Political Rights Rating in Kenya
Kenya: Political Rights Rating was 4 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
4
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
79th
of 199 countries
All-time high
7
in 1995
All-time low
3
in 2003
Years of data
53
1972–2025
Political Rights Rating in Kenya, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 4 for political rights rating in 2025.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights rating in Kenya peaked at 7 in 1995 and was at its lowest, 3, in 2003.
That places Kenya 79th 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 Kenya, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 5 | — |
| 1973 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 6 | +20.0% |
| 1985 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 4 | -33.3% |
| 1993 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 1994 | 6 | +20.0% |
| 1995 | 7 | +16.7% |
| 1996 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 6 | -14.3% |
| 1998 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 4 | -33.3% |
| 2003 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2004 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 4 | +33.3% |
| 2008 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 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% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 4 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5, 80% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 4 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6, 67% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| 1980s | 5.67 | 5 | 6 | 9 |
| 1990s | 5.9 | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| 2000s | 4 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
- 79 Armenia 4 compare
- 79 Benin 4 compare
- 79 Gambia 4 compare
- 79 Georgia 4 compare
- 79 Guatemala 4 compare
- 79 Honduras 4 compare
- 79 Malaysia 4 compare
- 79 Maldives 4 compare
- 79 Nigeria 4 compare
- 79 Papua New Guinea 4 compare
- 79 Serbia 4 compare
- 79 Sierra Leone 4 compare
- 79 Singapore 4 compare
- 79 Ukraine 4 compare
- 79 Zambia 4 compare
More social development data for Kenya
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 617,125 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 13,325 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 13,325 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.13 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political rights rating in Kenya?
- Political rights rating in Kenya was 4 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights rating recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 1995.
- What is the lowest political rights rating recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 3 in 2003.
- How does Kenya rank for political rights rating?
- Kenya ranks 79th out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights rating rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kenya 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.