Freedom score fh in South Africa
South Africa: Freedom score fh was 81 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
81
Change on year
unchanged
Rank
67th
of 197 groups
All-time high
88
in 2002
All-time low
78
in 2016
Years of data
24
2002–2025
Freedom score fh in South Africa, 2002–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom score fh 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 fh in South Africa peaked at 88 in 2002 and was at its lowest, 78, in 2016.
That places South Africa 67th out of 197 groups 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.
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 asy 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 1,319 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh 2 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 1 (2025)
- Human rights index vs electoral democracy index 0.857 (2025)
- Liberal democracy index 0.633 (2025)
- Electoral democracy index 0.743 (2025)
- Freedom of association index 0.87 (2025)
- Freedom of expression index 0.837 (2025)
- Participatory democracy index 0.47 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is freedom score fh in South Africa?
- Freedom score fh in South Africa was 81 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score fh recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 88 in 2002.
- What is the lowest freedom score fh recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 78 in 2016.
- How does South Africa rank for freedom score fh?
- South Africa ranks 67th out of 197 groups with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score fh 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom score fh. 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).