Civil liberties rating in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: 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 1985
All-time low
3
in 1978
Years of data
53
1972–2025
Civil liberties rating in Burkina Faso, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Burkina Faso recorded 5 for civil liberties rating in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 66.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, civil liberties rating in Burkina Faso peaked at 6 in 1985 and was at its lowest, 3, in 1978.
That places Burkina Faso 41st out of 199 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.
Civil liberties rating in Burkina Faso, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 4 | — |
| 1973 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 1977 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 1978 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 1979 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 5 | +66.7% |
| 1982 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 6 | +20.0% |
| 1986 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 1990 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 1994 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2006 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4 | +33.3% |
| 2020 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 2024 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 5 | +0.0% |
Burkina Faso compared with similar countries
- Burkina Faso's 5 is below the median for low income countries, which is 6, 83% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Burkina Faso's 5 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.88 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| 1980s | 5.44 | 5 | 6 | 9 |
| 1990s | 4.3 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.5 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.1 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.5 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Burkina Faso
- 41 Algeria 5 compare
- 41 Angola 5 compare
- 41 Brunei 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 Burkina Faso
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9232 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 7.39 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 9.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4137 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 9.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.61 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 33.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 45.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.25 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is civil liberties rating in Burkina Faso?
- Civil liberties rating in Burkina Faso was 5 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest civil liberties rating recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The highest recorded value was 6 in 1985.
- What is the lowest civil liberties rating recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The lowest recorded value was 3 in 1978.
- How does Burkina Faso rank for civil liberties rating?
- Burkina Faso ranks 41st out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is civil liberties rating rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
- Over the last ten years it is up 66.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Burkina Faso 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
Identifies the extent of freedom of expression and association, the rule of law, and personal autonomy. Lower ratings indicate more liberties.