Civil Liberties Score in Malaysia
Malaysia: Civil Liberties Score was 31 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Civil Liberties Score in Malaysia, 2003–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, civil liberties score in Malaysia stood at 31. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 14.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, civil liberties score in Malaysia peaked at 31 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 26, in 2016.
Malaysia ranks 112th of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Civil Liberties Score in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 28 | — |
| 2004 | 30 | +7.1% |
| 2005 | 31 | +3.3% |
| 2006 | 29 | -6.5% |
| 2007 | 27 | -6.9% |
| 2008 | 29 | +7.4% |
| 2009 | 29 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 29 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 29 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 28 | -3.4% |
| 2013 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 27 | -3.6% |
| 2015 | 27 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 26 | -3.7% |
| 2017 | 27 | +3.8% |
| 2018 | 31 | +14.8% |
| 2019 | 31 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 30 | -3.2% |
| 2021 | 30 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 31 | +3.3% |
| 2023 | 31 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 31 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 31 | +0.0% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 31 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 36, 86% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 31 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 43, 72% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 29 | 27 | 31 | 7 |
| 2010s | 28.3 | 26 | 31 | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.67 | 30 | 31 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More reference data data for Malaysia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7102 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5869 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1487 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 21.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8098 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is civil liberties score in Malaysia?
- Civil liberties score in Malaysia was 31 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest civil liberties score recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 31 in 2005.
- What is the lowest civil liberties score recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 26 in 2016.
- How does Malaysia rank for civil liberties score?
- Malaysia ranks 112th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is civil liberties score rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia 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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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.