Political Rights Rating in El Salvador
El Salvador: Political Rights Rating was 5 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Political Rights Rating in El Salvador, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for political rights rating in El Salvador is 5, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 53 years on record.
The figure is up 150.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights rating in El Salvador peaked at 5 in 1978 and was at its lowest, 2, in 1972.
That places El Salvador 64th out of 199 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.
Political Rights Rating in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 2 | — |
| 1973 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 3 | +50.0% |
| 1977 | 4 | +33.3% |
| 1978 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 1979 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 1983 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 1985 | 2 | -33.3% |
| 1986 | 3 | +50.0% |
| 1987 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 2 | -33.3% |
| 1998 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3 | +50.0% |
| 2022 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 | +33.3% |
| 2024 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 2025 | 5 | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.12 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 1980s | 3.33 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| 1990s | 2.7 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.67 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
- 64 Bangladesh 5 compare
- 64 Bosnia and Herzegovina 5 compare
- 64 Comoros 5 compare
- 64 Côte d'Ivoire 5 compare
- 64 Iraq 5 compare
- 64 Jordan 5 compare
- 64 Lebanon 5 compare
- 64 Madagascar 5 compare
- 64 Mauritania 5 compare
- 64 Morocco 5 compare
- 64 Mozambique 5 compare
- 64 Pakistan 5 compare
- 64 Türkiye 5 compare
- 64 USSR 5 compare
More social development data for El Salvador
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 182 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0107 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (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)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 51.67 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political rights rating in El Salvador?
- Political rights rating in El Salvador was 5 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights rating recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 5 in 1978.
- What is the lowest political rights rating recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 in 1972.
- How does El Salvador rank for political rights rating?
- El Salvador ranks 64th out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights rating rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is up 150.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this El Salvador 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.
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About this data
Identifies the extent of free and fair elections, political pluralism and participation, and a functioning government. Lower ratings indicate more rights.