Which countries protect political civil liberties best?

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

Political civil liberties rankings, 2025 — 179 countries scored 0–100 (V-Dem)
Rank	Country	Score (0–100)	1y change	10y change
1	🇩🇰 Denmark	97.5	−0.6	−0.9
2	🇨🇭 Switzerland	96.9	0.0	−1.1
3	🇮🇪 Ireland	96.7	−0.3	−0.5
4	🇪🇪 Estonia	96.6	0.0	−0.3
5	🇧🇪 Belgium	96.3	0.0	−0.7
6	🇸🇪 Sweden	96.0	+0.5	−1.4
7	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	95.6	0.0	−0.2
8	🇳🇴 Norway	95.5	0.0	−1.3
9	🇫🇷 France	95.3	+0.3	−0.5
10	🇺🇾 Uruguay	94.7	+1.7	−2.4
11	🇨🇱 Chile	94.3	−0.3	−2.1
12	🇱🇻 Latvia	94.3	+0.3	−1.2
13	🇯🇲 Jamaica	93.6	0.0	−0.5
14	🇫🇮 Finland	93.6	+1.1	−1.4
15	🇨🇿 Czechia	93.4	−1.1	−1.2
16	🇧🇷 Brazil	93.2	−1.4	−1.4
17	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	93.1	0.0	−4.1
18	🇵🇱 Poland	93.0	+0.8	−2.5
19	🇮🇸 Iceland	93.0	−0.8	−1.9
20	🇳🇿 New Zealand	92.9	−1.1	−2.9
21	🇦🇹 Austria	92.6	−0.1	−3.5
22	🇪🇸 Spain	92.5	−0.1	−0.5
23	🇬🇭 Ghana	92.2	+3.5	−0.6
24	🇨🇦 Canada	92.2	−0.6	−1.0
25	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	92.2	0.0	+7.5
26	🇧🇧 Barbados	92.2	−0.5	+1.0
27	🇲🇺 Mauritius	92.2	+25.8	+5.3
28	🇯🇵 Japan	92.0	−0.3	+0.9
29	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	92.0	−0.1	+0.8
30	🇸🇷 Suriname	91.6	+0.9	+0.1
31	🇵🇹 Portugal	91.4	−1.4	−5.0
32	🇰🇷 South Korea	91.1	+11.3	+10.5
33	🇦🇺 Australia	90.6	−0.6	−4.1
34	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	90.5	−3.3	−1.8
35	🇹🇼 Taiwan	90.4	0.0	−1.1
36	🇳🇦 Namibia	89.6	+1.7	−0.5
37	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	89.5	+6.1	+15.1
38	🇨🇻 Cape Verde	89.3	−1.4	−3.8
39	🇱🇹 Lithuania	89.3	−0.9	−4.5
40	🇸🇨 Seychelles	89.3	0.0	+16.9
41	🇩🇪 Germany	89.2	−1.0	−6.4
42	🇳🇱 Netherlands	89.2	+1.7	−4.6
43	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	89.2	0.0	+4.6
44	🇲🇹 Malta	89.1	0.0	−0.7
45	🇲🇪 Montenegro	89.1	−0.2	+7.6
46	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	88.9	+1.6	+3.5
47	🇵🇦 Panama	88.5	+0.8	−1.5
48	🇿🇦 South Africa	88.4	−0.5	−1.3
49	🇨🇾 Cyprus	87.9	+0.3	−5.0
50	🇭🇳 Honduras	87.6	−0.7	+11.8
51	🇮🇹 Italy	87.3	−2.2	−8.5
52	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	86.8	0.0	+3.5
53	🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	86.6	+0.2	+6.3
54	🇺🇸 United States of America	86.5	−9.1	−11.3
55	🇳🇬 Nigeria	86.3	−0.6	−0.3
56	🇳🇵 Nepal	86.3	0.0	−1.1
57	🇰🇪 Kenya	86.0	+0.4	+1.0
58	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	85.8	−5.4	−8.4
59	🇱🇸 Lesotho	85.7	+1.4	+6.3
60	🇬🇹 Guatemala	85.6	+6.9	+5.2
61	🇬🇾 Guyana	85.5	−0.4	−5.8
62	🇱🇷 Liberia	84.5	−1.4	−3.3
63	🇬🇷 Greece	84.5	−0.7	−11.6
64	🇧🇼 Botswana	84.3	−0.3	−2.7
65	🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe	84.3	0.0	−2.3
66	🇨🇴 Colombia	84.2	−1.7	−5.3
67	🇷🇴 Romania	83.8	−0.2	−6.8
68	🇸🇳 Senegal	83.7	+2.9	−8.6
69	🇬🇲 The Gambia	83.7	+0.6	+56.8
70	🇽🇰 Kosovo	82.8	−0.1	−3.1
71	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	82.5	−4.7	+1.1
72	🇦🇲 Armenia	81.8	−1.9	+12.4
73	🇸🇰 Slovakia	80.7	−2.2	−11.9
74	🇵🇾 Paraguay	79.9	0.0	−0.3
75	🇿🇲 Zambia	79.7	−3.2	+7.5
76	🇸🇮 Slovenia	79.7	−3.0	−15.9
77	🇭🇷 Croatia	79.3	−2.6	−9.3
78	🇭🇹 Haiti	78.6	+0.3	−3.0
79	🇦🇷 Argentina	77.4	−6.4	−10.3
80	🇮🇱 Israel	76.9	−1.2	−5.4
81	🇦🇱 Albania	76.1	−1.9	−6.2
82	🇲🇩 Moldova	76.1	−6.6	−0.5
83	🇵🇪 Peru	75.9	+2.1	−15.6
84	🇫🇯 Fiji	75.9	+0.8	+21.5
85	🇲🇳 Mongolia	75.8	+5.4	−14.7
86	🇲🇼 Malawi	75.5	−3.3	−9.5
87	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	75.3	−1.8	+10.3
88	🇳🇪 Niger	74.7	−7.3	−13.8
89	🇬🇦 Gabon	74.7	−1.7	−5.6
90	🇲🇬 Madagascar	74.3	−4.7	−8.0
91	🇧🇯 Benin	74.1	−0.6	−14.0
92	🇧🇴 Bolivia	73.5	−0.5	−6.3
93	🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	73.5	−0.4	−7.7
94	🇱🇧 Lebanon	72.9	+1.6	0.0
95	🇲🇻 Maldives	72.4	−3.2	+18.6
96	🇨🇮 Ivory Coast	70.1	−4.1	−7.8
97	🇪🇨 Ecuador	69.4	−7.9	+5.4
98	🇲🇾 Malaysia	69.1	−1.7	+13.8
99	🇧🇹 Bhutan	65.8	−5.3	−3.1
100	Somaliland	65.0	+1.5	+3.1
101	🇲🇽 Mexico	64.2	−1.6	−14.6
102	🇵🇭 Philippines	64.1	0.0	−20.9
103	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	63.6	+12.9	+18.2
104	🇹🇿 Tanzania	61.4	−10.4	−9.3
105	🇭🇺 Hungary	60.7	−3.5	−19.5
106	🇬🇪 Georgia	60.5	−9.9	−30.1
107	🇮🇩 Indonesia	59.6	−9.7	−22.0
108	Zanzibar	58.0	+1.0	+3.9
109	🇦🇴 Angola	57.8	−0.8	+10.7
110	🇹🇳 Tunisia	56.1	−1.6	−29.0
111	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	55.5	+0.5	+1.5
112	🇯🇴 Jordan	54.9	−0.8	0.0
113	🇲🇦 Morocco	54.9	−2.0	−5.4
114	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	54.9	−11.1	−14.8
115	🇷🇸 Serbia	54.9	−6.3	−10.4
116	🇹🇭 Thailand	54.8	+1.0	+35.6
117	🇮🇶 Iraq	54.3	+1.4	−3.3
118	🇸🇴 Somalia	53.2	−0.8	+2.9
119	🇸🇬 Singapore	52.8	+0.6	+2.8
120	🇲🇷 Mauritania	52.6	−2.3	−17.1
121	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	52.5	+2.3	−13.1
122	🇱🇾 Libya	51.5	−2.4	−14.3
123	🇰🇲 Comoros	51.4	+1.8	−22.7
124	🇺🇦 Ukraine	51.1	+0.1	−15.9
125	🇲🇿 Mozambique	50.4	−1.1	−27.3
126	🇵🇰 Pakistan	50.2	−0.8	−14.5
127	🇹🇬 Togo	48.3	−3.2	−29.9
128	🇮🇳 India	46.5	+0.2	−18.3
129	🇬🇳 Guinea	45.3	+9.2	−15.8
130	🇲🇱 Mali	43.9	−11.0	−41.3
131	🇸🇻 El Salvador	42.9	−4.3	−45.3
132	🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	42.7	−3.4	−31.7
133	🇨🇲 Cameroon	41.7	−4.5	−16.3
134	🇩🇯 Djibouti	41.0	0.0	+3.7
135	🇵🇸 Palestine/West Bank	39.9	+0.2	−15.9
136	🇺🇬 Uganda	36.8	−1.9	−13.4
137	🇰🇼 Kuwait	36.4	−2.3	−1.3
138	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	36.2	−1.8	+2.7
139	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	34.9	−0.9	−7.9
140	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	34.6	−4.4	−55.8
141	🇩🇿 Algeria	33.9	+2.3	−18.4
142	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	33.6	+3.1	+3.6
143	🇹🇩 Chad	30.2	−4.0	−17.0
144	🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo	29.6	−4.1	−2.2
145	🇾🇪 Yemen	29.5	+0.3	+6.6
146	🇸🇾 Syria	28.3	+20.3	+24.7
147	🇸🇩 Sudan	27.1	−4.3	+6.3
148	🇹🇷 Türkiye	26.3	+0.6	−19.9
149	Palestine/Gaza	25.4	+16.0	+0.9
150	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	24.9	+0.8	+16.6
151	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	23.1	−2.3	−51.4
152	🇰🇭 Cambodia	20.8	+0.1	−21.3
153	🇷🇼 Rwanda	17.4	+0.3	−13.1
154	🇴🇲 Oman	16.7	0.0	+3.0
155	🇮🇷 Iran	15.8	−1.1	−1.2
156	🇧🇮 Burundi	15.7	+1.3	−2.4
157	🇻🇪 Venezuela	15.5	−5.3	−24.8
158	🇧🇭 Bahrain	15.0	0.0	+0.9
159	🇪🇬 Egypt	14.5	+0.6	+1.2
160	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	12.2	+0.7	−3.1
161	🇸🇸 South Sudan	12.1	−7.0	−3.5
162	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	12.1	−2.3	−13.1
163	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	11.7	−1.0	−5.7
164	🇷🇺 Russia	10.0	−0.1	−27.3
165	🇻🇳 Vietnam	9.4	+0.6	−6.8
166	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	8.3	+1.4	+0.8
167	🇶🇦 Qatar	7.9	+0.2	−6.2
168	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	7.0	−2.0	−12.3
169	🇸🇿 Eswatini	6.2	−0.1	−6.9
170	🇲🇲 Burma/Myanmar	5.8	−0.2	−53.8
171	🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	5.4	−0.9	+1.5
172	🇱🇦 Laos	5.3	0.0	+0.6
173	🇨🇺 Cuba	3.7	−0.6	−0.1
174	🇧🇾 Belarus	3.6	0.0	−33.6
175	🇨🇳 China	3.6	+0.1	−5.5
176	🇪🇷 Eritrea	2.4	−0.3	−0.6
177	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	2.1	−2.2	−63.9
178	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	1.7	−0.3	−47.6
179	🇰🇵 North Korea	1.5	−0.1	+0.2

Frequently asked questions

Denmark ranks #1 of 179 countries on the V-Dem political civil liberties index in 2025, with the highest score of 97.5 on a 0–100 scale.

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

In 2025, the top three of 179 ranked countries are Denmark (97.5), Switzerland (96.9), and Ireland (96.7).

Which country ranks last on political civil liberties in 2025?

North Korea ranks #179 of 179 with a score of 1.5.

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

Afghanistan shows the largest 10-year shift: its score declined by 63.9 points over the past decade, standing at 2.1 (rank #177) in 2025.

How is the political civil liberties 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.