Political Rights Rating in Mali
Mali: Political Rights Rating was 7 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Political Rights Rating in Mali, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for political rights rating in Mali is 7, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 53 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 16.7% on the previous year and up 40.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights rating in Mali peaked at 7 in 1972 and was at its lowest, 2, in 1992.
Mali ranks 1st of 199 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.
Political Rights Rating in Mali, 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 | 6 | -14.3% |
| 1989 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 2 | -66.7% |
| 1993 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 3 | +50.0% |
| 1998 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 2 | -33.3% |
| 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 | 7 | +250.0% |
| 2013 | 5 | -28.6% |
| 2014 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 2019 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 2020 | 6 | +20.0% |
| 2021 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 7 | +16.7% |
Mali compared with similar countries
- Mali's 7 is above the median for low income countries, which is 7, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Mali's 7 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| 1980s | 6.78 | 6 | 7 | 9 |
| 1990s | 3.1 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.5 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.17 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mali
- 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 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 Mali
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 286,715 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 519,738 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 16.67 % 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 0.0206 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 519,738 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0114 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 111.55 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political rights rating in Mali?
- Political rights rating in Mali was 7 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights rating recorded in Mali?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 1972.
- What is the lowest political rights rating recorded in Mali?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 in 1992.
- How does Mali rank for political rights rating?
- Mali ranks 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights rating rising or falling in Mali?
- Over the last ten years it is up 40.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mali 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.