Freedom of Expression Index in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Freedom of Expression Index was 0.871 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
0.871
Change on year
up 1.6%
World rank
36th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.871
in 2025
All-time low
0.376
in 2009
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Freedom of Expression Index in Sri Lanka, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom of expression index in Sri Lanka is 0.871, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 126 years on record.
The figure is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 25.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom of expression index in Sri Lanka peaked at 0.871 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.376, in 2009.
Sri Lanka ranks 36th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 126 years of available data.
Freedom of Expression Index in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.656 | — |
| 1901 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.673 | +2.6% |
| 1921 | 0.673 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.673 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.673 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.673 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.673 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.673 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.673 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.673 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.673 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.697 | +3.6% |
| 1931 | 0.8 | +14.8% |
| 1932 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.819 | +2.4% |
| 1949 | 0.819 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.819 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.819 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.819 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.819 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.816 | -0.4% |
| 1955 | 0.816 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.801 | -1.8% |
| 1957 | 0.801 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.81 | +1.1% |
| 1959 | 0.81 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.852 | +5.2% |
| 1961 | 0.857 | +0.6% |
| 1962 | 0.86 | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 0.86 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.86 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.855 | -0.6% |
| 1966 | 0.857 | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 0.857 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.857 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.857 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.803 | -6.3% |
| 1971 | 0.796 | -0.9% |
| 1972 | 0.752 | -5.5% |
| 1973 | 0.74 | -1.6% |
| 1974 | 0.743 | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 0.745 | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 0.745 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.744 | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 0.727 | -2.3% |
| 1979 | 0.727 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.654 | -10.0% |
| 1981 | 0.654 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.654 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.648 | -0.9% |
| 1984 | 0.648 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.648 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.646 | -0.3% |
| 1987 | 0.62 | -4.0% |
| 1988 | 0.604 | -2.6% |
| 1989 | 0.604 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.608 | +0.7% |
| 1991 | 0.608 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.622 | +2.3% |
| 1993 | 0.627 | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 0.655 | +4.5% |
| 1995 | 0.709 | +8.2% |
| 1996 | 0.709 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.709 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.658 | -7.2% |
| 1999 | 0.658 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.641 | -2.6% |
| 2001 | 0.641 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.671 | +4.7% |
| 2003 | 0.671 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.671 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.505 | -24.7% |
| 2006 | 0.413 | -18.2% |
| 2007 | 0.393 | -4.8% |
| 2008 | 0.384 | -2.3% |
| 2009 | 0.376 | -2.1% |
| 2010 | 0.465 | +23.7% |
| 2011 | 0.471 | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 0.479 | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 0.554 | +15.7% |
| 2014 | 0.551 | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 0.692 | +25.6% |
| 2016 | 0.815 | +17.8% |
| 2017 | 0.791 | -2.9% |
| 2018 | 0.82 | +3.7% |
| 2019 | 0.702 | -14.4% |
| 2020 | 0.657 | -6.4% |
| 2021 | 0.669 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 0.704 | +5.2% |
| 2023 | 0.744 | +5.7% |
| 2024 | 0.857 | +15.2% |
| 2025 | 0.871 | +1.6% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.871 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.6745, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.871 is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.6885, 1.3× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.656 | 0.656 | 0.656 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.656 | 0.656 | 0.656 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.673 | 0.673 | 0.673 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.7897 | 0.697 | 0.8 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.8038 | 0.8 | 0.819 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.813 | 0.801 | 0.819 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.8572 | 0.852 | 0.86 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7522 | 0.727 | 0.803 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.638 | 0.604 | 0.654 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6563 | 0.608 | 0.709 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5366 | 0.376 | 0.671 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.634 | 0.465 | 0.82 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7503 | 0.657 | 0.871 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 33 Trinidad and Tobago 0.888 compare
- 34 Mauritius 0.887 compare
- 35 Seychelles 0.874 compare
- 37 Honduras 0.861 compare
- 38 Namibia 0.859 compare
- 39 Cape Verde 0.857 compare
More social development data for Sri Lanka
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 213 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 148,369 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 3 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 3 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0068 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 148,369 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 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 expression index in Sri Lanka?
- Freedom of expression index in Sri Lanka was 0.871 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom of expression index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 0.871 in 2025.
- What is the lowest freedom of expression index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.376 in 2009.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for freedom of expression index?
- Sri Lanka ranks 36th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom of expression index rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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 — 126 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.