Political Rights Rating in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: 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 1992
All-time low
2
in 2012
Years of data
53
1972–2025
Political Rights Rating in Sierra Leone, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 4 for political rights rating in 2025.
That represents a change of up 33.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights rating in Sierra Leone peaked at 7 in 1992 and was at its lowest, 2, in 2012.
That places Sierra Leone 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 Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 4 | — |
| 1973 | 6 | +50.0% |
| 1974 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 1978 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 1985 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 1986 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 6 | +20.0% |
| 1990 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 7 | +16.7% |
| 1993 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 4 | -42.9% |
| 1997 | 7 | +75.0% |
| 1998 | 3 | -57.1% |
| 1999 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 4 | +33.3% |
| 2001 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2008 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 2 | -33.3% |
| 2013 | 3 | +50.0% |
| 2014 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4 | +33.3% |
| 2025 | 4 | +0.0% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 4 is below the median for low income countries, which is 7, 57% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone'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 | 5.38 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| 1980s | 5 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
| 1990s | 5.7 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.7 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.9 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.33 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
- 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 Kenya 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 Singapore 4 compare
- 79 Ukraine 4 compare
- 79 Zambia 4 compare
More social development data for Sierra Leone
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,925 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (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 0.001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,925 (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 -100 % change on previous year (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political rights rating in Sierra Leone?
- Political rights rating in Sierra Leone was 4 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights rating recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 1992.
- What is the lowest political rights rating recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 in 2012.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for political rights rating?
- Sierra Leone ranks 79th out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights rating rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.