Civil liberties rating in Botswana

Botswana: Civil liberties rating was 2 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
2
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
120th
of 198 countries
All-time high
4
in 1972
All-time low
2
in 1979
Years of data
53
1972–2025

Civil liberties rating in Botswana, 1972–2025

01234197219982025

Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Botswana recorded 2 for civil liberties rating in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 53 years on record.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, civil liberties rating in Botswana peaked at 4 in 1972 and was at its lowest, 2, in 1979.

That places Botswana 120th out of 198 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 3 2 4 8
1980s 2.89 2 3 9
1990s 2.2 2 3 10
2000s 2 2 2 10
2010s 2 2 2 10
2020s 2 2 2 6

Countries ranked near Botswana

  1. 120 Antigua and Barbuda 2 compare
  2. 120 Argentina 2 compare
  3. 120 Bahamas 2 compare
  4. 120 Bulgaria 2 compare
  5. 120 Croatia 2 compare
  6. 120 Cyprus 2 compare
  7. 120 Fiji 2 compare
  8. 120 France 2 compare
  9. 120 Ghana 2 compare
  10. 120 Greece 2 compare
  11. 120 Grenada 2 compare
  12. 120 Guyana 2 compare
  13. 120 Italy 2 compare
  14. 120 Jamaica 2 compare
  15. 120 Latvia 2 compare
  16. 120 Lithuania 2 compare
  17. 120 Mauritius 2 compare
  18. 120 Mongolia 2 compare
  19. 120 Namibia 2 compare
  20. 120 Panama 2 compare
  21. 120 Poland 2 compare
  22. 120 Romania 2 compare
  23. 120 Samoa 2 compare
  24. 120 Sao Tome and Principe 2 compare
  25. 120 Seychelles 2 compare
  26. 120 Solomon Islands 2 compare
  27. 120 South Africa 2 compare
  28. 120 South Korea 2 compare
  29. 120 Suriname 2 compare
  30. 120 Tonga 2 compare
  31. 120 Trinidad and Tobago 2 compare
  32. 120 United States 2 compare
  33. 120 Vanuatu 2 compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Botswana

All data for Botswana →

Frequently asked questions

What is civil liberties rating in Botswana?
Civil liberties rating in Botswana was 2 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest civil liberties rating recorded in Botswana?
The highest recorded value was 4 in 1972.
What is the lowest civil liberties rating recorded in Botswana?
The lowest recorded value was 2 in 1979.
How does Botswana rank for civil liberties rating?
Botswana ranks 120th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
Is civil liberties rating rising or falling in Botswana?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Botswana data come from?
The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Civil liberties rating. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Civil liberties rating
Source
Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 10,083 data points, 1972–2025
Last refreshed

Identifies the extent of freedom of expression and association, the rule of law, and personal autonomy. Lower ratings indicate more liberties.