Freedom of expression index in United States
United States: Freedom of expression index was 0.729 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Freedom of expression index in United States, 1789–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom of expression index in United States is 0.729, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 19.4% on the previous year and down 24.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom of expression index in United States peaked at 0.965 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.63, in 1799.
That places United States 83rd 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 237 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0.738 | 0.738 | 0.738 | 1 |
| 1790s | 0.721 | 0.63 | 0.738 | 10 |
| 1800s | 0.7038 | 0.63 | 0.712 | 10 |
| 1810s | 0.712 | 0.712 | 0.712 | 10 |
| 1820s | 0.7176 | 0.712 | 0.74 | 10 |
| 1830s | 0.7285 | 0.717 | 0.74 | 10 |
| 1840s | 0.717 | 0.717 | 0.717 | 10 |
| 1850s | 0.717 | 0.717 | 0.717 | 10 |
| 1860s | 0.7551 | 0.717 | 0.762 | 10 |
| 1870s | 0.762 | 0.762 | 0.762 | 10 |
| 1880s | 0.7564 | 0.742 | 0.766 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0.766 | 0.766 | 0.766 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0.7668 | 0.766 | 0.77 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.7515 | 0.712 | 0.765 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.7455 | 0.745 | 0.75 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.7877 | 0.745 | 0.797 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.7464 | 0.695 | 0.8 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.7896 | 0.774 | 0.819 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.8613 | 0.854 | 0.878 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.9243 | 0.871 | 0.95 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.9538 | 0.946 | 0.958 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9605 | 0.957 | 0.964 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9592 | 0.949 | 0.964 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9425 | 0.891 | 0.965 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8913 | 0.729 | 0.944 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More social development data for United States
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 457,647 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 3,667 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh 2 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 1 (2025)
- Human rights index vs electoral democracy index 0.826 (2025)
- Liberal democracy index 0.571 (2025)
- Electoral democracy index 0.735 (2025)
- Freedom of association index 0.913 (2025)
- Participatory democracy index 0.51 (2025)
- Varieties democracy vdem 0.735 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is freedom of expression index in United States?
- Freedom of expression index in United States was 0.729 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom of expression index recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 0.965 in 2010.
- What is the lowest freedom of expression index recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.63 in 1799.
- How does United States rank for freedom of expression index?
- United States ranks 83rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom of expression index rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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 — 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).