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Civil liberties rating in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Civil liberties rating was 6 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
6
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
16th
of 199 countries
All-time high
7
in 1975
All-time low
5
in 1991
Years of data
53
1972–2025

Civil liberties rating in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1972–2025

02468197219982025

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

Analysis

Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 6 for civil liberties rating in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, civil liberties rating in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 7 in 1975 and was at its lowest, 5, in 1991.

That places Democratic Republic of Congo 16th out of 199 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Civil liberties rating in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year

Year Value Change
1972 6 —
1973 6 +0.0%
1974 6 +0.0%
1975 7 +16.7%
1976 6 -14.3%
1977 6 +0.0%
1978 6 +0.0%
1979 6 +0.0%
1980 6 +0.0%
1982 6 +0.0%
1983 7 +16.7%
1984 7 +0.0%
1985 7 +0.0%
1986 7 +0.0%
1987 7 +0.0%
1988 7 +0.0%
1989 6 -14.3%
1990 6 +0.0%
1991 5 -16.7%
1992 5 +0.0%
1993 6 +20.0%
1994 6 +0.0%
1995 6 +0.0%
1996 6 +0.0%
1997 6 +0.0%
1998 6 +0.0%
1999 6 +0.0%
2000 6 +0.0%
2001 6 +0.0%
2002 6 +0.0%
2003 6 +0.0%
2004 6 +0.0%
2005 6 +0.0%
2006 6 +0.0%
2007 6 +0.0%
2008 6 +0.0%
2009 6 +0.0%
2010 6 +0.0%
2011 6 +0.0%
2012 6 +0.0%
2013 6 +0.0%
2014 6 +0.0%
2015 6 +0.0%
2016 6 +0.0%
2017 6 +0.0%
2018 6 +0.0%
2019 6 +0.0%
2020 6 +0.0%
2021 6 +0.0%
2022 6 +0.0%
2023 6 +0.0%
2024 6 +0.0%
2025 6 +0.0%

Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries

  • Democratic Republic of Congo's 6 is above the median for low income countries, which is 6, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Democratic Republic of Congo's 6 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 6.12 6 7 8
1980s 6.67 6 7 9
1990s 5.8 5 6 10
2000s 6 6 6 10
2010s 6 6 6 10
2020s 6 6 6 6

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 16 Bahrain 6 compare
  2. 16 Burundi 6 compare
  3. 16 Cameroon 6 compare
  4. 16 Chad 6 compare
  5. 16 China 6 compare
  6. 16 Congo 6 compare
  7. 16 Cuba 6 compare
  8. 16 Egypt 6 compare
  9. 16 Eswatini 6 compare
  10. 16 Ethiopia 6 compare
  11. 16 Iraq 6 compare
  12. 16 Laos 6 compare
  13. 16 Libya 6 compare
  14. 16 Nicaragua 6 compare
  15. 16 Russia 6 compare
  16. 16 Rwanda 6 compare
  17. 16 Saudi Arabia 6 compare
  18. 16 Syria 6 compare
  19. 16 Turkey 6 compare
  20. 16 United Arab Emirates 6 compare
  21. 16 Uzbekistan 6 compare
  22. 16 Venezuela 6 compare
  23. 16 Vietnam 6 compare
  24. 16 Yemen 6 compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is civil liberties rating in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Civil liberties rating in Democratic Republic of Congo was 6 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest civil liberties rating recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 7 in 1975.
What is the lowest civil liberties rating recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 5 in 1991.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for civil liberties rating?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 16th out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
Is civil liberties rating rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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.

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Civil liberties rating in Democratic Republic of Congo. Statizoid, drawing on Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/civil-liberties-rating-fh/congo-dem-rep/

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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.