Freedom Score in Russia
Russia: Freedom Score was 12 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Russia, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Russia recorded 12 for freedom score in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is down 45.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Russia peaked at 42 in 2002 and was at its lowest, 12, in 2024.
That places Russia 174th 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 Russia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 42 | — |
| 2003 | 41 | -2.4% |
| 2004 | 35 | -14.6% |
| 2005 | 35 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 34 | -2.9% |
| 2007 | 32 | -5.9% |
| 2008 | 31 | -3.1% |
| 2009 | 27 | -12.9% |
| 2010 | 27 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 28 | +3.7% |
| 2012 | 27 | -3.6% |
| 2013 | 26 | -3.7% |
| 2014 | 23 | -11.5% |
| 2015 | 22 | -4.3% |
| 2016 | 20 | -9.1% |
| 2017 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 19 | -5.0% |
| 2022 | 16 | -15.8% |
| 2023 | 13 | -18.8% |
| 2024 | 12 | -7.7% |
| 2025 | 12 | +0.0% |
Russia compared with similar countries
- Russia's 12 is below the median for high income countries, which is 90, 13% of the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Russia's 12 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 87.5, 14% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 34.62 | 27 | 42 | 8 |
| 2010s | 23.3 | 20 | 28 | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.33 | 12 | 20 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Russia
More social development data for Russia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 11,811 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 99,360 (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 0.0007 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 99,360 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 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 Russia?
- Freedom score in Russia was 12 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Russia?
- The highest recorded value was 42 in 2002.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Russia?
- The lowest recorded value was 12 in 2024.
- How does Russia rank for freedom score?
- Russia ranks 174th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Russia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Russia 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.