Freedom of Expression Index in Lebanon
Lebanon: Freedom of Expression Index was 0.744 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.744
Change on year
up 2.5%
World rank
79th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.782
in 2009
All-time low
0.527
in 1918
Years of data
108
1918–2025
Freedom of Expression Index in Lebanon, 1918–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, freedom of expression index in Lebanon stood at 0.744.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.5% on the previous year and down 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom of expression index in Lebanon peaked at 0.782 in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.527, in 1918.
That places Lebanon 79th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 108 years of available data.
Freedom of Expression Index in Lebanon, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1918 | 0.527 | — |
| 1919 | 0.527 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.577 | +9.5% |
| 1921 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.577 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.571 | -1.0% |
| 1941 | 0.571 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.586 | +2.6% |
| 1943 | 0.645 | +10.1% |
| 1944 | 0.663 | +2.8% |
| 1945 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.663 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.659 | -0.6% |
| 1960 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0.653 | -0.9% |
| 1962 | 0.664 | +1.7% |
| 1963 | 0.664 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.664 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.664 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.664 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.664 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.664 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.664 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.675 | +1.7% |
| 1971 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.688 | +1.9% |
| 1976 | 0.675 | -1.9% |
| 1977 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.663 | -1.8% |
| 1991 | 0.628 | -5.3% |
| 1992 | 0.649 | +3.3% |
| 1993 | 0.663 | +2.2% |
| 1994 | 0.635 | -4.2% |
| 1995 | 0.635 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.635 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.635 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.635 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.635 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.608 | -4.3% |
| 2001 | 0.634 | +4.3% |
| 2002 | 0.62 | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.717 | +15.6% |
| 2006 | 0.766 | +6.8% |
| 2007 | 0.751 | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 0.765 | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 0.782 | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 0.762 | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 0.779 | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 0.77 | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 0.776 | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 0.776 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.761 | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 0.742 | -2.5% |
| 2017 | 0.716 | -3.5% |
| 2018 | 0.714 | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 0.723 | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 0.721 | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 0.728 | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 0.677 | -7.0% |
| 2023 | 0.73 | +7.8% |
| 2024 | 0.726 | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 0.744 | +2.5% |
Lebanon compared with similar countries
- Lebanon's 0.744 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.579, 1.3× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lebanon's 0.744 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.367, 2.0× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0.527 | 0.527 | 0.527 | 2 |
| 1920s | 0.577 | 0.577 | 0.577 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.577 | 0.577 | 0.577 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.6351 | 0.571 | 0.663 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.6626 | 0.659 | 0.663 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.6624 | 0.653 | 0.664 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.6763 | 0.675 | 0.688 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.675 | 0.675 | 0.675 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6413 | 0.628 | 0.663 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6883 | 0.608 | 0.782 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7519 | 0.714 | 0.779 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.721 | 0.677 | 0.744 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lebanon
More social development data for Lebanon
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 535,168 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 9,568 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0016 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 9,568 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0915 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is freedom of expression index in Lebanon?
- Freedom of expression index in Lebanon was 0.744 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom of expression index recorded in Lebanon?
- The highest recorded value was 0.782 in 2009.
- What is the lowest freedom of expression index recorded in Lebanon?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.527 in 1918.
- How does Lebanon rank for freedom of expression index?
- Lebanon ranks 79th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom of expression index rising or falling in Lebanon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lebanon 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 — 108 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.