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Civil liberties rating in South Korea

South Korea: Civil liberties rating was 2 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
2
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
121st
of 199 countries
All-time high
6
in 1972
All-time low
2
in 1993
Years of data
53
1972–2025

Civil liberties rating in South Korea, 1972–2025

23456197219982025

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

Analysis

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

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, civil liberties rating in South Korea peaked at 6 in 1972 and was at its lowest, 2, in 1993.

That places South Korea 121st out of 199 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.

Civil liberties rating in South Korea, year by year

Year Value Change
1972 6 —
1973 6 +0.0%
1974 6 +0.0%
1975 5 -16.7%
1976 6 +20.0%
1977 5 -16.7%
1978 5 +0.0%
1979 5 +0.0%
1980 6 +20.0%
1982 5 -16.7%
1983 6 +20.0%
1984 5 -16.7%
1985 5 +0.0%
1986 5 +0.0%
1987 4 -20.0%
1988 3 -25.0%
1989 3 +0.0%
1990 3 +0.0%
1991 3 +0.0%
1992 3 +0.0%
1993 2 -33.3%
1994 2 +0.0%
1995 2 +0.0%
1996 2 +0.0%
1997 2 +0.0%
1998 2 +0.0%
1999 2 +0.0%
2000 2 +0.0%
2001 2 +0.0%
2002 2 +0.0%
2003 2 +0.0%
2004 2 +0.0%
2005 2 +0.0%
2006 2 +0.0%
2007 2 +0.0%
2008 2 +0.0%
2009 2 +0.0%
2010 2 +0.0%
2011 2 +0.0%
2012 2 +0.0%
2013 2 +0.0%
2014 2 +0.0%
2015 2 +0.0%
2016 2 +0.0%
2017 2 +0.0%
2018 2 +0.0%
2019 2 +0.0%
2020 2 +0.0%
2021 2 +0.0%
2022 2 +0.0%
2023 2 +0.0%
2024 2 +0.0%
2025 2 +0.0%

South Korea compared with similar countries

  • South Korea's 2 is above the median for high income countries, which is 1, 2.0× the median. (66 countries reporting)
  • South Korea's 2 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3, 67% of the median. (31 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 5.5 5 6 8
1980s 4.67 3 6 9
1990s 2.3 2 3 10
2000s 2 2 2 10
2010s 2 2 2 10
2020s 2 2 2 6

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 121 Antigua and Barbuda 2 compare
  2. 121 Argentina 2 compare
  3. 121 Bahamas 2 compare
  4. 121 Botswana 2 compare
  5. 121 Bulgaria 2 compare
  6. 121 Croatia 2 compare
  7. 121 Cyprus 2 compare
  8. 121 Fiji 2 compare
  9. 121 France 2 compare
  10. 121 Ghana 2 compare
  11. 121 Greece 2 compare
  12. 121 Grenada 2 compare
  13. 121 Guyana 2 compare
  14. 121 Italy 2 compare
  15. 121 Jamaica 2 compare
  16. 121 Latvia 2 compare
  17. 121 Lithuania 2 compare
  18. 121 Mauritius 2 compare
  19. 121 Mongolia 2 compare
  20. 121 Namibia 2 compare
  21. 121 Panama 2 compare
  22. 121 Poland 2 compare
  23. 121 Romania 2 compare
  24. 121 Samoa 2 compare
  25. 121 Sao Tome and Principe 2 compare
  26. 121 Seychelles 2 compare
  27. 121 Solomon Islands 2 compare
  28. 121 South Africa 2 compare
  29. 121 Suriname 2 compare
  30. 121 Tonga 2 compare
  31. 121 Trinidad and Tobago 2 compare
  32. 121 United States 2 compare
  33. 121 Vanuatu 2 compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is civil liberties rating in South Korea?
Civil liberties rating in South Korea was 2 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest civil liberties rating recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 6 in 1972.
What is the lowest civil liberties rating recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 2 in 1993.
How does South Korea rank for civil liberties rating?
South Korea ranks 121st out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
Is civil liberties rating rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Korea 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 South Korea. 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/korea-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.