Political Rights Score in Australia
Australia: Political Rights Score was 39 in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
39
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
9th
of 197 countries
All-time high
40
in 2015
All-time low
38
in 2022
Years of data
24
2002–2025
Political Rights Score in Australia, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for political rights score in Australia is 39, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights score in Australia peaked at 40 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 38, in 2022.
Australia ranks 9th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Political Rights Score in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 39 | — |
| 2003 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 40 | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 39 | -2.5% |
| 2022 | 38 | -2.6% |
| 2023 | 38 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 39 | +2.6% |
| 2025 | 39 | +0.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 39 is above the median for high income countries, which is 37, 1.1× the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Australia's 39 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 28, 1.4× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 39 | 39 | 39 | 8 |
| 2010s | 39.5 | 39 | 40 | 10 |
| 2020s | 38.83 | 38 | 40 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 9 Canada 39 compare
- 9 Estonia 39 compare
- 9 Netherlands 39 compare
- 9 Norway 39 compare
- 9 Portugal 39 compare
- 9 San Marino 39 compare
- 9 Slovenia 39 compare
- 9 Switzerland 39 compare
- 9 United Kingdom 39 compare
More social development data for Australia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 33,415 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 41 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (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 41 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0012 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political rights score in Australia?
- Political rights score in Australia was 39 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights score recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 40 in 2015.
- What is the lowest political rights score recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 38 in 2022.
- How does Australia rank for political rights score?
- Australia ranks 9th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights score rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Political Rights Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the fine-grained extent of free and fair elections, political pluralism and participation, and a functioning government. Higher scores indicate more rights.