What is freedom of expression index in Uruguay?

Freedom of expression index in Uruguay was 0.931 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest freedom of expression index recorded in Uruguay?

The highest recorded value was 0.975 in 2010.

What is the lowest freedom of expression index recorded in Uruguay?

The lowest recorded value was 0.083 in 1976.

How does Uruguay rank for freedom of expression index?

Uruguay ranks 15th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is freedom of expression index rising or falling in Uruguay?

Over the last ten years it is down 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.

Where does this Uruguay 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.

Freedom of Expression Index in Uruguay

Name: Freedom of Expression Index in Uruguay
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Uruguay: Freedom of Expression Index was 0.931 in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)

0.931

Change on year

up 2.0%

World rank

15th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.975

in 2010

All-time low

0.083

in 1976

Years of data

201

1825–2025

Freedom of Expression Index in Uruguay, 1825–2025

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

Analysis

Uruguay recorded 0.931 for freedom of expression index in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% on the previous year and down 4.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, freedom of expression index in Uruguay peaked at 0.975 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.083, in 1976.

That places Uruguay 15th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

Freedom of Expression Index in Uruguay, year by year

Annual values for Freedom of Expression Index in Uruguay, 1825 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1825	0.901	—
1826	0.901	+0.0%
1827	0.901	+0.0%
1828	0.901	+0.0%
1829	0.901	+0.0%
1830	0.901	+0.0%
1831	0.901	+0.0%
1832	0.901	+0.0%
1833	0.901	+0.0%
1834	0.901	+0.0%
1835	0.901	+0.0%
1836	0.901	+0.0%
1837	0.901	+0.0%
1838	0.901	+0.0%
1839	0.901	+0.0%
1840	0.658	-27.0%
1841	0.658	+0.0%
1842	0.658	+0.0%
1843	0.597	-9.3%
1844	0.644	+7.9%
1845	0.644	+0.0%
1846	0.702	+9.0%
1847	0.702	+0.0%
1848	0.702	+0.0%
1849	0.702	+0.0%
1850	0.702	+0.0%
1851	0.838	+19.4%
1852	0.809	-3.5%
1853	0.709	-12.4%
1854	0.652	-8.0%
1855	0.56	-14.1%
1856	0.619	+10.5%
1857	0.728	+17.6%
1858	0.799	+9.8%
1859	0.773	-3.3%
1860	0.899	+16.3%
1861	0.899	+0.0%
1862	0.899	+0.0%
1863	0.899	+0.0%
1864	0.899	+0.0%
1865	0.652	-27.5%
1866	0.652	+0.0%
1867	0.652	+0.0%
1868	0.829	+27.1%
1869	0.829	+0.0%
1870	0.784	-5.4%
1871	0.784	+0.0%
1872	0.784	+0.0%
1873	0.897	+14.4%
1874	0.897	+0.0%
1875	0.897	+0.0%
1876	0.495	-44.8%
1877	0.408	-17.6%
1878	0.408	+0.0%
1879	0.462	+13.2%
1880	0.635	+37.4%
1881	0.577	-9.1%
1882	0.636	+10.2%
1883	0.636	+0.0%
1884	0.765	+20.3%
1885	0.832	+8.8%
1886	0.84	+1.0%
1887	0.84	+0.0%
1888	0.84	+0.0%
1889	0.84	+0.0%
1890	0.84	+0.0%
1891	0.84	+0.0%
1892	0.84	+0.0%
1893	0.84	+0.0%
1894	0.84	+0.0%
1895	0.84	+0.0%
1896	0.589	-29.9%
1897	0.481	-18.3%
1898	0.688	+43.0%
1899	0.748	+8.7%
1900	0.749	+0.1%
1901	0.749	+0.0%
1902	0.749	+0.0%
1903	0.749	+0.0%
1904	0.657	-12.3%
1905	0.751	+14.3%
1906	0.817	+8.8%
1907	0.817	+0.0%
1908	0.817	+0.0%
1909	0.817	+0.0%
1910	0.811	-0.7%
1911	0.818	+0.9%
1912	0.818	+0.0%
1913	0.818	+0.0%
1914	0.81	-1.0%
1915	0.818	+1.0%
1916	0.818	+0.0%
1917	0.818	+0.0%
1918	0.859	+5.0%
1919	0.859	+0.0%
1920	0.859	+0.0%
1921	0.859	+0.0%
1922	0.859	+0.0%
1923	0.859	+0.0%
1924	0.859	+0.0%
1925	0.859	+0.0%
1926	0.859	+0.0%
1927	0.859	+0.0%
1928	0.859	+0.0%
1929	0.859	+0.0%
1930	0.859	+0.0%
1931	0.859	+0.0%
1932	0.85	-1.0%
1933	0.362	-57.4%
1934	0.361	-0.3%
1935	0.361	+0.0%
1936	0.446	+23.5%
1937	0.446	+0.0%
1938	0.478	+7.2%
1939	0.751	+57.1%
1940	0.751	+0.0%
1941	0.751	+0.0%
1942	0.788	+4.9%
1943	0.829	+5.2%
1944	0.829	+0.0%
1945	0.841	+1.4%
1946	0.854	+1.5%
1947	0.854	+0.0%
1948	0.854	+0.0%
1949	0.854	+0.0%
1950	0.854	+0.0%
1951	0.854	+0.0%
1952	0.854	+0.0%
1953	0.854	+0.0%
1954	0.854	+0.0%
1955	0.854	+0.0%
1956	0.867	+1.5%
1957	0.867	+0.0%
1958	0.867	+0.0%
1959	0.867	+0.0%
1960	0.867	+0.0%
1961	0.867	+0.0%
1962	0.867	+0.0%
1963	0.831	-4.2%
1964	0.838	+0.8%
1965	0.834	-0.5%
1966	0.839	+0.6%
1967	0.835	-0.5%
1968	0.639	-23.5%
1969	0.628	-1.7%
1970	0.574	-8.6%
1971	0.524	-8.7%
1972	0.511	-2.5%
1973	0.16	-68.7%
1974	0.116	-27.5%
1975	0.116	+0.0%
1976	0.083	-28.4%
1977	0.083	+0.0%
1978	0.083	+0.0%
1979	0.09	+8.4%
1980	0.128	+42.2%
1981	0.117	-8.6%
1982	0.122	+4.3%
1983	0.122	+0.0%
1984	0.149	+22.1%
1985	0.758	+408.7%
1986	0.899	+18.6%
1987	0.899	+0.0%
1988	0.899	+0.0%
1989	0.899	+0.0%
1990	0.917	+2.0%
1991	0.921	+0.4%
1992	0.921	+0.0%
1993	0.921	+0.0%
1994	0.921	+0.0%
1995	0.927	+0.7%
1996	0.927	+0.0%
1997	0.927	+0.0%
1998	0.939	+1.3%
1999	0.939	+0.0%
2000	0.945	+0.6%
2001	0.945	+0.0%
2002	0.945	+0.0%
2003	0.945	+0.0%
2004	0.945	+0.0%
2005	0.966	+2.2%
2006	0.968	+0.2%
2007	0.968	+0.0%
2008	0.968	+0.0%
2009	0.968	+0.0%
2010	0.975	+0.7%
2011	0.975	+0.0%
2012	0.975	+0.0%
2013	0.972	-0.3%
2014	0.972	+0.0%
2015	0.972	+0.0%
2016	0.972	+0.0%
2017	0.972	+0.0%
2018	0.973	+0.1%
2019	0.97	-0.3%
2020	0.942	-2.9%
2021	0.908	-3.6%
2022	0.868	-4.4%
2023	0.89	+2.5%
2024	0.913	+2.6%
2025	0.931	+2.0%

Uruguay compared with similar countries

Uruguay's 0.931 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.874, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
Uruguay's 0.931 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.81, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1820s	0.901	0.901	0.901	5
1830s	0.901	0.901	0.901	10
1840s	0.6667	0.597	0.702	10
1850s	0.7189	0.56	0.838	10
1860s	0.8109	0.652	0.899	10
1870s	0.6816	0.408	0.897	10
1880s	0.7441	0.577	0.84	10
1890s	0.7546	0.481	0.84	10
1900s	0.7672	0.657	0.817	10
1910s	0.8247	0.81	0.859	10
1920s	0.859	0.859	0.859	10
1930s	0.5773	0.361	0.859	10
1940s	0.8205	0.751	0.854	10
1950s	0.8592	0.854	0.867	10
1960s	0.8045	0.628	0.867	10
1970s	0.234	0.083	0.574	10
1980s	0.4992	0.117	0.899	10
1990s	0.926	0.917	0.939	10
2000s	0.9563	0.945	0.968	10
2010s	0.9728	0.97	0.975	10
2020s	0.9087	0.868	0.942	6

Countries ranked near Uruguay

12 Canada 0.933 compare
12 South Korea 0.933 compare
14 Latvia 0.932 compare
16 New Zealand 0.927 compare
17 Chile 0.926 compare
18 Jamaica 0.919 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Uruguay

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 3,195 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 126 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (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 126 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0009 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)

All data for Uruguay →

Frequently asked questions

What is freedom of expression index in Uruguay?: Freedom of expression index in Uruguay was 0.931 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest freedom of expression index recorded in Uruguay?: The highest recorded value was 0.975 in 2010.
What is the lowest freedom of expression index recorded in Uruguay?: The lowest recorded value was 0.083 in 1976.
How does Uruguay rank for freedom of expression index?: Uruguay ranks 15th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is freedom of expression index rising or falling in Uruguay?: Over the last ten years it is down 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Uruguay 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.

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Freedom of Expression Index in Uruguay. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/freedom-of-expression-index/uruguay/

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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: 18 September 2026

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.