Freedom Score in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Freedom Score was 8 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Afghanistan, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom score in Afghanistan is 8, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 33.3% on the previous year and down 66.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Afghanistan peaked at 35 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 6, in 2023.
That places Afghanistan 184th out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 23 | — |
| 2003 | 23 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 27 | +17.4% |
| 2005 | 35 | +29.6% |
| 2006 | 35 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 34 | -2.9% |
| 2008 | 32 | -5.9% |
| 2009 | 27 | -15.6% |
| 2010 | 25 | -7.4% |
| 2011 | 23 | -8.0% |
| 2012 | 27 | +17.4% |
| 2013 | 26 | -3.7% |
| 2014 | 24 | -7.7% |
| 2015 | 24 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 24 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 26 | +8.3% |
| 2018 | 27 | +3.8% |
| 2019 | 27 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 27 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 10 | -63.0% |
| 2022 | 8 | -20.0% |
| 2023 | 6 | -25.0% |
| 2024 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 8 | +33.3% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 8 is below the median for low income countries, which is 18, 44% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 8 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 24.5, 33% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 29.5 | 23 | 35 | 8 |
| 2010s | 25.3 | 23 | 27 | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.83 | 6 | 27 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More social development data for Afghanistan
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 20,869 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.67 million (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0609 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.67 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0005 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is freedom score in Afghanistan?
- Freedom score in Afghanistan was 8 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 35 in 2005.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 in 2023.
- How does Afghanistan rank for freedom score?
- Afghanistan ranks 184th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 66.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Freedom House’s freedom score captures the extent of free and fair elections, political pluralism and participation, a functioning government, freedom of expression and association, the rule of law, and personal autonomy. Higher scores indicate more freedom.