Civil Liberties Score in Eswatini
Eswatini: Civil Liberties Score was 16 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Civil Liberties Score in Eswatini, 2003–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Eswatini recorded 16 for civil liberties score in 2025.
That represents a change of down 5.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, civil liberties score in Eswatini peaked at 21 in 2009 and was at its lowest, 15, in 2017.
That places Eswatini 158th out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Civil Liberties Score in Eswatini, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 19 | — |
| 2004 | 19 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 20 | +5.3% |
| 2006 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 21 | +5.0% |
| 2010 | 20 | -4.8% |
| 2011 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 20 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 19 | -5.0% |
| 2014 | 17 | -10.5% |
| 2015 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 15 | -11.8% |
| 2018 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 18 | +20.0% |
| 2020 | 18 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 16 | -11.1% |
| 2022 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 16 | +0.0% |
Eswatini compared with similar countries
- Eswatini's 16 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 25.5, 63% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Eswatini's 16 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 24, 67% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 19.86 | 19 | 21 | 7 |
| 2010s | 17.8 | 15 | 20 | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.33 | 16 | 18 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Eswatini
More reference data data for Eswatini
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0203 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.3059 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.3309 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0048 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.3309 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0679 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0557 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.66 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.82 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.026 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is civil liberties score in Eswatini?
- Civil liberties score in Eswatini was 16 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest civil liberties score recorded in Eswatini?
- The highest recorded value was 21 in 2009.
- What is the lowest civil liberties score recorded in Eswatini?
- The lowest recorded value was 15 in 2017.
- How does Eswatini rank for civil liberties score?
- Eswatini ranks 158th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is civil liberties score rising or falling in Eswatini?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Eswatini data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Civil Liberties Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The variable identifies the fine-grained extent of freedom of expression and association, the rule of law, and personal autonomy. Higher scores indicate more liberties.