Freedom Score in China
China: Freedom Score was 9 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in China, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, freedom score in China stood at 9. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of down 43.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in China peaked at 18 in 2007 and was at its lowest, 9, in 2020.
That places China 181st 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 China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 15 | — |
| 2003 | 13 | -13.3% |
| 2004 | 17 | +30.8% |
| 2005 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 18 | +5.9% |
| 2008 | 16 | -11.1% |
| 2009 | 17 | +6.2% |
| 2010 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 16 | -5.9% |
| 2012 | 17 | +6.2% |
| 2013 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 16 | -5.9% |
| 2016 | 15 | -6.2% |
| 2017 | 14 | -6.7% |
| 2018 | 11 | -21.4% |
| 2019 | 10 | -9.1% |
| 2020 | 9 | -10.0% |
| 2021 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 9 | +0.0% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 9 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 61.5, 15% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- China's 9 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 73, 12% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.25 | 13 | 18 | 8 |
| 2010s | 15 | 10 | 17 | 10 |
| 2020s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
- 181 Cuba 9 compare
- 181 Saudi Arabia 9 compare
- 184 Afghanistan 8 compare
- 184 Somalia 8 compare
More social development data for China
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 230 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 153,962 (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 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 153,962 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 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 China?
- Freedom score in China was 9 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 18 in 2007.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 9 in 2020.
- How does China rank for freedom score?
- China ranks 181st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 43.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China 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.