Freedom Score in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Freedom Score was 18 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, freedom score in Democratic Republic of Congo stood at 18.
That represents a change of down 28.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 26 in 2006 and was at its lowest, 15, in 2018.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 162nd 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 Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 18 | — |
| 2003 | 21 | +16.7% |
| 2004 | 21 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 20 | -4.8% |
| 2006 | 26 | +30.0% |
| 2007 | 25 | -3.8% |
| 2008 | 22 | -12.0% |
| 2009 | 21 | -4.5% |
| 2010 | 21 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 20 | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 25 | +25.0% |
| 2015 | 25 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 19 | -24.0% |
| 2017 | 17 | -10.5% |
| 2018 | 15 | -11.8% |
| 2019 | 18 | +20.0% |
| 2020 | 20 | +11.1% |
| 2021 | 19 | -5.0% |
| 2022 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 18 | -5.3% |
| 2025 | 18 | +0.0% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 18 is above the median for low income countries, which is 18, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 18 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 35, 51% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 21.75 | 18 | 26 | 8 |
| 2010s | 20 | 15 | 25 | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.83 | 18 | 20 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
- 160 Burkina Faso 20 compare
- 160 Vietnam 20 compare
- 162 Egypt 18 compare
- 162 Ethiopia 18 compare
- 162 United Arab Emirates 18 compare
More social development data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 503,732 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1.18 million (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 0.0104 units per person (2025)
- 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 0.0045 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Freedom score in Democratic Republic of Congo was 18 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 26 in 2006.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 15 in 2018.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for freedom score?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 162nd out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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.