Civil liberties rating in Brunei
Brunei: Civil liberties rating was 5 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
5
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
41st
of 199 countries
All-time high
6
in 1984
All-time low
5
in 1972
Years of data
47
1972–2025
Civil liberties rating in Brunei, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Brunei recorded 5 for civil liberties rating in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 47 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, civil liberties rating in Brunei peaked at 6 in 1984 and was at its lowest, 5, in 1972.
Brunei ranks 41st of 199 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
Civil liberties rating in Brunei, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 5 | — |
| 1973 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 6 | +20.0% |
| 1985 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 1986 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 6 | +20.0% |
| 1989 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 1991 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 6 | +20.0% |
| 1993 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 1996 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 5 | +0.0% |
Brunei compared with similar countries
- Brunei's 5 is above the median for high income countries, which is 1, 5.0× the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Brunei's 5 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3, 1.7× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 1980s | 5.5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| 1990s | 5.3 | 5 | 6 | 10 |
| 2000s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 2010s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 2020s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Brunei
- 41 Algeria 5 compare
- 41 Angola 5 compare
- 41 Burkina Faso 5 compare
- 41 Cambodia 5 compare
- 41 Comoros 5 compare
- 41 Djibouti 5 compare
- 41 Gabon 5 compare
- 41 Guinea 5 compare
- 41 Haiti 5 compare
- 41 Jordan 5 compare
- 41 Kazakhstan 5 compare
- 41 Kuwait 5 compare
- 41 Kyrgyzstan 5 compare
- 41 Maldives 5 compare
- 41 Mali 5 compare
- 41 Mauritania 5 compare
- 41 Morocco 5 compare
- 41 Niger 5 compare
- 41 Nigeria 5 compare
- 41 Oman 5 compare
- 41 Pakistan 5 compare
- 41 Palestine 5 compare
- 41 Qatar 5 compare
- 41 Tanzania 5 compare
- 41 Thailand 5 compare
- 41 Uganda 5 compare
- 41 Zimbabwe 5 compare
More reference data data for Brunei
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0005 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Agricultural 154.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Crop Residues 0.1416 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure left on 89.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure Management 23.58 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied 63.12 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 177.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.5816 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2382 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1318 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is civil liberties rating in Brunei?
- Civil liberties rating in Brunei was 5 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest civil liberties rating recorded in Brunei?
- The highest recorded value was 6 in 1984.
- What is the lowest civil liberties rating recorded in Brunei?
- The lowest recorded value was 5 in 1972.
- How does Brunei rank for civil liberties rating?
- Brunei ranks 41st out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is civil liberties rating rising or falling in Brunei?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Brunei 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 — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the extent of freedom of expression and association, the rule of law, and personal autonomy. Lower ratings indicate more liberties.