Statizoid

Political Civil Liberties Index in Australia

Australia: Political Civil Liberties Index was 0.906 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.906
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
33rd
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.97
in 1990
All-time low
0.53
in 1789
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Political Civil Liberties Index in Australia, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.81178919072025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Australia recorded 0.906 for political civil liberties index in 2025.

That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 4.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political civil liberties index in Australia peaked at 0.97 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0.53, in 1789.

That places Australia 33rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 237 years of available data.

Political Civil Liberties Index in Australia, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.53 —
1790 0.53 +0.0%
1791 0.53 +0.0%
1792 0.53 +0.0%
1793 0.53 +0.0%
1794 0.53 +0.0%
1795 0.53 +0.0%
1796 0.53 +0.0%
1797 0.53 +0.0%
1798 0.53 +0.0%
1799 0.53 +0.0%
1800 0.53 +0.0%
1801 0.53 +0.0%
1802 0.53 +0.0%
1803 0.53 +0.0%
1804 0.53 +0.0%
1805 0.53 +0.0%
1806 0.53 +0.0%
1807 0.53 +0.0%
1808 0.53 +0.0%
1809 0.53 +0.0%
1810 0.53 +0.0%
1811 0.53 +0.0%
1812 0.53 +0.0%
1813 0.53 +0.0%
1814 0.53 +0.0%
1815 0.53 +0.0%
1816 0.53 +0.0%
1817 0.53 +0.0%
1818 0.53 +0.0%
1819 0.53 +0.0%
1820 0.53 +0.0%
1821 0.53 +0.0%
1822 0.53 +0.0%
1823 0.713 +34.5%
1824 0.878 +23.1%
1825 0.878 +0.0%
1826 0.878 +0.0%
1827 0.878 +0.0%
1828 0.878 +0.0%
1829 0.878 +0.0%
1830 0.878 +0.0%
1831 0.878 +0.0%
1832 0.878 +0.0%
1833 0.878 +0.0%
1834 0.878 +0.0%
1835 0.878 +0.0%
1836 0.878 +0.0%
1837 0.878 +0.0%
1838 0.878 +0.0%
1839 0.878 +0.0%
1840 0.878 +0.0%
1841 0.878 +0.0%
1842 0.878 +0.0%
1843 0.878 +0.0%
1844 0.878 +0.0%
1845 0.878 +0.0%
1846 0.878 +0.0%
1847 0.878 +0.0%
1848 0.878 +0.0%
1849 0.878 +0.0%
1850 0.878 +0.0%
1851 0.878 +0.0%
1852 0.878 +0.0%
1853 0.878 +0.0%
1854 0.878 +0.0%
1855 0.878 +0.0%
1856 0.906 +3.2%
1857 0.906 +0.0%
1858 0.906 +0.0%
1859 0.906 +0.0%
1860 0.906 +0.0%
1861 0.906 +0.0%
1862 0.906 +0.0%
1863 0.906 +0.0%
1864 0.906 +0.0%
1865 0.906 +0.0%
1866 0.906 +0.0%
1867 0.906 +0.0%
1868 0.906 +0.0%
1869 0.906 +0.0%
1870 0.906 +0.0%
1871 0.906 +0.0%
1872 0.906 +0.0%
1873 0.906 +0.0%
1874 0.906 +0.0%
1875 0.906 +0.0%
1876 0.906 +0.0%
1877 0.906 +0.0%
1878 0.906 +0.0%
1879 0.906 +0.0%
1880 0.906 +0.0%
1881 0.906 +0.0%
1882 0.906 +0.0%
1883 0.906 +0.0%
1884 0.906 +0.0%
1885 0.906 +0.0%
1886 0.906 +0.0%
1887 0.906 +0.0%
1888 0.906 +0.0%
1889 0.906 +0.0%
1890 0.906 +0.0%
1891 0.906 +0.0%
1892 0.906 +0.0%
1893 0.906 +0.0%
1894 0.906 +0.0%
1895 0.906 +0.0%
1896 0.906 +0.0%
1897 0.906 +0.0%
1898 0.895 -1.2%
1899 0.895 +0.0%
1900 0.895 +0.0%
1901 0.92 +2.8%
1902 0.926 +0.7%
1903 0.926 +0.0%
1904 0.926 +0.0%
1905 0.926 +0.0%
1906 0.926 +0.0%
1907 0.926 +0.0%
1908 0.926 +0.0%
1909 0.926 +0.0%
1910 0.918 -0.9%
1911 0.918 +0.0%
1912 0.918 +0.0%
1913 0.918 +0.0%
1914 0.892 -2.8%
1915 0.879 -1.5%
1916 0.858 -2.4%
1917 0.858 +0.0%
1918 0.872 +1.6%
1919 0.904 +3.7%
1920 0.917 +1.4%
1921 0.917 +0.0%
1922 0.917 +0.0%
1923 0.917 +0.0%
1924 0.917 +0.0%
1925 0.917 +0.0%
1926 0.917 +0.0%
1927 0.917 +0.0%
1928 0.917 +0.0%
1929 0.917 +0.0%
1930 0.921 +0.4%
1931 0.921 +0.0%
1932 0.921 +0.0%
1933 0.921 +0.0%
1934 0.921 +0.0%
1935 0.921 +0.0%
1936 0.921 +0.0%
1937 0.921 +0.0%
1938 0.921 +0.0%
1939 0.879 -4.6%
1940 0.847 -3.6%
1941 0.851 +0.5%
1942 0.859 +0.9%
1943 0.859 +0.0%
1944 0.868 +1.0%
1945 0.868 +0.0%
1946 0.91 +4.8%
1947 0.912 +0.2%
1948 0.912 +0.0%
1949 0.912 +0.0%
1950 0.907 -0.5%
1951 0.909 +0.2%
1952 0.923 +1.5%
1953 0.935 +1.3%
1954 0.936 +0.1%
1955 0.936 +0.0%
1956 0.948 +1.3%
1957 0.948 +0.0%
1958 0.948 +0.0%
1959 0.948 +0.0%
1960 0.947 -0.1%
1961 0.947 +0.0%
1962 0.947 +0.0%
1963 0.947 +0.0%
1964 0.944 -0.3%
1965 0.944 +0.0%
1966 0.944 +0.0%
1967 0.953 +1.0%
1968 0.953 +0.0%
1969 0.953 +0.0%
1970 0.963 +1.0%
1971 0.963 +0.0%
1972 0.966 +0.3%
1973 0.966 +0.0%
1974 0.966 +0.0%
1975 0.966 +0.0%
1976 0.963 -0.3%
1977 0.963 +0.0%
1978 0.963 +0.0%
1979 0.963 +0.0%
1980 0.965 +0.2%
1981 0.965 +0.0%
1982 0.965 +0.0%
1983 0.965 +0.0%
1984 0.965 +0.0%
1985 0.965 +0.0%
1986 0.965 +0.0%
1987 0.965 +0.0%
1988 0.965 +0.0%
1989 0.965 +0.0%
1990 0.97 +0.5%
1991 0.97 +0.0%
1992 0.97 +0.0%
1993 0.97 +0.0%
1994 0.97 +0.0%
1995 0.97 +0.0%
1996 0.97 +0.0%
1997 0.965 -0.5%
1998 0.965 +0.0%
1999 0.965 +0.0%
2000 0.967 +0.2%
2001 0.967 +0.0%
2002 0.963 -0.4%
2003 0.963 +0.0%
2004 0.963 +0.0%
2005 0.963 +0.0%
2006 0.963 +0.0%
2007 0.963 +0.0%
2008 0.963 +0.0%
2009 0.963 +0.0%
2010 0.966 +0.3%
2011 0.966 +0.0%
2012 0.966 +0.0%
2013 0.943 -2.4%
2014 0.941 -0.2%
2015 0.947 +0.6%
2016 0.947 +0.0%
2017 0.937 -1.1%
2018 0.938 +0.1%
2019 0.916 -2.3%
2020 0.924 +0.9%
2021 0.921 -0.3%
2022 0.923 +0.2%
2023 0.92 -0.3%
2024 0.912 -0.9%
2025 0.906 -0.7%

Australia compared with similar countries

  • Australia's 0.906 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.893, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Australia's 0.906 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.666, 1.4× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.53 0.53 0.53 1
1790s 0.53 0.53 0.53 10
1800s 0.53 0.53 0.53 10
1810s 0.53 0.53 0.53 10
1820s 0.7571 0.53 0.878 10
1830s 0.878 0.878 0.878 10
1840s 0.878 0.878 0.878 10
1850s 0.8892 0.878 0.906 10
1860s 0.906 0.906 0.906 10
1870s 0.906 0.906 0.906 10
1880s 0.906 0.906 0.906 10
1890s 0.9038 0.895 0.906 10
1900s 0.9223 0.895 0.926 10
1910s 0.8935 0.858 0.918 10
1920s 0.917 0.917 0.917 10
1930s 0.9168 0.879 0.921 10
1940s 0.8798 0.847 0.912 10
1950s 0.9338 0.907 0.948 10
1960s 0.9479 0.944 0.953 10
1970s 0.9642 0.963 0.966 10
1980s 0.965 0.965 0.965 10
1990s 0.9685 0.965 0.97 10
2000s 0.9638 0.963 0.967 10
2010s 0.9467 0.916 0.966 10
2020s 0.9177 0.906 0.924 6

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 30 Suriname 0.916 compare
  2. 31 Portugal 0.914 compare
  3. 32 South Korea 0.911 compare
  4. 34 Vanuatu 0.905 compare
  5. 35 Taiwan 0.904 compare
  6. 36 Namibia 0.896 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is political civil liberties index in Australia?
Political civil liberties index in Australia was 0.906 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political civil liberties index recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 0.97 in 1990.
What is the lowest political civil liberties index recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.53 in 1789.
How does Australia rank for political civil liberties index?
Australia ranks 33rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political civil liberties index rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Political Civil Liberties Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Political Civil Liberties Index in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-civil-liberties-index/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Political Civil Liberties Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,211 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which people enjoy the freedoms of expression and association.