Political Rights Rating in North Korea
North Korea: Political Rights Rating was 7 in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
7
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 199 countries
All-time high
7
in 1972
All-time low
7
in 1972
Years of data
53
1972–2025
Political Rights Rating in North Korea, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
North Korea recorded 7 for political rights rating in 2025. That is the highest value across all 53 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights rating in North Korea peaked at 7 in 1972 and was at its lowest, 7, in 1972.
That places North Korea 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
Political Rights Rating in North Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 7 | — |
| 1973 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 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 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 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% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| 1980s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| 1990s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 2000s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 2010s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 2020s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
- 1 Afghanistan 7 compare
- 1 Azerbaijan 7 compare
- 1 Bahrain 7 compare
- 1 Belarus 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 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 North Korea
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 263 (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 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 263 (2025)
- Sovereign state gleditsch ward, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of -7.07 % change on previous year (2025)
- Human Rights Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index 0.024 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.014 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political rights rating in North Korea?
- Political rights rating in North Korea was 7 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights rating recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 1972.
- What is the lowest political rights rating recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 7 in 1972.
- How does North Korea rank for political rights rating?
- North Korea ranks 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights rating rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this North Korea 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.