Key features of human rights in Sweden

Sweden: Key features of human rights was 0.96 in 2025. β–² Rising

Latest (2025)
0.96
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
2nd
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.975
in 2012
All-time low
0.626
in 1789
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Key features of human rights in Sweden, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.81178919072025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Sweden recorded 0.96 for key features of human rights in 2025.

That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, key features of human rights in Sweden peaked at 0.975 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.626, in 1789.

Sweden ranks 2nd of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 237 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.626 0.626 0.626 1
1790s 0.626 0.626 0.626 10
1800s 0.6312 0.626 0.678 10
1810s 0.696 0.696 0.696 10
1820s 0.696 0.696 0.696 10
1830s 0.696 0.696 0.696 10
1840s 0.775 0.774 0.776 10
1850s 0.776 0.776 0.776 10
1860s 0.825 0.788 0.838 10
1870s 0.838 0.838 0.838 10
1880s 0.838 0.838 0.838 10
1890s 0.838 0.838 0.838 10
1900s 0.841 0.841 0.841 10
1910s 0.8472 0.84 0.865 10
1920s 0.8921 0.878 0.896 10
1930s 0.8969 0.887 0.907 10
1940s 0.9071 0.886 0.939 10
1950s 0.9461 0.938 0.948 10
1960s 0.9563 0.951 0.957 10
1970s 0.9634 0.957 0.967 10
1980s 0.9718 0.971 0.972 10
1990s 0.973 0.973 0.973 10
2000s 0.9734 0.973 0.974 10
2010s 0.9699 0.963 0.975 10
2020s 0.9625 0.96 0.964 6

Countries ranked near Sweden

  1. 1 Estonia 0.963 compare
  2. 3 Denmark 0.959 compare
  3. 4 Ireland 0.956 compare
  4. 5 Belgium 0.955 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places β†’

More social development data for Sweden

All data for Sweden β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is key features of human rights in Sweden?
Key features of human rights in Sweden was 0.96 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest key features of human rights recorded in Sweden?
The highest recorded value was 0.975 in 2012.
What is the lowest key features of human rights recorded in Sweden?
The lowest recorded value was 0.626 in 1789.
How does Sweden rank for key features of human rights?
Sweden ranks 2nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is key features of human rights rising or falling in Sweden?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sweden data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Key features of human rights. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV Β· JSON β€” 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Key features of human rights
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,202 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which people are free from government torture, political killings, and forced labor, they have property rights, and enjoy the freedoms of movement, religion, expression, and association.