Civil Liberties Score in Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Civil Liberties Score was 10 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
10
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
174th
of 197 countries
All-time high
21
in 2004
All-time low
8
in 2016
Years of data
23
2003–2025

Civil Liberties Score in Ethiopia, 2003–2025

051015202003201420252003: 202004: 212005: 212006: 202007: 202008: 202009: 182010: 132011: 122012: 112013: 112014: 112015: 112016: 82017: 82018: 122019: 142020: 132021: 112022: 112023: 102024: 102025: 10

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

Analysis

Ethiopia recorded 10 for civil liberties score in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, civil liberties score in Ethiopia peaked at 21 in 2004 and was at its lowest, 8, in 2016.

Ethiopia ranks 174th of 197 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.

Civil Liberties Score in Ethiopia, year by year

Annual values for Civil Liberties Score in Ethiopia, 2003 to 2025.
Year Value Change
2003 20
2004 21 +5.0%
2005 21 +0.0%
2006 20 -4.8%
2007 20 +0.0%
2008 20 +0.0%
2009 18 -10.0%
2010 13 -27.8%
2011 12 -7.7%
2012 11 -8.3%
2013 11 +0.0%
2014 11 +0.0%
2015 11 +0.0%
2016 8 -27.3%
2017 8 +0.0%
2018 12 +50.0%
2019 14 +16.7%
2020 13 -7.1%
2021 11 -15.4%
2022 11 +0.0%
2023 10 -9.1%
2024 10 +0.0%
2025 10 +0.0%

Ethiopia compared with similar countries

  • Ethiopia's 10 is below the median for low income countries, which is 14, 71% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Ethiopia's 10 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 24, 42% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Civil Liberties Score in Ethiopia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2018 +50.0% 8 12

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 20 18 21 7
2010s 11.1 8 14 10
2020s 10.83 10 13 6

Countries ranked near Ethiopia

  1. 171 Burundi 11 compare
  2. 171 China 11 compare
  3. 171 Laos 11 compare
  4. 174 Bahrain 10 compare
  5. 174 Uzbekistan 10 compare
  6. 177 Cameroon 9 compare
  7. 177 Cuba 9 compare
  8. 177 Yemen 9 compare

See the full ranking of 197 places →

More reference data data for Ethiopia

All data for Ethiopia →

Frequently asked questions

What is civil liberties score in Ethiopia?
Civil liberties score in Ethiopia was 10 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest civil liberties score recorded in Ethiopia?
The highest recorded value was 21 in 2004.
What is the lowest civil liberties score recorded in Ethiopia?
The lowest recorded value was 8 in 2016.
How does Ethiopia rank for civil liberties score?
Ethiopia ranks 174th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
Is civil liberties score rising or falling in Ethiopia?
Over the last ten years it is down 9.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Ethiopia 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.

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Civil Liberties Score in Ethiopia. Statizoid, drawing on Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/civil-liberties-score-fh/ethiopia/

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About this data

Indicator
Civil Liberties Score
Source
Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
197 places, 4,511 data points, 2003–2025
Last refreshed

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.