Freedom Score in United States
United States: Freedom Score was 81 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in United States, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
United States recorded 81 for freedom score in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is down 3.6% on the previous year and down 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in United States peaked at 94 in 2007 and was at its lowest, 81, in 2025.
United States ranks 67th 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 United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 92 | — |
| 2003 | 93 | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 93 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 93 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 93 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 94 | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 94 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 94 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 94 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 93 | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 93 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 92 | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 92 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 90 | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 89 | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 86 | -3.4% |
| 2018 | 86 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 86 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 83 | -3.5% |
| 2021 | 83 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 83 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 83 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 84 | +1.2% |
| 2025 | 81 | -3.6% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 81 is below the median for high income countries, which is 90, 90% of the median. (66 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 93.25 | 92 | 94 | 8 |
| 2010s | 90.1 | 86 | 94 | 10 |
| 2020s | 82.83 | 81 | 84 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 67 Jamaica 81 compare
- 67 Seychelles 81 compare
- 67 South Africa 81 compare
- 67 Suriname 81 compare
More social development data for United States
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 457,647 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 3,667 (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 3,667 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0013 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 United States?
- Freedom score in United States was 81 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 94 in 2007.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 81 in 2025.
- How does United States rank for freedom score?
- United States ranks 67th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States 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.