Statizoid

Political Civil Liberties Index in Benin

Benin: Political Civil Liberties Index was 0.741 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.741
Change on year
down 0.8%
World rank
90th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.905
in 2017
All-time low
0.116
in 1975
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Political Civil Liberties Index in Benin, 1900–2025

0.20.40.60.81190019622025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for political civil liberties index in Benin is 0.741, measured in 2025.

That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 15.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political civil liberties index in Benin peaked at 0.905 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.116, in 1975.

That places Benin 90th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Political Civil Liberties Index in Benin, year by year

Year Value Change
1900 0.166 —
1901 0.166 +0.0%
1902 0.166 +0.0%
1903 0.166 +0.0%
1904 0.166 +0.0%
1905 0.166 +0.0%
1906 0.166 +0.0%
1907 0.166 +0.0%
1908 0.166 +0.0%
1909 0.166 +0.0%
1910 0.166 +0.0%
1911 0.166 +0.0%
1912 0.166 +0.0%
1913 0.166 +0.0%
1914 0.166 +0.0%
1915 0.166 +0.0%
1916 0.166 +0.0%
1917 0.166 +0.0%
1918 0.166 +0.0%
1919 0.166 +0.0%
1920 0.166 +0.0%
1921 0.166 +0.0%
1922 0.166 +0.0%
1923 0.166 +0.0%
1924 0.166 +0.0%
1925 0.166 +0.0%
1926 0.166 +0.0%
1927 0.166 +0.0%
1928 0.166 +0.0%
1929 0.166 +0.0%
1930 0.166 +0.0%
1931 0.166 +0.0%
1932 0.166 +0.0%
1933 0.166 +0.0%
1934 0.166 +0.0%
1935 0.166 +0.0%
1936 0.166 +0.0%
1937 0.166 +0.0%
1938 0.166 +0.0%
1939 0.166 +0.0%
1940 0.166 +0.0%
1941 0.166 +0.0%
1942 0.166 +0.0%
1943 0.166 +0.0%
1944 0.166 +0.0%
1945 0.188 +13.3%
1946 0.2 +6.4%
1947 0.206 +3.0%
1948 0.206 +0.0%
1949 0.206 +0.0%
1950 0.206 +0.0%
1951 0.206 +0.0%
1952 0.206 +0.0%
1953 0.206 +0.0%
1954 0.206 +0.0%
1955 0.206 +0.0%
1956 0.206 +0.0%
1957 0.206 +0.0%
1958 0.237 +15.0%
1959 0.237 +0.0%
1960 0.521 +119.8%
1961 0.521 +0.0%
1962 0.521 +0.0%
1963 0.521 +0.0%
1964 0.491 -5.8%
1965 0.491 +0.0%
1966 0.491 +0.0%
1967 0.491 +0.0%
1968 0.491 +0.0%
1969 0.491 +0.0%
1970 0.493 +0.4%
1971 0.493 +0.0%
1972 0.356 -27.8%
1973 0.152 -57.3%
1974 0.128 -15.8%
1975 0.116 -9.4%
1976 0.116 +0.0%
1977 0.116 +0.0%
1978 0.116 +0.0%
1979 0.116 +0.0%
1980 0.122 +5.2%
1981 0.122 +0.0%
1982 0.122 +0.0%
1983 0.122 +0.0%
1984 0.122 +0.0%
1985 0.122 +0.0%
1986 0.122 +0.0%
1987 0.122 +0.0%
1988 0.119 -2.5%
1989 0.119 +0.0%
1990 0.77 +547.1%
1991 0.834 +8.3%
1992 0.904 +8.4%
1993 0.904 +0.0%
1994 0.904 +0.0%
1995 0.904 +0.0%
1996 0.904 +0.0%
1997 0.901 -0.3%
1998 0.901 +0.0%
1999 0.901 +0.0%
2000 0.896 -0.6%
2001 0.897 +0.1%
2002 0.902 +0.6%
2003 0.902 +0.0%
2004 0.902 +0.0%
2005 0.89 -1.3%
2006 0.883 -0.8%
2007 0.868 -1.7%
2008 0.865 -0.3%
2009 0.865 +0.0%
2010 0.874 +1.0%
2011 0.868 -0.7%
2012 0.867 -0.1%
2013 0.878 +1.3%
2014 0.872 -0.7%
2015 0.881 +1.0%
2016 0.895 +1.6%
2017 0.905 +1.1%
2018 0.804 -11.2%
2019 0.725 -9.8%
2020 0.693 -4.4%
2021 0.677 -2.3%
2022 0.745 +10.0%
2023 0.734 -1.5%
2024 0.747 +1.8%
2025 0.741 -0.8%

Benin compared with similar countries

  • Benin's 0.741 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.5695, 1.3× the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Benin's 0.741 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.5665, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.166 0.166 0.166 10
1910s 0.166 0.166 0.166 10
1920s 0.166 0.166 0.166 10
1930s 0.166 0.166 0.166 10
1940s 0.1836 0.166 0.206 10
1950s 0.2122 0.206 0.237 10
1960s 0.503 0.491 0.521 10
1970s 0.2202 0.116 0.493 10
1980s 0.1214 0.119 0.122 10
1990s 0.8827 0.77 0.904 10
2000s 0.887 0.865 0.902 10
2010s 0.8569 0.725 0.905 10
2020s 0.7228 0.677 0.747 6

Countries ranked near Benin

  1. 87 Gabon 0.747 compare
  2. 87 Niger 0.747 compare
  3. 89 Madagascar 0.743 compare
  4. 91 Bolivia 0.735 compare
  5. 91 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.735 compare
  6. 93 Lebanon 0.729 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Benin

All data for Benin →

Frequently asked questions

What is political civil liberties index in Benin?
Political civil liberties index in Benin was 0.741 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political civil liberties index recorded in Benin?
The highest recorded value was 0.905 in 2017.
What is the lowest political civil liberties index recorded in Benin?
The lowest recorded value was 0.116 in 1975.
How does Benin rank for political civil liberties index?
Benin ranks 90th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political civil liberties index rising or falling in Benin?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Benin 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 Benin. 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/benin/

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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.