Freedom Score in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Freedom Score was 20 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Burkina Faso, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, freedom score in Burkina Faso stood at 20. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is down 20.0% on the previous year and down 66.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Burkina Faso peaked at 63 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 20, in 2025.
Burkina Faso ranks 160th of 197 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Burkina Faso, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 54 | — |
| 2003 | 52 | -3.7% |
| 2004 | 51 | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 53 | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 54 | +1.9% |
| 2007 | 53 | -1.9% |
| 2008 | 52 | -1.9% |
| 2009 | 52 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 53 | +1.9% |
| 2011 | 51 | -3.8% |
| 2012 | 53 | +3.9% |
| 2013 | 53 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 45 | -15.1% |
| 2015 | 59 | +31.1% |
| 2016 | 63 | +6.8% |
| 2017 | 60 | -4.8% |
| 2018 | 60 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 56 | -6.7% |
| 2020 | 54 | -3.6% |
| 2021 | 53 | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 30 | -43.4% |
| 2023 | 27 | -10.0% |
| 2024 | 25 | -7.4% |
| 2025 | 20 | -20.0% |
Burkina Faso compared with similar countries
- Burkina Faso's 20 is above the median for low income countries, which is 18, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Burkina Faso's 20 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 35, 57% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Freedom Score in Burkina Faso 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -43.4% | 53 | 30 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 52.62 | 51 | 54 | 8 |
| 2010s | 55.3 | 45 | 63 | 10 |
| 2020s | 34.83 | 20 | 54 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Burkina Faso
More social development data for Burkina Faso
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 40,996 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 351,209 (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 0.0146 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 351,209 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0017 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 Burkina Faso?
- Freedom score in Burkina Faso was 20 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The highest recorded value was 63 in 2016.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The lowest recorded value was 20 in 2025.
- How does Burkina Faso rank for freedom score?
- Burkina Faso ranks 160th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
- Over the last ten years it is down 66.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Burkina Faso 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.