Political Rights Score in Iraq
Iraq: Political Rights Score was 16 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Political Rights Score in Iraq, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Iraq recorded 16 for political rights score in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 33.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights score in Iraq peaked at 17 in 2018 and was at its lowest, -2, in 2002.
Iraq ranks 124th of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Political Rights Score in Iraq, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | -2 | — |
| 2003 | 5 | -350.0% |
| 2004 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 9 | +80.0% |
| 2006 | 11 | +22.2% |
| 2007 | 11 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 11 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 12 | +9.1% |
| 2010 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 11 | -8.3% |
| 2013 | 12 | +9.1% |
| 2014 | 11 | -8.3% |
| 2015 | 12 | +9.1% |
| 2016 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 16 | +33.3% |
| 2018 | 17 | +6.2% |
| 2019 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 16 | -5.9% |
| 2021 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 16 | +0.0% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 16 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 26, 62% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 16 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 6.5, 2.5× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.75 | -2 | 12 | 8 |
| 2010s | 13.2 | 11 | 17 | 10 |
| 2020s | 16 | 16 | 16 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
- 121 Serbia 18 compare
- 122 Bosnia and Herzegovina 17 compare
- 122 Cote d'Ivoire 17 compare
- 124 Comoros 16 compare
- 124 Madagascar 16 compare
- 124 Turkey 16 compare
More social development data for Iraq
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 322,345 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 270,671 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0058 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 270,671 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0069 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 Iraq?
- Political rights score in Iraq was 16 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights score recorded in Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 17 in 2018.
- What is the lowest political rights score recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was -2 in 2002.
- How does Iraq rank for political rights score?
- Iraq ranks 124th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights score rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iraq 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.
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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.