Freedom Score in Western Sahara
Western Sahara: Freedom Score was 4 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Western Sahara, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom score in Western Sahara is 4, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Western Sahara peaked at 10 in 2003 and was at its lowest, 4, in 2015.
That places Western Sahara 191st out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Western Sahara, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 8 | — |
| 2003 | 10 | +25.0% |
| 2004 | 8 | -20.0% |
| 2005 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 9 | +12.5% |
| 2008 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 8 | -11.1% |
| 2010 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 5 | -37.5% |
| 2012 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 2016 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.5 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
| 2010s | 4.8 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Western Sahara
- 188 Central African Republic 5 compare
- 188 Equatorial Guinea 5 compare
- 188 Tajikistan 5 compare
- 191 Myanmar 4 compare
- 193 Eritrea 3 compare
- 193 North Korea 3 compare
More social development data for Western Sahara
- 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)
- Political Rights Score -3 (2025)
- Full democracy 0 (2025)
- Number of armed conflicts 0 conflicts (2025)
- Number of state-based conflicts 0 conflicts (2025)
- Countries where armed conflicts took place 0 (2025)
- Terrorist attacks by severity 0 attacks (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is freedom score in Western Sahara?
- Freedom score in Western Sahara was 4 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Western Sahara?
- The highest recorded value was 10 in 2003.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Western Sahara?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 in 2015.
- How does Western Sahara rank for freedom score?
- Western Sahara ranks 191st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Western Sahara?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Western Sahara 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.