Freedom Score in Bhutan
Bhutan: Freedom Score was 69 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Freedom Score in Bhutan, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, freedom score in Bhutan stood at 69. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is up 1.5% on the previous year and up 23.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Bhutan peaked at 69 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 23, in 2003.
Bhutan ranks 85th of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 24 | — |
| 2003 | 23 | -4.2% |
| 2004 | 26 | +13.0% |
| 2005 | 29 | +11.5% |
| 2006 | 31 | +6.9% |
| 2007 | 34 | +9.7% |
| 2008 | 43 | +26.5% |
| 2009 | 43 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 43 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 43 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 46 | +7.0% |
| 2013 | 55 | +19.6% |
| 2014 | 56 | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 56 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 55 | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 55 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 59 | +7.3% |
| 2019 | 59 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 61 | +3.4% |
| 2021 | 61 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 61 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 63 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | 68 | +7.9% |
| 2025 | 69 | +1.5% |
Bhutan compared with similar countries
- Bhutan's 69 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 41, 1.7× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Bhutan's 69 is above the median for South Asia, which is 60.5, 1.1× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Freedom Score in Bhutan 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 | +26.5% | 34 | 43 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 31.62 | 23 | 43 | 8 |
| 2010s | 52.7 | 43 | 59 | 10 |
| 2020s | 63.83 | 61 | 69 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
More social development data for Bhutan
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 7,257 (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 0.0091 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 7,257 (2025)
- Sovereign state gleditsch ward, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of -2.37 % change on previous year (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 Bhutan?
- Freedom score in Bhutan was 69 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 69 in 2025.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 23 in 2003.
- How does Bhutan rank for freedom score?
- Bhutan ranks 85th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan 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 total democracy score is a 0-to-100 aggregate that adds up a country's points on 25 indicators of political rights (max 40) and civil liberties (max 60), creating a single snapshot of the freedoms people actually enjoy.