Statizoid

Political Civil Liberties Index in Botswana

Botswana: Political Civil Liberties Index was 0.843 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.843
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
64th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.905
in 2007
All-time low
0.221
in 1915
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Political Civil Liberties Index in Botswana, 1900–2025

0.20.40.60.81190019622025

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

Analysis

In 2025, political civil liberties index in Botswana stood at 0.843.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 3.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political civil liberties index in Botswana peaked at 0.905 in 2007 and was at its lowest, 0.221, in 1915.

Botswana ranks 64th of 176 countries on this measure, 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 Botswana, year by year

Year Value Change
1900 0.223 —
1901 0.223 +0.0%
1902 0.223 +0.0%
1903 0.223 +0.0%
1904 0.223 +0.0%
1905 0.223 +0.0%
1906 0.223 +0.0%
1907 0.223 +0.0%
1908 0.223 +0.0%
1909 0.223 +0.0%
1910 0.223 +0.0%
1911 0.223 +0.0%
1912 0.223 +0.0%
1913 0.223 +0.0%
1914 0.223 +0.0%
1915 0.221 -0.9%
1916 0.221 +0.0%
1917 0.221 +0.0%
1918 0.221 +0.0%
1919 0.221 +0.0%
1920 0.221 +0.0%
1921 0.221 +0.0%
1922 0.221 +0.0%
1923 0.221 +0.0%
1924 0.221 +0.0%
1925 0.221 +0.0%
1926 0.221 +0.0%
1927 0.221 +0.0%
1928 0.221 +0.0%
1929 0.221 +0.0%
1930 0.221 +0.0%
1931 0.221 +0.0%
1932 0.221 +0.0%
1933 0.223 +0.9%
1934 0.255 +14.3%
1935 0.255 +0.0%
1936 0.255 +0.0%
1937 0.255 +0.0%
1938 0.255 +0.0%
1939 0.256 +0.4%
1940 0.256 +0.0%
1941 0.256 +0.0%
1942 0.256 +0.0%
1943 0.245 -4.3%
1944 0.245 +0.0%
1945 0.245 +0.0%
1946 0.253 +3.3%
1947 0.253 +0.0%
1948 0.253 +0.0%
1949 0.239 -5.5%
1950 0.239 +0.0%
1951 0.239 +0.0%
1952 0.239 +0.0%
1953 0.239 +0.0%
1954 0.239 +0.0%
1955 0.239 +0.0%
1956 0.239 +0.0%
1957 0.227 -5.0%
1958 0.227 +0.0%
1959 0.268 +18.1%
1960 0.336 +25.4%
1961 0.336 +0.0%
1962 0.39 +16.1%
1963 0.39 +0.0%
1964 0.39 +0.0%
1965 0.39 +0.0%
1966 0.862 +121.0%
1967 0.881 +2.2%
1968 0.881 +0.0%
1969 0.881 +0.0%
1970 0.881 +0.0%
1971 0.881 +0.0%
1972 0.881 +0.0%
1973 0.881 +0.0%
1974 0.881 +0.0%
1975 0.881 +0.0%
1976 0.886 +0.6%
1977 0.886 +0.0%
1978 0.886 +0.0%
1979 0.886 +0.0%
1980 0.886 +0.0%
1981 0.891 +0.6%
1982 0.891 +0.0%
1983 0.891 +0.0%
1984 0.891 +0.0%
1985 0.891 +0.0%
1986 0.891 +0.0%
1987 0.891 +0.0%
1988 0.891 +0.0%
1989 0.891 +0.0%
1990 0.895 +0.4%
1991 0.895 +0.0%
1992 0.895 +0.0%
1993 0.895 +0.0%
1994 0.895 +0.0%
1995 0.895 +0.0%
1996 0.895 +0.0%
1997 0.895 +0.0%
1998 0.898 +0.3%
1999 0.898 +0.0%
2000 0.898 +0.0%
2001 0.898 +0.0%
2002 0.898 +0.0%
2003 0.898 +0.0%
2004 0.904 +0.7%
2005 0.904 +0.0%
2006 0.903 -0.1%
2007 0.905 +0.2%
2008 0.895 -1.1%
2009 0.9 +0.6%
2010 0.892 -0.9%
2011 0.891 -0.1%
2012 0.891 +0.0%
2013 0.88 -1.2%
2014 0.877 -0.3%
2015 0.87 -0.8%
2016 0.87 +0.0%
2017 0.853 -2.0%
2018 0.851 -0.2%
2019 0.852 +0.1%
2020 0.869 +2.0%
2021 0.884 +1.7%
2022 0.853 -3.5%
2023 0.843 -1.2%
2024 0.846 +0.4%
2025 0.843 -0.4%

Botswana compared with similar countries

  • Botswana's 0.843 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.709, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
  • Botswana's 0.843 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.5665, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.223 0.223 0.223 10
1910s 0.222 0.221 0.223 10
1920s 0.221 0.221 0.221 10
1930s 0.2417 0.221 0.256 10
1940s 0.2501 0.239 0.256 10
1950s 0.2395 0.227 0.268 10
1960s 0.5737 0.336 0.881 10
1970s 0.883 0.881 0.886 10
1980s 0.8905 0.886 0.891 10
1990s 0.8956 0.895 0.898 10
2000s 0.9003 0.895 0.905 10
2010s 0.8727 0.851 0.892 10
2020s 0.8563 0.843 0.884 6

Countries ranked near Botswana

  1. 61 Guyana 0.855 compare
  2. 62 Greece 0.845 compare
  3. 62 Liberia 0.845 compare
  4. 64 Sao Tome and Principe 0.843 compare
  5. 66 Colombia 0.842 compare
  6. 67 Romania 0.838 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Botswana

All data for Botswana →

Frequently asked questions

What is political civil liberties index in Botswana?
Political civil liberties index in Botswana was 0.843 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political civil liberties index recorded in Botswana?
The highest recorded value was 0.905 in 2007.
What is the lowest political civil liberties index recorded in Botswana?
The lowest recorded value was 0.221 in 1915.
How does Botswana rank for political civil liberties index?
Botswana ranks 64th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political civil liberties index rising or falling in Botswana?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Botswana 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.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Political Civil Liberties Index in Botswana. 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/botswana/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-civil-liberties-index/botswana/">Political Civil Liberties Index in Botswana</a> — Statizoid

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.