Political Rights Score in Congo
Congo: Political Rights Score was 2 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Political Rights Score in Congo, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for political rights score in Congo is 2, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is down 66.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights score in Congo peaked at 12 in 2003 and was at its lowest, 2, in 2017.
Congo ranks 168th of 197 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Political Rights Score in Congo, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 11 | — |
| 2003 | 12 | +9.1% |
| 2004 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 11 | -8.3% |
| 2007 | 8 | -27.3% |
| 2008 | 9 | +12.5% |
| 2009 | 7 | -22.2% |
| 2010 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 6 | -14.3% |
| 2016 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 2017 | 2 | -60.0% |
| 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% |
Congo compared with similar countries
- Congo's 2 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 15, 13% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Congo's 2 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 10.5, 19% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 10.25 | 7 | 12 | 8 |
| 2010s | 5.2 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Congo
More social development data for Congo
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 62,500 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 13,134 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (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 0.002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 13,134 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0096 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 Congo?
- Political rights score in Congo was 2 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights score recorded in Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 12 in 2003.
- What is the lowest political rights score recorded in Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 in 2017.
- How does Congo rank for political rights score?
- Congo ranks 168th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights score rising or falling in Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 66.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Congo 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.