Political Rights Score in Botswana
Botswana: Political Rights Score was 31 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Political Rights Score in Botswana, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, political rights score in Botswana stood at 31.
That represents a change of up 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights score in Botswana peaked at 34 in 2002 and was at its lowest, 28, in 2012.
That places Botswana 76th out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Political Rights Score in Botswana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 34 | — |
| 2003 | 34 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 34 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 31 | -8.8% |
| 2006 | 31 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 31 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 30 | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 29 | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 29 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 29 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 28 | -3.4% |
| 2013 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 31 | +10.7% |
| 2025 | 31 | +0.0% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 31 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 26, 1.2× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 31 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 10.5, 3.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 31.75 | 29 | 34 | 8 |
| 2010s | 28.2 | 28 | 29 | 10 |
| 2020s | 29 | 28 | 31 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More social development data for Botswana
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 847 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 384 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (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 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 384 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0003 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 Botswana?
- Political rights score in Botswana was 31 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights score recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 34 in 2002.
- What is the lowest political rights score recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 28 in 2012.
- How does Botswana rank for political rights score?
- Botswana ranks 76th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights score rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Botswana 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.