Freedom Score in South Africa
South Africa: Freedom Score was 81 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in South Africa, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom score in South Africa is 81, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in South Africa peaked at 88 in 2002 and was at its lowest, 78, in 2016.
That places South Africa 67th out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 88 | — |
| 2003 | 88 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 88 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 88 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 86 | -2.3% |
| 2007 | 86 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 85 | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 84 | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 83 | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 82 | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 81 | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 81 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 81 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 79 | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 78 | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 78 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 79 | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 79 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 79 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 79 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 79 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 79 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 81 | +2.5% |
| 2025 | 81 | +0.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 81 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 61.5, 1.3× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 81 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 35, 2.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 86.62 | 84 | 88 | 8 |
| 2010s | 80.1 | 78 | 83 | 10 |
| 2020s | 79.67 | 79 | 81 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 67 Jamaica 81 compare
- 67 Seychelles 81 compare
- 67 Suriname 81 compare
- 67 United States 81 compare
More social development data for South Africa
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (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 1,319 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is freedom score in South Africa?
- Freedom score in South Africa was 81 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 88 in 2002.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 78 in 2016.
- How does South Africa rank for freedom score?
- South Africa ranks 67th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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.