Freedom Score in Vietnam
Vietnam: Freedom Score was 20 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Freedom Score in Vietnam, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Vietnam recorded 20 for freedom score in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Vietnam peaked at 22 in 2008 and was at its lowest, 13, in 2002.
That places Vietnam 160th out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Vietnam, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 13 | — |
| 2003 | 14 | +7.7% |
| 2004 | 17 | +21.4% |
| 2005 | 19 | +11.8% |
| 2006 | 21 | +10.5% |
| 2007 | 21 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 22 | +4.8% |
| 2009 | 21 | -4.5% |
| 2010 | 20 | -4.8% |
| 2011 | 19 | -5.0% |
| 2012 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 20 | +5.3% |
| 2014 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 19 | -5.0% |
| 2021 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 20 | +5.3% |
| 2025 | 20 | +0.0% |
Vietnam compared with similar countries
- Vietnam's 20 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 61.5, 33% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Vietnam's 20 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 73, 27% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 18.5 | 13 | 22 | 8 |
| 2010s | 19.8 | 19 | 20 | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.33 | 19 | 20 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Vietnam
- 158 Mali 21 compare
- 158 Rwanda 21 compare
- 160 Burkina Faso 20 compare
- 162 Democratic Republic of Congo 18 compare
- 162 Egypt 18 compare
- 162 Ethiopia 18 compare
- 162 United Arab Emirates 18 compare
More social development data for Vietnam
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 13 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 20,636 (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 0.0002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 20,636 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is freedom score in Vietnam?
- Freedom score in Vietnam was 20 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Vietnam?
- The highest recorded value was 22 in 2008.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Vietnam?
- The lowest recorded value was 13 in 2002.
- How does Vietnam rank for freedom score?
- Vietnam ranks 160th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Vietnam?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Vietnam 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.