Civil Liberties Score in Iraq

Iraq: Civil Liberties Score was 15 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
15
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
161st
of 197 countries
All-time high
19
in 2004
All-time low
11
in 2006
Years of data
23
2003–2025

Civil Liberties Score in Iraq, 2003–2025

051015202003201420252003: 182004: 192005: 192006: 112007: 122008: 132009: 142010: 132011: 132012: 132013: 132014: 132015: 152016: 152017: 152018: 152019: 142020: 132021: 132022: 132023: 142024: 152025: 15

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

Analysis

Iraq recorded 15 for civil liberties score in 2025.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, civil liberties score in Iraq peaked at 19 in 2004 and was at its lowest, 11, in 2006.

Iraq ranks 161st 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 Iraq, year by year

Annual values for Civil Liberties Score in Iraq, 2003 to 2025.
Year Value Change
2003 18
2004 19 +5.6%
2005 19 +0.0%
2006 11 -42.1%
2007 12 +9.1%
2008 13 +8.3%
2009 14 +7.7%
2010 13 -7.1%
2011 13 +0.0%
2012 13 +0.0%
2013 13 +0.0%
2014 13 +0.0%
2015 15 +15.4%
2016 15 +0.0%
2017 15 +0.0%
2018 15 +0.0%
2019 14 -6.7%
2020 13 -7.1%
2021 13 +0.0%
2022 13 +0.0%
2023 14 +7.7%
2024 15 +7.1%
2025 15 +0.0%

Iraq compared with similar countries

  • Iraq's 15 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 36, 42% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • Iraq's 15 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 18, 83% of the median. (22 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Civil Liberties Score in Iraq 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
2006 -42.1% 19 11

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 15.14 11 19 7
2010s 13.9 13 15 10
2020s 13.83 13 15 6

Countries ranked near Iraq

  1. 158 Eswatini 16 compare
  2. 158 Turkey 16 compare
  3. 158 Vietnam 16 compare
  4. 161 Congo 15 compare
  5. 163 Chad 14 compare
  6. 163 Democratic Republic of Congo 14 compare
  7. 163 Rwanda 14 compare

See the full ranking of 197 places →

More reference data data for Iraq

All data for Iraq →

Frequently asked questions

What is civil liberties score in Iraq?
Civil liberties score in Iraq was 15 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest civil liberties score recorded in Iraq?
The highest recorded value was 19 in 2004.
What is the lowest civil liberties score recorded in Iraq?
The lowest recorded value was 11 in 2006.
How does Iraq rank for civil liberties score?
Iraq ranks 161st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
Is civil liberties score rising or falling in Iraq?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Iraq 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 Iraq. Statizoid, drawing on Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/civil-liberties-score-fh/iraq/

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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.