Freedom Score in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Freedom Score was 25 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Freedom Score in Zimbabwe, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom score in Zimbabwe is 25, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 3.8% on the previous year and down 21.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Zimbabwe peaked at 32 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 12, in 2008.
Zimbabwe ranks 149th of 197 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 21 | — |
| 2003 | 20 | -4.8% |
| 2004 | 19 | -5.0% |
| 2005 | 15 | -21.1% |
| 2006 | 13 | -13.3% |
| 2007 | 14 | +7.7% |
| 2008 | 12 | -14.3% |
| 2009 | 17 | +41.7% |
| 2010 | 21 | +23.5% |
| 2011 | 20 | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 25 | +25.0% |
| 2013 | 28 | +12.0% |
| 2014 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 32 | +14.3% |
| 2016 | 32 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 30 | -6.2% |
| 2018 | 31 | +3.3% |
| 2019 | 29 | -6.5% |
| 2020 | 28 | -3.4% |
| 2021 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 27 | -3.6% |
| 2024 | 26 | -3.7% |
| 2025 | 25 | -3.8% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 25 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 41, 61% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 25 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 35, 71% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Freedom Score in Zimbabwe 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | +41.7% | 12 | 17 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.38 | 12 | 21 | 8 |
| 2010s | 27.6 | 20 | 32 | 10 |
| 2020s | 27 | 25 | 28 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More social development data for Zimbabwe
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,570 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6,632 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0004 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6,632 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0005 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 Zimbabwe?
- Freedom score in Zimbabwe was 25 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 32 in 2015.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 12 in 2008.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for freedom score?
- Zimbabwe ranks 149th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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 total democracy score is a 0-to-100 aggregate that adds up a country's points on 25 indicators of political rights (max 40) and civil liberties (max 60), creating a single snapshot of the freedoms people actually enjoy.