Freedom Score in Jamaica
Jamaica: Freedom Score was 81 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Freedom Score in Jamaica, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Jamaica recorded 81 for freedom score in 2025. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 8.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Jamaica peaked at 81 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 72, in 2004.
Jamaica ranks 67th 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 Jamaica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 73 | — |
| 2003 | 73 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 72 | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 74 | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 74 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 77 | +4.1% |
| 2008 | 75 | -2.6% |
| 2009 | 75 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 73 | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 73 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 73 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 74 | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 74 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 75 | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 75 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 77 | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 78 | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 78 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 80 | +2.6% |
| 2021 | 80 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 80 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 80 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 80 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 81 | +1.2% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 81 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 61.5, 1.3× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 81 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 81, 1.0× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 74.12 | 72 | 77 | 8 |
| 2010s | 75 | 73 | 78 | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.17 | 80 | 81 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
- 67 Seychelles 81 compare
- 67 South Africa 81 compare
- 67 Suriname 81 compare
- 67 United States 81 compare
More social development data for Jamaica
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 31 (2022)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,642 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0009 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,642 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2022)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is freedom score in Jamaica?
- Freedom score in Jamaica was 81 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 81 in 2025.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 72 in 2004.
- How does Jamaica rank for freedom score?
- Jamaica ranks 67th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica 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.