Freedom Score in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Freedom Score was 14 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Nicaragua, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, freedom score in Nicaragua stood at 14. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is down 74.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Nicaragua peaked at 67 in 2002 and was at its lowest, 14, in 2024.
Nicaragua ranks 170th 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 Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 67 | — |
| 2003 | 62 | -7.5% |
| 2004 | 63 | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 63 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 67 | +6.3% |
| 2007 | 64 | -4.5% |
| 2008 | 57 | -10.9% |
| 2009 | 54 | -5.3% |
| 2010 | 54 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 51 | -5.6% |
| 2012 | 51 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 54 | +5.9% |
| 2014 | 54 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 54 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 47 | -13.0% |
| 2017 | 44 | -6.4% |
| 2018 | 32 | -27.3% |
| 2019 | 31 | -3.1% |
| 2020 | 30 | -3.2% |
| 2021 | 23 | -23.3% |
| 2022 | 19 | -17.4% |
| 2023 | 16 | -15.8% |
| 2024 | 14 | -12.5% |
| 2025 | 14 | +0.0% |
Nicaragua compared with similar countries
- Nicaragua's 14 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 41, 34% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nicaragua's 14 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 81, 17% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 62.12 | 54 | 67 | 8 |
| 2010s | 47.2 | 31 | 54 | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.33 | 14 | 30 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
More social development data for Nicaragua
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 311 (2023)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35,341 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % 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 0.005 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35,341 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2023)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is freedom score in Nicaragua?
- Freedom score in Nicaragua was 14 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 67 in 2002.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 14 in 2024.
- How does Nicaragua rank for freedom score?
- Nicaragua ranks 170th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is down 74.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nicaragua 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.