Which countries protect civil liberties best?

Every country ranked by the V-Dem civil liberties index index for 2025 (179 countries, 0–100 scale).

Civil Liberties Index rankings, 2025 — 179 countries scored 0–100 (V-Dem)
Rank	Country	Score (0–100)	1y change	10y change
1	🇪🇪 Estonia	96.3	0.0	+0.2
2	🇸🇪 Sweden	96.0	−0.1	−0.8
3	🇩🇰 Denmark	95.9	−0.1	−0.9
4	🇮🇪 Ireland	95.6	−0.1	0.0
5	🇧🇪 Belgium	95.5	0.0	−0.7
6	🇨🇭 Switzerland	95.0	−0.1	−1.0
7	🇮🇸 Iceland	95.0	−0.3	−0.4
8	🇨🇿 Czechia	94.8	−0.4	+0.2
9	🇳🇿 New Zealand	94.8	−0.4	−1.1
10	🇫🇮 Finland	94.7	+0.3	−1.4
11	🇳🇴 Norway	94.7	0.0	−2.4
12	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	94.6	0.0	−0.3
13	🇪🇸 Spain	94.2	−0.5	−0.6
14	🇩🇪 Germany	94.0	+0.2	−2.1
15	🇱🇻 Latvia	94.0	+0.2	−0.8
16	🇺🇾 Uruguay	93.2	+0.6	−1.1
17	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	93.1	0.0	−2.7
18	🇹🇼 Taiwan	93.0	−0.1	−0.8
19	🇨🇱 Chile	93.0	−0.1	−1.8
20	🇯🇵 Japan	92.5	0.0	−0.6
21	🇵🇱 Poland	91.8	+0.2	−3.0
22	🇧🇧 Barbados	91.8	−0.2	0.0
23	🇫🇷 France	91.7	+0.2	−3.2
24	🇲🇹 Malta	91.5	0.0	+0.8
25	🇸🇷 Suriname	91.3	+0.3	+3.6
26	🇱🇹 Lithuania	91.3	−0.5	−2.5
27	🇬🇭 Ghana	91.2	+2.3	−0.8
28	🇰🇷 South Korea	91.2	+8.2	+3.1
29	🇳🇱 Netherlands	91.2	+0.8	−2.6
30	🇨🇻 Cape Verde	90.7	−0.5	−1.6
31	🇦🇹 Austria	90.7	−0.3	−4.0
32	🇦🇺 Australia	90.6	−1.2	−3.6
33	🇸🇨 Seychelles	90.4	0.0	+12.3
34	🇮🇹 Italy	90.0	−0.7	−2.5
35	🇨🇦 Canada	89.7	−0.5	−4.1
36	🇨🇾 Cyprus	89.5	+0.4	−1.9
37	🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe	89.2	0.0	−1.3
38	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	88.8	−0.2	−2.3
39	🇭🇷 Croatia	88.6	−1.1	−3.9
40	🇳🇦 Namibia	88.3	+0.8	+1.5
41	🇸🇮 Slovenia	88.3	−0.6	−4.8
42	🇲🇪 Montenegro	88.1	−2.0	+1.2
43	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	88.1	−1.1	−0.9
44	🇬🇲 The Gambia	88.0	+0.1	+55.3
45	🇬🇷 Greece	87.8	+0.3	−6.6
46	🇷🇴 Romania	87.7	+0.6	−4.6
47	🇯🇲 Jamaica	87.6	−0.3	−2.3
48	🇵🇦 Panama	87.4	−1.4	−3.3
49	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	87.4	0.0	+3.3
50	🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	87.3	−0.1	+3.6
51	🇲🇺 Mauritius	87.3	+16.7	−1.0
52	🇦🇱 Albania	87.2	−0.4	−2.1
53	🇧🇷 Brazil	87.1	+1.8	+1.1
54	🇿🇦 South Africa	85.7	−1.0	−1.0
55	🇸🇰 Slovakia	85.7	−0.4	−7.8
56	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	85.7	0.0	+2.1
57	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	84.9	−2.6	−1.0
58	🇬🇾 Guyana	84.7	−0.3	−3.1
59	🇧🇼 Botswana	84.5	+0.4	−3.4
60	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	84.4	−3.6	−6.0
61	🇲🇩 Moldova	84.2	−2.1	+2.7
62	🇱🇷 Liberia	83.8	+0.1	−0.1
63	🇵🇹 Portugal	83.6	−6.8	−12.7
64	🇧🇯 Benin	83.6	+0.4	−3.2
65	🇱🇸 Lesotho	83.5	+4.2	+12.5
66	🇺🇸 United States of America	82.6	−10.1	−12.7
67	🇦🇷 Argentina	82.1	−3.8	−5.4
68	🇭🇳 Honduras	81.9	−0.2	+5.9
69	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	81.6	+2.2	+8.1
70	🇽🇰 Kosovo	81.4	+0.5	+2.5
71	🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	81.4	−0.1	−3.9
72	🇸🇳 Senegal	81.2	+1.0	−5.7
73	🇲🇼 Malawi	80.6	+1.0	−0.9
74	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	80.5	+0.1	−0.2
75	🇵🇾 Paraguay	80.5	+1.3	−3.1
76	🇲🇳 Mongolia	80.1	+4.8	−9.2
77	🇵🇪 Peru	80.0	+0.9	−9.4
78	🇦🇲 Armenia	80.0	−2.2	+1.9
79	🇭🇺 Hungary	79.3	−3.1	−8.8
80	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	79.2	−3.2	−2.0
81	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	78.9	−0.5	+7.4
82	🇬🇦 Gabon	78.8	−0.5	−6.8
83	🇮🇱 Israel	78.7	−0.2	−4.3
84	🇫🇯 Fiji	77.4	+0.5	+5.8
85	🇿🇲 Zambia	77.3	−5.3	+2.6
86	🇬🇹 Guatemala	76.6	+2.8	+5.3
87	🇨🇴 Colombia	76.5	+2.8	−3.9
88	🇭🇹 Haiti	74.3	+0.2	−5.0
89	🇳🇵 Nepal	74.2	−2.9	−4.7
90	🇧🇴 Bolivia	74.1	−2.5	−9.7
91	🇰🇪 Kenya	74.0	−0.1	+4.1
92	🇲🇾 Malaysia	73.9	−0.4	+12.4
93	🇷🇸 Serbia	73.0	−4.5	−9.9
94	🇲🇻 Maldives	72.4	−2.2	+19.7
95	🇸🇬 Singapore	71.7	+0.3	+0.6
96	🇧🇹 Bhutan	70.1	−2.3	−3.1
97	🇨🇮 Ivory Coast	70.0	−1.2	−10.2
98	🇬🇪 Georgia	70.0	−7.6	−18.1
99	🇪🇨 Ecuador	69.2	−6.4	−11.0
100	🇱🇧 Lebanon	68.9	+1.8	−0.8
101	🇹🇳 Tunisia	68.5	−1.3	−10.2
102	🇳🇬 Nigeria	67.4	−0.5	+3.7
103	🇹🇿 Tanzania	67.3	−10.7	−6.8
104	🇯🇴 Jordan	67.2	−0.4	+1.0
105	🇲🇬 Madagascar	65.2	−3.7	−10.9
106	🇳🇪 Niger	65.0	−11.2	−15.3
107	Zanzibar	64.8	−0.2	−0.3
108	🇲🇦 Morocco	64.5	−0.6	+2.4
109	🇮🇩 Indonesia	63.0	−7.0	−16.3
110	Somaliland	62.9	+1.0	−6.7
111	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	62.8	+6.8	+16.6
112	🇲🇽 Mexico	62.6	−0.4	−6.4
113	🇦🇴 Angola	62.4	0.0	+13.1
114	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	61.4	−0.5	−24.5
115	🇲🇱 Mali	60.9	0.0	−18.8
116	🇹🇬 Togo	60.0	+2.3	−8.6
117	🇺🇦 Ukraine	57.8	+2.6	−5.3
118	🇵🇭 Philippines	56.1	0.0	−17.9
119	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	55.7	−15.9	−15.6
120	🇮🇳 India	53.4	−0.1	−12.6
121	🇮🇶 Iraq	52.1	+0.6	+8.3
122	🇲🇷 Mauritania	51.3	−1.8	−9.0
123	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	51.3	−0.2	+3.1
124	🇸🇻 El Salvador	51.1	+2.7	−31.4
125	🇨🇲 Cameroon	50.9	−2.6	−14.1
126	🇰🇼 Kuwait	48.8	−2.0	−2.8
127	🇲🇿 Mozambique	48.3	−0.5	−21.7
128	🇹🇭 Thailand	47.8	−2.1	+11.8
129	🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	47.8	−7.0	−18.6
130	🇰🇲 Comoros	47.6	+0.7	−18.3
131	🇵🇰 Pakistan	46.6	+1.0	−3.2
132	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	45.5	−4.5	−38.3
133	🇸🇴 Somalia	45.4	+3.0	+12.9
134	🇴🇲 Oman	44.6	+0.2	+1.8
135	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	43.8	+0.1	−3.5
136	🇩🇿 Algeria	42.4	+0.6	−19.2
137	🇵🇸 Palestine/West Bank	42.4	−0.1	−16.8
138	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	42.0	+2.1	−0.2
139	🇩🇯 Djibouti	40.4	0.0	−2.8
140	🇹🇷 Türkiye	40.2	+0.2	−10.5
141	🇻🇳 Vietnam	38.4	+0.6	−6.0
142	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	38.1	+0.1	−6.2
143	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	36.9	+0.1	+23.7
144	🇶🇦 Qatar	35.7	+0.1	−7.6
145	🇬🇳 Guinea	35.3	+3.0	−21.0
146	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	33.9	−0.7	−7.0
147	🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo	32.6	−0.9	+0.7
148	🇱🇾 Libya	32.3	−0.9	−5.7
149	🇸🇾 Syria	32.1	+18.7	+26.5
150	🇺🇬 Uganda	31.5	−7.0	−20.5
151	🇻🇪 Venezuela	30.7	−2.8	−21.4
152	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	30.4	+1.8	−4.6
153	🇨🇺 Cuba	30.2	+0.2	−3.5
154	🇧🇭 Bahrain	30.0	0.0	+6.7
155	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	29.1	−1.1	−14.3
156	🇹🇩 Chad	28.4	−1.9	−10.7
157	🇧🇮 Burundi	27.1	+2.0	+11.0
158	🇷🇺 Russia	26.5	+0.5	−21.1
159	🇰🇭 Cambodia	26.0	+0.4	−19.5
160	🇮🇷 Iran	24.8	−0.4	−2.0
161	🇪🇬 Egypt	23.2	−1.1	+6.3
162	🇸🇸 South Sudan	22.8	−1.5	+5.6
163	🇧🇾 Belarus	22.1	+0.7	−36.9
164	🇸🇿 Eswatini	20.6	+0.1	−10.4
165	🇷🇼 Rwanda	19.4	+1.8	−20.6
166	🇾🇪 Yemen	19.2	−2.5	+3.8
167	🇨🇳 China	17.9	+0.4	−7.6
168	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	17.8	+0.6	+1.2
169	🇸🇩 Sudan	17.1	−1.5	+1.8
170	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	16.9	−0.5	−7.7
171	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	16.9	−1.2	−4.2
172	Palestine/Gaza	16.8	+6.1	−6.1
173	🇱🇦 Laos	14.4	−0.4	+2.7
174	🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	11.2	−0.2	+1.7
175	🇲🇲 Burma/Myanmar	10.2	0.0	−36.4
176	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	7.7	−1.1	−59.9
177	🇪🇷 Eritrea	4.7	−0.1	+0.3
178	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	4.1	−0.1	−47.5
179	🇰🇵 North Korea	2.4	+0.5	+0.8

Frequently asked questions

Estonia ranks #1 of 179 countries on the V-Dem civil liberties index index in 2025, with the highest score of 96.3 on a 0–100 scale.

What are the top 3 countries for civil liberties index in 2025?

In 2025, the top three of 179 ranked countries are Estonia (96.3), Sweden (96.0), and Denmark (95.9).

Which country ranks last on civil liberties index in 2025?

North Korea ranks #179 of 179 with a score of 2.4.

Which country changed most on civil liberties index over the last decade?

Nicaragua shows the largest 10-year shift: its score declined by 59.9 points over the past decade, standing at 7.7 (rank #176) in 2025.

How is the civil liberties index index measured?

The index comes from the V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) project; scores are shown here on a 0–100 scale (higher-precision source data runs 0–1). Higher scores are better. The 2025 edition covers 179 countries.