Freedom Score in Malta
Malta: Freedom Score was 88 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Malta, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Malta recorded 88 for freedom score in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% on the previous year and down 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Malta peaked at 99 in 2002 and was at its lowest, 87, in 2023.
Malta ranks 48th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Malta, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 99 | — |
| 2003 | 99 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 99 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 98 | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 98 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 97 | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 98 | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 97 | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 97 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 97 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 97 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 97 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 97 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 96 | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 96 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 92 | -4.2% |
| 2018 | 91 | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 90 | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 90 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 89 | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 89 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 87 | -2.2% |
| 2024 | 87 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 88 | +1.1% |
Malta compared with similar countries
- Malta's 88 is below the median for high income countries, which is 90, 98% of the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Malta's 88 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 24.5, 3.6× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 98.12 | 97 | 99 | 8 |
| 2010s | 95 | 90 | 97 | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.33 | 87 | 90 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malta
More social development data for Malta
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,306 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 11 (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 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 11 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0143 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 Malta?
- Freedom score in Malta was 88 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Malta?
- The highest recorded value was 99 in 2002.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Malta?
- The lowest recorded value was 87 in 2023.
- How does Malta rank for freedom score?
- Malta ranks 48th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Malta?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malta 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.