Civil liberties rating in USSR
USSR: Civil liberties rating was 4 in 1990. ▼ Falling
Civil liberties rating in USSR, 1972–1990
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
USSR recorded 4 for civil liberties rating in 1990. That is the lowest value across all 18 years on record.
That represents a change of down 20.0% on the previous year and down 42.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, civil liberties rating in USSR peaked at 7 in 1980 and was at its lowest, 4, in 1990.
USSR ranks 69th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 years of available data.
Civil liberties rating in USSR, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 6 | — |
| 1973 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 7 | +16.7% |
| 1982 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 6 | -14.3% |
| 1988 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 1989 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 4 | -20.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 |
| 1980s | 6.44 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
| 1990s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
Countries ranked near USSR
- 69 Armenia 4 compare
- 69 Bangladesh 4 compare
- 69 Cote d'Ivoire 4 compare
- 69 El Salvador 4 compare
- 69 Gambia 4 compare
- 69 Georgia 4 compare
- 69 Guatemala 4 compare
- 69 Guinea-Bissau 4 compare
- 69 Honduras 4 compare
- 69 Hong Kong 4 compare
- 69 India 4 compare
- 69 Indonesia 4 compare
- 69 Kenya 4 compare
- 69 Lebanon 4 compare
- 69 Liberia 4 compare
- 69 Madagascar 4 compare
- 69 Malaysia 4 compare
- 69 Mexico 4 compare
- 69 Mozambique 4 compare
- 69 Nepal 4 compare
- 69 Philippines 4 compare
- 69 Singapore 4 compare
- 69 Sri Lanka 4 compare
- 69 Togo 4 compare
- 69 Tunisia 4 compare
- 69 Ukraine 4 compare
- 69 Zambia 4 compare
More reference data data for USSR
- Global number of reported disasters by size, gaps filled 1 events (1991)
- Free country 1 (1990)
- Civil liberties rating, annual growth rate -20 % change on previous year (1990)
- Civil liberties rating, gaps filled 4 (1990)
- Free country, gaps filled 1 (1990)
- Milk production, annual growth rate -6.61 % change on previous year (1991)
- Milk production 101.33 million tonnes (1991)
- Calorie supply by food group 2,197 kilocalories per day per capita (1991)
- Daily per capita fat supply 88.33 grams of fat per day per capita (1991)
- Area of permanent meadows and pastures 326.50 million hectares (1991)
Frequently asked questions
- What is civil liberties rating in USSR?
- Civil liberties rating in USSR was 4 in 1990, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest civil liberties rating recorded in USSR?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 1980.
- What is the lowest civil liberties rating recorded in USSR?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 in 1990.
- How does USSR rank for civil liberties rating?
- USSR ranks 69th out of 199 countries with data for 1990.
- Is civil liberties rating rising or falling in USSR?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this USSR 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 — 18 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.