Freedom Score in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Freedom Score was 74 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Bulgaria, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, freedom score in Bulgaria stood at 74. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is down 3.9% on the previous year and down 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Bulgaria peaked at 87 in 2004 and was at its lowest, 74, in 2025.
Bulgaria ranks 76th of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 86 | — |
| 2003 | 86 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 87 | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 87 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 85 | -2.3% |
| 2007 | 85 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 82 | -3.5% |
| 2009 | 82 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 82 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 81 | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 81 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 78 | -3.7% |
| 2014 | 79 | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 80 | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 80 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 80 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 80 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 80 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 78 | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 79 | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 79 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 78 | -1.3% |
| 2024 | 77 | -1.3% |
| 2025 | 74 | -3.9% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 74 is below the median for high income countries, which is 90, 82% of the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 74 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 87.5, 85% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 85 | 82 | 87 | 8 |
| 2010s | 80.1 | 78 | 82 | 10 |
| 2020s | 77.5 | 74 | 79 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More social development data for Bulgaria
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 105,596 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 533 (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 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 533 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0164 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 Bulgaria?
- Freedom score in Bulgaria was 74 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 87 in 2004.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 74 in 2025.
- How does Bulgaria rank for freedom score?
- Bulgaria ranks 76th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria 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.