Political Rights Score in Eswatini
Eswatini: Political Rights Score was 1 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Political Rights Score in Eswatini, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Eswatini recorded 1 for political rights score in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights score in Eswatini peaked at 8 in 2002 and was at its lowest, 1, in 2004.
That places Eswatini 177th out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Political Rights Score in Eswatini, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 8 | — |
| 2003 | 2 | -75.0% |
| 2004 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 2005 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 3 | +200.0% |
| 2007 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1 | -66.7% |
| 2012 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 1 | +0.0% |
Eswatini compared with similar countries
- Eswatini's 1 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 15, 7% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Eswatini's 1 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 10.5, 10% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3 | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| 2010s | 1.2 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Eswatini
- 177 Afghanistan 1 compare
- 177 Belarus 1 compare
- 177 Central African Republic 1 compare
- 177 Chad 1 compare
- 177 Eritrea 1 compare
- 177 Saudi Arabia 1 compare
- 177 Yemen 1 compare
More social development data for Eswatini
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,414 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 220 (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 0.0002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 220 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0011 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 Eswatini?
- Political rights score in Eswatini was 1 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights score recorded in Eswatini?
- The highest recorded value was 8 in 2002.
- What is the lowest political rights score recorded in Eswatini?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 in 2004.
- How does Eswatini rank for political rights score?
- Eswatini ranks 177th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights score rising or falling in Eswatini?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Eswatini 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.