Press freedom in Madagascar
Madagascar: Press freedom was 1 in 2016. ◆ Volatile
Press freedom in Madagascar, 1979–2016
Source: Freedom House (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Madagascar recorded 1 for press freedom in 2016. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, press freedom in Madagascar peaked at 1 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1979.
That places Madagascar 61st out of 194 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Press freedom in Madagascar, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0 | — |
| 1980 | 0 | — |
| 1982 | 0 | — |
| 1983 | 0 | — |
| 1984 | 0 | — |
| 1985 | 0 | — |
| 1986 | 0 | — |
| 1987 | 0 | — |
| 1988 | 0 | — |
| 1990 | 1 | — |
| 1991 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 2010 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 0 | — |
| 2013 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | 1 | — |
| 2015 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1 | +0.0% |
Madagascar compared with similar countries
- Madagascar's 1 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4286 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
Countries ranked near Madagascar
- 61 Afghanistan 1 compare
- 61 Albania 1 compare
- 61 Antigua and Barbuda 1 compare
- 61 Argentina 1 compare
- 61 Benin 1 compare
- 61 Bhutan 1 compare
- 61 Bolivia 1 compare
- 61 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 compare
- 61 Botswana 1 compare
- 61 Brazil 1 compare
- 61 Bulgaria 1 compare
- 61 Burkina Faso 1 compare
- 61 Colombia 1 compare
- 61 Comoros 1 compare
- 61 Congo 1 compare
- 61 Cote d'Ivoire 1 compare
- 61 Croatia 1 compare
- 61 Dominican Republic 1 compare
- 61 East Timor 1 compare
- 61 El Salvador 1 compare
- 61 Fiji 1 compare
- 61 Georgia 1 compare
- 61 Ghana 1 compare
- 61 Greece 1 compare
- 61 Guatemala 1 compare
- 61 Guinea-Bissau 1 compare
- 61 Guyana 1 compare
- 61 Haiti 1 compare
- 61 Hong Kong 1 compare
- 61 Hungary 1 compare
- 61 India 1 compare
- 61 Indonesia 1 compare
- 61 Israel 1 compare
- 61 Italy 1 compare
- 61 Kenya 1 compare
- 61 Kuwait 1 compare
- 61 Lebanon 1 compare
- 61 Lesotho 1 compare
- 61 Liberia 1 compare
- 61 Malawi 1 compare
- 61 Mali 1 compare
- 61 Mauritania 1 compare
- 61 Moldova 1 compare
- 61 Mongolia 1 compare
- 61 Montenegro 1 compare
- 61 Mozambique 1 compare
- 61 Namibia 1 compare
- 61 Nauru 1 compare
- 61 Nepal 1 compare
- 61 Nicaragua 1 compare
- 61 Niger 1 compare
- 61 Nigeria 1 compare
- 61 Panama 1 compare
- 61 Paraguay 1 compare
- 61 Peru 1 compare
- 61 Philippines 1 compare
- 61 Poland 1 compare
- 61 Romania 1 compare
- 61 Senegal 1 compare
- 61 Serbia 1 compare
- 61 Seychelles 1 compare
- 61 Sierra Leone 1 compare
- 61 South Africa 1 compare
- 61 South Korea 1 compare
- 61 Tanzania 1 compare
- 61 Togo 1 compare
- 61 Tunisia 1 compare
- 61 Uganda 1 compare
- 61 Ukraine 1 compare
More social development data for Madagascar
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 87 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 637 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 25 % 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 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 637 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is press freedom in Madagascar?
- Press freedom in Madagascar was 1 in 2016, according to Freedom House (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest press freedom recorded in Madagascar?
- The highest recorded value was 1 in 1990.
- What is the lowest press freedom recorded in Madagascar?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1979.
- How does Madagascar rank for press freedom?
- Madagascar ranks 61st out of 194 countries with data for 2016.
- Is press freedom rising or falling in Madagascar?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Madagascar data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Press freedom. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Based on the classification and data by Freedom House. It captures the legal, political, and economic environment of the press.