Freedom of Expression Score in Croatia
Croatia: Freedom of Expression Score was 7 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom of Expression Score in Croatia, 2005–2025
Source: Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Croatia recorded 7 for freedom of expression score in 2025.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom of expression score in Croatia peaked at 10 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 6, in 2019.
Croatia ranks 19th of 128 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Freedom of Expression Score in Croatia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 10 | — |
| 2007 | 8 | -20.0% |
| 2009 | 7 | -12.5% |
| 2011 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 6 | -14.3% |
| 2021 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 7 | +16.7% |
| 2025 | 7 | +0.0% |
Croatia compared with similar countries
- Croatia's 7 is above the median for high income countries, which is 7, 1.0× the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Croatia's 7 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 6, 1.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.33 | 7 | 10 | 3 |
| 2010s | 6.8 | 6 | 7 | 5 |
| 2020s | 6.67 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Croatia
- 19 Albania 7 compare
- 19 Argentina 7 compare
- 19 Bhutan 7 compare
- 19 Bolivia 7 compare
- 19 Brazil 7 compare
- 19 Colombia 7 compare
- 19 Cote d'Ivoire 7 compare
- 19 Ecuador 7 compare
- 19 Lesotho 7 compare
- 19 Liberia 7 compare
- 19 Malawi 7 compare
- 19 Montenegro 7 compare
- 19 Namibia 7 compare
- 19 North Macedonia 7 compare
- 19 Panama 7 compare
- 19 Papua New Guinea 7 compare
- 19 Peru 7 compare
- 19 Romania 7 compare
- 19 Senegal 7 compare
- 19 South Africa 7 compare
- 19 Sri Lanka 7 compare
More social development data for Croatia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 29,748 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 17,207 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0044 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 17,207 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0077 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 score in Croatia?
- Freedom of expression score in Croatia was 7 in 2025, according to Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom of expression score recorded in Croatia?
- The highest recorded value was 10 in 2005.
- What is the lowest freedom of expression score recorded in Croatia?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 in 2019.
- How does Croatia rank for freedom of expression score?
- Croatia ranks 19th out of 128 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom of expression score rising or falling in Croatia?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Croatia data come from?
- The figures come from Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom of Expression Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Indicates the extent to which individuals, groups, and the press can express their views free from government interference.