Political Rights Rating in Belarus
Belarus: Political Rights Rating was 7 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Political Rights Rating in Belarus, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Belarus recorded 7 for political rights rating in 2025. That is the highest value across all 53 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights rating in Belarus peaked at 7 in 1975 and was at its lowest, 4, in 1991.
That places Belarus 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 53 years of available data.
Political Rights Rating in Belarus, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 6 | — |
| 1973 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 7 | +16.7% |
| 1976 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 6 | -14.3% |
| 1979 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 7 | +16.7% |
| 1985 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 6 | -14.3% |
| 1989 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 1991 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 1992 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 1994 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 1995 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 1996 | 6 | +20.0% |
| 1997 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 7 | +16.7% |
| 2005 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 6 | -14.3% |
| 2018 | 7 | +16.7% |
| 2019 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 7 | +0.0% |
Belarus compared with similar countries
- Belarus's 7 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3, 2.3× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Belarus's 7 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2, 3.5× the median. (52 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.38 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 1980s | 6.44 | 6 | 7 | 9 |
| 1990s | 5.1 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.6 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.9 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| 2020s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Belarus
- 1 Afghanistan 7 compare
- 1 Azerbaijan 7 compare
- 1 Bahrain 7 compare
- 1 Burkina Faso 7 compare
- 1 Burundi 7 compare
- 1 Cambodia 7 compare
- 1 Central African Republic 7 compare
- 1 Chad 7 compare
- 1 China 7 compare
- 1 Congo 7 compare
- 1 Cuba 7 compare
- 1 Democratic Republic of Congo 7 compare
- 1 Djibouti 7 compare
- 1 Equatorial Guinea 7 compare
- 1 Eritrea 7 compare
- 1 Eswatini 7 compare
- 1 Gabon 7 compare
- 1 Haiti 7 compare
- 1 Iran 7 compare
- 1 Kazakhstan 7 compare
- 1 Kyrgyzstan 7 compare
- 1 Laos 7 compare
- 1 Libya 7 compare
- 1 Mali 7 compare
- 1 Myanmar 7 compare
- 1 Nicaragua 7 compare
- 1 Niger 7 compare
- 1 North Korea 7 compare
- 1 Russia 7 compare
- 1 Saudi Arabia 7 compare
- 1 Somalia 7 compare
- 1 South Sudan 7 compare
- 1 Sudan 7 compare
- 1 Syria 7 compare
- 1 Tajikistan 7 compare
- 1 Turkmenistan 7 compare
- 1 United Arab Emirates 7 compare
- 1 Uzbekistan 7 compare
- 1 Venezuela 7 compare
- 1 Vietnam 7 compare
- 1 Western Sahara 7 compare
- 1 Yemen 7 compare
More social development data for Belarus
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 40,794 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 19,462 (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 0.0021 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 19,462 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0045 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of -6 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political rights rating in Belarus?
- Political rights rating in Belarus was 7 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights rating recorded in Belarus?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 1975.
- What is the lowest political rights rating recorded in Belarus?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 in 1991.
- How does Belarus rank for political rights rating?
- Belarus ranks 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights rating rising or falling in Belarus?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belarus data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Political Rights Rating. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the extent of free and fair elections, political pluralism and participation, and a functioning government. Lower ratings indicate more rights.