0.097	0.097	1
1790s	0.0961	0.088	0.097	10
1800s	0.088	0.088	0.088	10
1810s	0.088	0.088	0.088	10
1820s	0.088	0.088	0.088	10
1830s	0.088	0.088	0.088	10
1840s	0.088	0.088	0.088	10
1850s	0.088	0.088	0.088	10
1860s	0.1111	0.088	0.121	10
1870s	0.1499	0.121	0.37	10
1880s	0.3439	0.341	0.37	10
1890s	0.341	0.341	0.341	10
1900s	0.3745	0.374	0.379	10
1910s	0.3794	0.374	0.395	10
1920s	0.4131	0.397	0.42	10
1930s	0.3863	0.385	0.398	10
1940s	0.385	0.385	0.385	10
1950s	0.207	0.13	0.402	10
1960s	0.1348	0.13	0.136	10
1970s	0.2361	0.178	0.262	10
1980s	0.3062	0.283	0.336	10
1990s	0.3403	0.336	0.35	10
2000s	0.3619	0.359	0.366	10
2010s	0.2934	0.142	0.686	10
2020s	0.1655	0.15	0.179	6

Countries ranked near Egypt

144 Uzbekistan 0.234 compare
145 Hong Kong 0.227 compare
146 Yemen 0.219 compare
147 Turkey 0.179 compare
149 Bahrain 0.172 compare
150 Rwanda 0.17 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Egypt

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 220,033 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 23,763 (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 0.0002 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 23,763 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0019 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 Egypt →

Frequently asked questions

What is freedom of expression index in Egypt?: Freedom of expression index in Egypt was 0.179 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest freedom of expression index recorded in Egypt?: The highest recorded value was 0.686 in 2012.
What is the lowest freedom of expression index recorded in Egypt?: The lowest recorded value was 0.088 in 1799.
How does Egypt rank for freedom of expression index?: Egypt ranks 147th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is freedom of expression index rising or falling in Egypt?: Over the last ten years it is up 9.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Egypt 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.

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Freedom of Expression Index in Egypt. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 07 November 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/freedom-of-expression-index/egypt-arab-rep/

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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: 30 October 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.