Freedom Score in Turkey
Turkey: Freedom Score was 32 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Turkey, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, freedom score in Turkey stood at 32.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.0% on the previous year and down 39.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Turkey peaked at 66 in 2007 and was at its lowest, 31, in 2018.
Turkey ranks 139th of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Turkey, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 53 | — |
| 2003 | 59 | +11.3% |
| 2004 | 65 | +10.2% |
| 2005 | 65 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 65 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 66 | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 65 | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 63 | -3.1% |
| 2010 | 63 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 63 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 61 | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 60 | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 55 | -8.3% |
| 2015 | 53 | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 38 | -28.3% |
| 2017 | 32 | -15.8% |
| 2018 | 31 | -3.1% |
| 2019 | 32 | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 32 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 32 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 32 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 33 | +3.1% |
| 2024 | 33 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 32 | -3.0% |
Turkey compared with similar countries
- Turkey's 32 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 61.5, 52% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Turkey's 32 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 87.5, 37% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Freedom Score in Turkey changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | -28.3% | 53 | 38 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 62.62 | 53 | 66 | 8 |
| 2010s | 48.8 | 31 | 63 | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.33 | 32 | 33 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
More social development data for Turkey
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.39 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 149,405 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0017 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 149,405 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0278 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 Turkey?
- Freedom score in Turkey was 32 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 66 in 2007.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 31 in 2018.
- How does Turkey rank for freedom score?
- Turkey ranks 139th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is down 39.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Turkey 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.