Political Rights Rating in United States
United States: Political Rights Rating was 2 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
2
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
115th
of 199 countries
All-time high
2
in 2017
All-time low
1
in 1972
Years of data
53
1972–2025
Political Rights Rating in United States, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
United States recorded 2 for political rights rating in 2025. That is the highest value across all 53 years on record.
The figure is up 100.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights rating in United States peaked at 2 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 1, in 1972.
That places United States 115th out of 199 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 53 years of available data.
Political Rights Rating in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 1 | — |
| 1973 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 2018 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 2 | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.3 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 115 Antigua and Barbuda 2 compare
- 115 Argentina 2 compare
- 115 Belize 2 compare
- 115 Bhutan 2 compare
- 115 Bolivia 2 compare
- 115 Botswana 2 compare
- 115 Brazil 2 compare
- 115 Bulgaria 2 compare
- 115 Colombia 2 compare
- 115 Croatia 2 compare
- 115 East Timor 2 compare
- 115 Ghana 2 compare
- 115 Greece 2 compare
- 115 India 2 compare
- 115 Israel 2 compare
- 115 Italy 2 compare
- 115 Jamaica 2 compare
- 115 Lesotho 2 compare
- 115 Liberia 2 compare
- 115 Liechtenstein 2 compare
- 115 Malawi 2 compare
- 115 Malta 2 compare
- 115 Nauru 2 compare
- 115 Panama 2 compare
- 115 Poland 2 compare
- 115 Romania 2 compare
- 115 Saint Kitts and Nevis 2 compare
- 115 Samoa 2 compare
- 115 Sao Tome and Principe 2 compare
- 115 Senegal 2 compare
- 115 Seychelles 2 compare
- 115 Slovakia 2 compare
- 115 South Africa 2 compare
- 115 South Korea 2 compare
- 115 Suriname 2 compare
- 115 Trinidad and Tobago 2 compare
- 115 Vanuatu 2 compare
More social development data for United States
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 457,647 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 3,667 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (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 3,667 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0013 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 5.13 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political rights rating in United States?
- Political rights rating in United States was 2 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights rating recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 2017.
- What is the lowest political rights rating recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 in 1972.
- How does United States rank for political rights rating?
- United States ranks 115th out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights rating rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 100.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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.