Political Rights Score in Canada
Canada: Political Rights Score was 39 in 2025. ▬ Flat
Political Rights Score in Canada, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, political rights score in Canada stood at 39. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights score in Canada peaked at 40 in 2003 and was at its lowest, 39, in 2002.
That places Canada 9th out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
Political Rights Score in Canada, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 39 | — |
| 2003 | 40 | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 39 | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 40 | +2.6% |
| 2007 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 39 | -2.5% |
| 2009 | 40 | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 39 | -2.5% |
| 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 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 39 | -2.5% |
| 2024 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 39 | +0.0% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 39 is above the median for high income countries, which is 37, 1.1× the median. (66 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 39.5 | 39 | 40 | 8 |
| 2010s | 39.8 | 39 | 40 | 10 |
| 2020s | 39.5 | 39 | 40 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Canada
- 9 Australia 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 Canada
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 416,028 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 360 (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 360 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.01 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 Canada?
- Political rights score in Canada was 39 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights score recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 40 in 2003.
- What is the lowest political rights score recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 39 in 2002.
- How does Canada rank for political rights score?
- Canada ranks 9th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights score rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Canada 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.