Statizoid

Freedom of Expression Index in Romania

Romania: Freedom of Expression Index was 0.777 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.777
Change on year
up 5.6%
World rank
68th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.914
in 2021
All-time low
0.04
in 1949
Years of data
195
1831–2025

Freedom of Expression Index in Romania, 1831–2025

00.20.40.60.81183119282025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for freedom of expression index in Romania is 0.777, measured in 2025.

The figure is up 5.6% on the previous year and down 10.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, freedom of expression index in Romania peaked at 0.914 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.04, in 1949.

That places Romania 68th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Freedom of Expression Index in Romania, year by year

Year Value Change
1831 0.14 —
1832 0.14 +0.0%
1833 0.14 +0.0%
1834 0.14 +0.0%
1835 0.14 +0.0%
1836 0.14 +0.0%
1837 0.14 +0.0%
1838 0.14 +0.0%
1839 0.14 +0.0%
1840 0.14 +0.0%
1841 0.14 +0.0%
1842 0.14 +0.0%
1843 0.14 +0.0%
1844 0.14 +0.0%
1845 0.14 +0.0%
1846 0.14 +0.0%
1847 0.14 +0.0%
1848 0.14 +0.0%
1849 0.14 +0.0%
1850 0.14 +0.0%
1851 0.14 +0.0%
1852 0.14 +0.0%
1853 0.14 +0.0%
1854 0.14 +0.0%
1855 0.14 +0.0%
1856 0.14 +0.0%
1857 0.14 +0.0%
1858 0.14 +0.0%
1859 0.14 +0.0%
1860 0.476 +240.0%
1861 0.476 +0.0%
1862 0.476 +0.0%
1863 0.476 +0.0%
1864 0.421 -11.6%
1865 0.421 +0.0%
1866 0.465 +10.5%
1867 0.68 +46.2%
1868 0.68 +0.0%
1869 0.68 +0.0%
1870 0.68 +0.0%
1871 0.68 +0.0%
1872 0.68 +0.0%
1873 0.68 +0.0%
1874 0.68 +0.0%
1875 0.68 +0.0%
1876 0.68 +0.0%
1877 0.68 +0.0%
1878 0.68 +0.0%
1879 0.68 +0.0%
1880 0.68 +0.0%
1881 0.68 +0.0%
1882 0.68 +0.0%
1883 0.68 +0.0%
1884 0.68 +0.0%
1885 0.68 +0.0%
1886 0.68 +0.0%
1887 0.68 +0.0%
1888 0.68 +0.0%
1889 0.68 +0.0%
1890 0.68 +0.0%
1891 0.68 +0.0%
1892 0.68 +0.0%
1893 0.68 +0.0%
1894 0.68 +0.0%
1895 0.68 +0.0%
1896 0.68 +0.0%
1897 0.68 +0.0%
1898 0.68 +0.0%
1899 0.68 +0.0%
1900 0.678 -0.3%
1901 0.678 +0.0%
1902 0.678 +0.0%
1903 0.678 +0.0%
1904 0.678 +0.0%
1905 0.678 +0.0%
1906 0.678 +0.0%
1907 0.67 -1.2%
1908 0.676 +0.9%
1909 0.676 +0.0%
1910 0.676 +0.0%
1911 0.675 -0.1%
1912 0.675 +0.0%
1913 0.675 +0.0%
1914 0.666 -1.3%
1915 0.666 +0.0%
1916 0.644 -3.3%
1917 0.644 +0.0%
1918 0.644 +0.0%
1919 0.674 +4.7%
1920 0.679 +0.7%
1921 0.679 +0.0%
1922 0.679 +0.0%
1923 0.679 +0.0%
1924 0.668 -1.6%
1925 0.671 +0.4%
1926 0.671 +0.0%
1927 0.671 +0.0%
1928 0.671 +0.0%
1929 0.667 -0.6%
1930 0.612 -8.2%
1931 0.612 +0.0%
1932 0.612 +0.0%
1933 0.612 +0.0%
1934 0.604 -1.3%
1935 0.604 +0.0%
1936 0.604 +0.0%
1937 0.539 -10.8%
1938 0.397 -26.3%
1939 0.303 -23.7%
1940 0.291 -4.0%
1941 0.291 +0.0%
1942 0.291 +0.0%
1943 0.291 +0.0%
1944 0.25 -14.1%
1945 0.342 +36.8%
1946 0.308 -9.9%
1947 0.251 -18.5%
1948 0.044 -82.5%
1949 0.04 -9.1%
1950 0.04 +0.0%
1951 0.04 +0.0%
1952 0.04 +0.0%
1953 0.04 +0.0%
1954 0.04 +0.0%
1955 0.04 +0.0%
1956 0.04 +0.0%
1957 0.04 +0.0%
1958 0.04 +0.0%
1959 0.04 +0.0%
1960 0.04 +0.0%
1961 0.04 +0.0%
1962 0.04 +0.0%
1963 0.04 +0.0%
1964 0.04 +0.0%
1965 0.04 +0.0%
1966 0.04 +0.0%
1967 0.046 +15.0%
1968 0.046 +0.0%
1969 0.046 +0.0%
1970 0.046 +0.0%
1971 0.046 +0.0%
1972 0.046 +0.0%
1973 0.046 +0.0%
1974 0.046 +0.0%
1975 0.046 +0.0%
1976 0.046 +0.0%
1977 0.046 +0.0%
1978 0.046 +0.0%
1979 0.046 +0.0%
1980 0.046 +0.0%
1981 0.046 +0.0%
1982 0.046 +0.0%
1983 0.046 +0.0%
1984 0.046 +0.0%
1985 0.046 +0.0%
1986 0.046 +0.0%
1987 0.046 +0.0%
1988 0.046 +0.0%
1989 0.046 +0.0%
1990 0.738 +1504.3%
1991 0.77 +4.3%
1992 0.789 +2.5%
1993 0.824 +4.4%
1994 0.824 +0.0%
1995 0.824 +0.0%
1996 0.829 +0.6%
1997 0.861 +3.9%
1998 0.861 +0.0%
1999 0.861 +0.0%
2000 0.836 -2.9%
2001 0.778 -6.9%
2002 0.778 +0.0%
2003 0.778 +0.0%
2004 0.781 +0.4%
2005 0.861 +10.2%
2006 0.854 -0.8%
2007 0.854 +0.0%
2008 0.865 +1.3%
2009 0.865 +0.0%
2010 0.885 +2.3%
2011 0.891 +0.7%
2012 0.87 -2.4%
2013 0.86 -1.1%
2014 0.86 +0.0%
2015 0.871 +1.3%
2016 0.891 +2.3%
2017 0.787 -11.7%
2018 0.78 -0.9%
2019 0.858 +10.0%
2020 0.911 +6.2%
2021 0.914 +0.3%
2022 0.765 -16.3%
2023 0.763 -0.3%
2024 0.736 -3.5%
2025 0.777 +5.6%

Romania compared with similar countries

  • Romania's 0.777 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.874, 89% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Romania's 0.777 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.7935, 98% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 0.14 0.14 0.14 9
1840s 0.14 0.14 0.14 10
1850s 0.14 0.14 0.14 10
1860s 0.5251 0.421 0.68 10
1870s 0.68 0.68 0.68 10
1880s 0.68 0.68 0.68 10
1890s 0.68 0.68 0.68 10
1900s 0.6768 0.67 0.678 10
1910s 0.6639 0.644 0.676 10
1920s 0.6735 0.667 0.679 10
1930s 0.5499 0.303 0.612 10
1940s 0.2399 0.04 0.342 10
1950s 0.04 0.04 0.04 10
1960s 0.0418 0.04 0.046 10
1970s 0.046 0.046 0.046 10
1980s 0.046 0.046 0.046 10
1990s 0.8181 0.738 0.861 10
2000s 0.825 0.778 0.865 10
2010s 0.8553 0.78 0.891 10
2020s 0.811 0.736 0.914 6

Countries ranked near Romania

  1. 65 Botswana 0.798 compare
  2. 66 Sao Tome and Principe 0.793 compare
  3. 67 Zambia 0.778 compare
  4. 69 Guyana 0.771 compare
  5. 69 Mongolia 0.771 compare
  6. 71 Slovakia 0.765 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Romania

All data for Romania →

Frequently asked questions

What is freedom of expression index in Romania?
Freedom of expression index in Romania was 0.777 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest freedom of expression index recorded in Romania?
The highest recorded value was 0.914 in 2021.
What is the lowest freedom of expression index recorded in Romania?
The lowest recorded value was 0.04 in 1949.
How does Romania rank for freedom of expression index?
Romania ranks 68th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is freedom of expression index rising or falling in Romania?
Over the last ten years it is down 10.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Romania 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 — 195 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Relationships involving this indicator

Comparisons with other indicators across countries. Each was re-measured with population and national income held constant, so a relationship that only reflected country size is not listed here.

All correlations →

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Freedom of Expression Index in Romania. 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/romania/

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/romania/">Freedom of Expression Index in Romania</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

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.