Freedom Score in Iraq
Iraq: Freedom Score was 31 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Freedom Score in Iraq, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Iraq recorded 31 for freedom score in 2025.
The figure is up 14.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Iraq peaked at 32 in 2018 and was at its lowest, -1, in 2002.
Iraq ranks 141st of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Iraq, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | -1 | — |
| 2003 | 23 | -2400.0% |
| 2004 | 24 | +4.3% |
| 2005 | 28 | +16.7% |
| 2006 | 22 | -21.4% |
| 2007 | 23 | +4.5% |
| 2008 | 24 | +4.3% |
| 2009 | 26 | +8.3% |
| 2010 | 25 | -3.8% |
| 2011 | 25 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 24 | -4.0% |
| 2013 | 25 | +4.2% |
| 2014 | 24 | -4.0% |
| 2015 | 27 | +12.5% |
| 2016 | 27 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 31 | +14.8% |
| 2018 | 32 | +3.2% |
| 2019 | 31 | -3.1% |
| 2020 | 29 | -6.5% |
| 2021 | 29 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 29 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 30 | +3.4% |
| 2024 | 31 | +3.3% |
| 2025 | 31 | +0.0% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 31 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 61.5, 50% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 31 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 24.5, 1.3× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Freedom Score in Iraq 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | +2400.0% | -1 | 23 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 21.12 | -1 | 28 | 8 |
| 2010s | 27.1 | 24 | 32 | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.83 | 29 | 31 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More social development data for Iraq
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 322,345 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 270,671 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0058 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 270,671 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0069 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 Iraq?
- Freedom score in Iraq was 31 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 32 in 2018.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was -1 in 2002.
- How does Iraq rank for freedom score?
- Iraq ranks 141st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iraq 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.