Freedom Score in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Freedom Score was 18 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Ethiopia, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom score in Ethiopia is 18, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 20.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Ethiopia peaked at 36 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 12, in 2016.
Ethiopia 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 Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 32 | — |
| 2003 | 32 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 33 | +3.1% |
| 2005 | 36 | +9.1% |
| 2006 | 34 | -5.6% |
| 2007 | 33 | -2.9% |
| 2008 | 33 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 31 | -6.1% |
| 2010 | 21 | -32.3% |
| 2011 | 19 | -9.5% |
| 2012 | 18 | -5.3% |
| 2013 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 15 | -16.7% |
| 2016 | 12 | -20.0% |
| 2017 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 19 | +58.3% |
| 2019 | 24 | +26.3% |
| 2020 | 22 | -8.3% |
| 2021 | 23 | +4.5% |
| 2022 | 21 | -8.7% |
| 2023 | 20 | -4.8% |
| 2024 | 18 | -10.0% |
| 2025 | 18 | +0.0% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 18 is above the median for low income countries, which is 18, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 18 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 35, 51% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Freedom Score in Ethiopia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | +58.3% | 12 | 19 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 33 | 31 | 36 | 8 |
| 2010s | 17.6 | 12 | 24 | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.33 | 18 | 23 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
- 160 Burkina Faso 20 compare
- 160 Vietnam 20 compare
- 162 Democratic Republic of Congo 18 compare
- 162 Egypt 18 compare
- 162 United Arab Emirates 18 compare
More social development data for Ethiopia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1.01 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 164,215 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0012 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 164,215 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0075 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 Ethiopia?
- Freedom score in Ethiopia was 18 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 36 in 2005.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 12 in 2016.
- How does Ethiopia rank for freedom score?
- Ethiopia ranks 162nd out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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.