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Political Civil Liberties Index in Estonia

Estonia: Political Civil Liberties Index was 0.966 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.966
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
4th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.973
in 2016
All-time low
0.014
in 1940
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Political Civil Liberties Index in Estonia, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.81178919072025

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

Analysis

In 2025, political civil liberties index in Estonia stood at 0.966.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political civil liberties index in Estonia peaked at 0.973 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 0.014, in 1940.

That places Estonia 4th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Political Civil Liberties Index in Estonia, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.133 —
1790 0.085 -36.1%
1791 0.085 +0.0%
1792 0.085 +0.0%
1793 0.085 +0.0%
1794 0.085 +0.0%
1795 0.085 +0.0%
1796 0.085 +0.0%
1797 0.085 +0.0%
1798 0.085 +0.0%
1799 0.085 +0.0%
1800 0.085 +0.0%
1801 0.085 +0.0%
1802 0.085 +0.0%
1803 0.085 +0.0%
1804 0.085 +0.0%
1805 0.085 +0.0%
1806 0.085 +0.0%
1807 0.085 +0.0%
1808 0.085 +0.0%
1809 0.085 +0.0%
1810 0.085 +0.0%
1811 0.085 +0.0%
1812 0.085 +0.0%
1813 0.085 +0.0%
1814 0.085 +0.0%
1815 0.085 +0.0%
1816 0.085 +0.0%
1817 0.085 +0.0%
1818 0.085 +0.0%
1819 0.085 +0.0%
1820 0.085 +0.0%
1821 0.085 +0.0%
1822 0.085 +0.0%
1823 0.085 +0.0%
1824 0.085 +0.0%
1825 0.085 +0.0%
1826 0.067 -21.2%
1827 0.067 +0.0%
1828 0.067 +0.0%
1829 0.067 +0.0%
1830 0.067 +0.0%
1831 0.067 +0.0%
1832 0.067 +0.0%
1833 0.067 +0.0%
1834 0.067 +0.0%
1835 0.067 +0.0%
1836 0.067 +0.0%
1837 0.067 +0.0%
1838 0.067 +0.0%
1839 0.067 +0.0%
1840 0.067 +0.0%
1841 0.067 +0.0%
1842 0.067 +0.0%
1843 0.067 +0.0%
1844 0.067 +0.0%
1845 0.067 +0.0%
1846 0.067 +0.0%
1847 0.067 +0.0%
1848 0.067 +0.0%
1849 0.067 +0.0%
1850 0.067 +0.0%
1851 0.067 +0.0%
1852 0.067 +0.0%
1853 0.067 +0.0%
1854 0.067 +0.0%
1855 0.108 +61.2%
1856 0.126 +16.7%
1857 0.126 +0.0%
1858 0.126 +0.0%
1859 0.126 +0.0%
1860 0.126 +0.0%
1861 0.126 +0.0%
1862 0.126 +0.0%
1863 0.126 +0.0%
1864 0.126 +0.0%
1865 0.197 +56.3%
1866 0.197 +0.0%
1867 0.197 +0.0%
1868 0.197 +0.0%
1869 0.197 +0.0%
1870 0.197 +0.0%
1871 0.197 +0.0%
1872 0.197 +0.0%
1873 0.165 -16.2%
1874 0.165 +0.0%
1875 0.165 +0.0%
1876 0.165 +0.0%
1877 0.165 +0.0%
1878 0.165 +0.0%
1879 0.165 +0.0%
1880 0.165 +0.0%
1881 0.17 +3.0%
1882 0.189 +11.2%
1883 0.189 +0.0%
1884 0.189 +0.0%
1885 0.189 +0.0%
1886 0.189 +0.0%
1887 0.189 +0.0%
1888 0.189 +0.0%
1889 0.189 +0.0%
1890 0.189 +0.0%
1891 0.189 +0.0%
1892 0.189 +0.0%
1893 0.219 +15.9%
1894 0.219 +0.0%
1895 0.219 +0.0%
1896 0.219 +0.0%
1897 0.219 +0.0%
1898 0.182 -16.9%
1899 0.182 +0.0%
1900 0.216 +18.7%
1901 0.217 +0.5%
1902 0.217 +0.0%
1903 0.217 +0.0%
1904 0.219 +0.9%
1905 0.293 +33.8%
1906 0.334 +14.0%
1907 0.336 +0.6%
1908 0.336 +0.0%
1909 0.33 -1.8%
1910 0.329 -0.3%
1911 0.329 +0.0%
1912 0.335 +1.8%
1913 0.335 +0.0%
1914 0.314 -6.3%
1915 0.305 -2.9%
1916 0.307 +0.7%
1917 0.293 -4.6%
1918 0.747 +154.9%
1919 0.752 +0.7%
1920 0.822 +9.3%
1921 0.904 +10.0%
1922 0.891 -1.4%
1923 0.891 +0.0%
1924 0.877 -1.6%
1925 0.865 -1.4%
1926 0.891 +3.0%
1927 0.891 +0.0%
1928 0.891 +0.0%
1929 0.891 +0.0%
1930 0.879 -1.3%
1931 0.891 +1.4%
1932 0.868 -2.6%
1933 0.773 -10.9%
1934 0.474 -38.7%
1935 0.32 -32.5%
1936 0.32 +0.0%
1937 0.32 +0.0%
1938 0.354 +10.6%
1939 0.354 +0.0%
1940 0.014 -96.0%
1941 0.014 +0.0%
1942 0.014 +0.0%
1943 0.014 +0.0%
1944 0.014 +0.0%
1945 0.017 +21.4%
1946 0.019 +11.8%
1947 0.017 -10.5%
1948 0.014 -17.6%
1949 0.014 +0.0%
1950 0.014 +0.0%
1951 0.014 +0.0%
1952 0.014 +0.0%
1953 0.019 +35.7%
1954 0.039 +105.3%
1955 0.041 +5.1%
1956 0.041 +0.0%
1957 0.041 +0.0%
1958 0.041 +0.0%
1959 0.041 +0.0%
1960 0.041 +0.0%
1961 0.041 +0.0%
1962 0.042 +2.4%
1963 0.041 -2.4%
1964 0.041 +0.0%
1965 0.038 -7.3%
1966 0.038 +0.0%
1967 0.038 +0.0%
1968 0.038 +0.0%
1969 0.036 -5.3%
1970 0.038 +5.6%
1971 0.038 +0.0%
1972 0.037 -2.6%
1973 0.038 +2.7%
1974 0.037 -2.6%
1975 0.039 +5.4%
1976 0.038 -2.6%
1977 0.036 -5.3%
1978 0.036 +0.0%
1979 0.036 +0.0%
1980 0.036 +0.0%
1981 0.036 +0.0%
1982 0.036 +0.0%
1983 0.036 +0.0%
1984 0.036 +0.0%
1985 0.065 +80.6%
1986 0.129 +98.5%
1987 0.24 +86.0%
1988 0.247 +2.9%
1989 0.313 +26.7%
1990 0.911 +191.1%
1991 0.916 +0.5%
1992 0.949 +3.6%
1993 0.957 +0.8%
1994 0.952 -0.5%
1995 0.952 +0.0%
1996 0.952 +0.0%
1997 0.952 +0.0%
1998 0.952 +0.0%
1999 0.952 +0.0%
2000 0.952 +0.0%
2001 0.952 +0.0%
2002 0.952 +0.0%
2003 0.952 +0.0%
2004 0.952 +0.0%
2005 0.952 +0.0%
2006 0.952 +0.0%
2007 0.952 +0.0%
2008 0.952 +0.0%
2009 0.958 +0.6%
2010 0.966 +0.8%
2011 0.966 +0.0%
2012 0.966 +0.0%
2013 0.969 +0.3%
2014 0.969 +0.0%
2015 0.969 +0.0%
2016 0.973 +0.4%
2017 0.969 -0.4%
2018 0.969 +0.0%
2019 0.963 -0.6%
2020 0.968 +0.5%
2021 0.971 +0.3%
2022 0.966 -0.5%
2023 0.966 +0.0%
2024 0.966 +0.0%
2025 0.966 +0.0%

Estonia compared with similar countries

  • Estonia's 0.966 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.893, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Estonia's 0.966 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.8515, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.133 0.133 0.133 1
1790s 0.085 0.085 0.085 10
1800s 0.085 0.085 0.085 10
1810s 0.085 0.085 0.085 10
1820s 0.0778 0.067 0.085 10
1830s 0.067 0.067 0.067 10
1840s 0.067 0.067 0.067 10
1850s 0.0947 0.067 0.126 10
1860s 0.1615 0.126 0.197 10
1870s 0.1746 0.165 0.197 10
1880s 0.1847 0.165 0.189 10
1890s 0.2026 0.182 0.219 10
1900s 0.2715 0.216 0.336 10
1910s 0.4046 0.293 0.752 10
1920s 0.8814 0.822 0.904 10
1930s 0.5553 0.32 0.891 10
1940s 0.0151 0.014 0.019 10
1950s 0.0305 0.014 0.041 10
1960s 0.0394 0.036 0.042 10
1970s 0.0373 0.036 0.039 10
1980s 0.1174 0.036 0.313 10
1990s 0.9445 0.911 0.957 10
2000s 0.9526 0.952 0.958 10
2010s 0.9679 0.963 0.973 10
2020s 0.9672 0.966 0.971 6

Countries ranked near Estonia

  1. 1 Denmark 0.975 compare
  2. 2 Switzerland 0.969 compare
  3. 3 Ireland 0.967 compare
  4. 5 Belgium 0.963 compare
  5. 6 Sweden 0.96 compare
  6. 7 Luxembourg 0.956 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Estonia

All data for Estonia →

Frequently asked questions

What is political civil liberties index in Estonia?
Political civil liberties index in Estonia was 0.966 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political civil liberties index recorded in Estonia?
The highest recorded value was 0.973 in 2016.
What is the lowest political civil liberties index recorded in Estonia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.014 in 1940.
How does Estonia rank for political civil liberties index?
Estonia ranks 4th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political civil liberties index rising or falling in Estonia?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Estonia 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 Estonia. 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/estonia/

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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.