Freedom Score in Mali
Mali: Freedom Score was 21 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Mali, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom score in Mali is 21, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of down 12.5% on the previous year and down 53.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Mali peaked at 75 in 2003 and was at its lowest, 21, in 2025.
That places Mali 158th 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 Mali, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 73 | — |
| 2003 | 75 | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 75 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 74 | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 74 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 72 | -2.7% |
| 2008 | 70 | -2.8% |
| 2009 | 71 | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 72 | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 72 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 24 | -66.7% |
| 2013 | 44 | +83.3% |
| 2014 | 44 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 45 | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 45 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 44 | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 44 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 41 | -6.8% |
| 2020 | 33 | -19.5% |
| 2021 | 32 | -3.0% |
| 2022 | 29 | -9.4% |
| 2023 | 26 | -10.3% |
| 2024 | 24 | -7.7% |
| 2025 | 21 | -12.5% |
Mali compared with similar countries
- Mali's 21 is above the median for low income countries, which is 18, 1.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Mali's 21 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 35, 60% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Freedom Score in Mali 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | +83.3% | 24 | 44 |
| 2012 | -66.7% | 72 | 24 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 73 | 70 | 75 | 8 |
| 2010s | 47.5 | 24 | 72 | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.5 | 21 | 33 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mali
More social development data for Mali
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 286,715 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 519,738 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 16.67 % 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 0.0206 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 519,738 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0114 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 Mali?
- Freedom score in Mali was 21 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Mali?
- The highest recorded value was 75 in 2003.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Mali?
- The lowest recorded value was 21 in 2025.
- How does Mali rank for freedom score?
- Mali ranks 158th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Mali?
- Over the last ten years it is down 53.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mali 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.