Freedom Score in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Freedom Score was 44 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Bangladesh, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, freedom score in Bangladesh stood at 44.
The figure is down 2.2% on the previous year and down 10.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Bangladesh peaked at 60 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 39, in 2019.
That places Bangladesh 123rd out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 54 | — |
| 2003 | 54 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 54 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 53 | -1.9% |
| 2006 | 53 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 40 | -24.5% |
| 2008 | 52 | +30.0% |
| 2009 | 59 | +13.5% |
| 2010 | 60 | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 58 | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 56 | -3.4% |
| 2013 | 53 | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 50 | -5.7% |
| 2015 | 49 | -2.0% |
| 2016 | 47 | -4.1% |
| 2017 | 45 | -4.3% |
| 2018 | 41 | -8.9% |
| 2019 | 39 | -4.9% |
| 2020 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 40 | +2.6% |
| 2023 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 45 | +12.5% |
| 2025 | 44 | -2.2% |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 44 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 41, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Bangladesh's 44 is below the median for South Asia, which is 60.5, 73% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Freedom Score in Bangladesh changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | +30.0% | 40 | 52 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 52.38 | 40 | 59 | 8 |
| 2010s | 49.8 | 39 | 60 | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.17 | 39 | 45 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
- 121 Honduras 47 compare
- 122 Cote d'Ivoire 46 compare
- 123 Nigeria 44 compare
- 125 El Salvador 42 compare
- 125 Mozambique 42 compare
- 125 Tunisia 42 compare
More social development data for Bangladesh
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1.18 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 31,862 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 31,862 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0067 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 score in Bangladesh?
- Freedom score in Bangladesh was 44 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 60 in 2010.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 39 in 2019.
- How does Bangladesh rank for freedom score?
- Bangladesh ranks 123rd out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bangladesh 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.