Political Rights Rating in Sudan
Sudan: Political Rights Rating was 7 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Political Rights Rating in Sudan, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, political rights rating in Sudan stood at 7. That is the highest value across all 53 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights rating in Sudan peaked at 7 in 1989 and was at its lowest, 4, in 1986.
Sudan ranks 1st of 199 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 53 years of available data.
Political Rights Rating in Sudan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 6 | — |
| 1973 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 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 | 4 | -33.3% |
| 1987 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 7 | +75.0% |
| 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% |
Sudan compared with similar countries
- Sudan's 7 is above the median for low income countries, which is 7, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sudan'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 | 5.75 | 5 | 6 | 8 |
| 1980s | 5.11 | 4 | 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 Sudan
- 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 North Korea 7 compare
- 1 Russia 7 compare
- 1 Saudi Arabia 7 compare
- 1 Somalia 7 compare
- 1 South 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 Sudan
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 809,816 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.82 million (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 0.0546 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.82 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0157 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 2.07 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political rights rating in Sudan?
- Political rights rating in Sudan was 7 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights rating recorded in Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 1989.
- What is the lowest political rights rating recorded in Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 in 1986.
- How does Sudan rank for political rights rating?
- Sudan ranks 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights rating rising or falling in Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sudan 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
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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.