Freedom of expression index in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: Freedom of expression index was 0.063 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom of expression index in United Arab Emirates, 1971–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom of expression index in United Arab Emirates is 0.063, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 1.6% on the previous year and down 47.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom of expression index in United Arab Emirates peaked at 0.174 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 0.052, in 2021.
That places United Arab Emirates 165th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 55 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.0912 | 0.069 | 0.107 | 9 |
| 1980s | 0.1098 | 0.092 | 0.128 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1517 | 0.128 | 0.174 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.1399 | 0.111 | 0.174 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1092 | 0.066 | 0.14 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0618 | 0.052 | 0.069 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates
More social development data for United Arab Emirates
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 1,377 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 252 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh 7 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 0 (2025)
- Human rights index vs electoral democracy index 0.339 (2025)
- Liberal democracy index 0.077 (2025)
- Electoral democracy index 0.104 (2025)
- Freedom of association index 0.04 (2025)
- Participatory democracy index 0.031 (2025)
- Varieties democracy vdem 0.104 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is freedom of expression index in United Arab Emirates?
- Freedom of expression index in United Arab Emirates was 0.063 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom of expression index recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 0.174 in 1998.
- What is the lowest freedom of expression index recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.052 in 2021.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for freedom of expression index?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 165th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom of expression index rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Arab Emirates data come from?
- The figures come from 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 — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).