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Political Civil Liberties Index in Eswatini

Eswatini: Political Civil Liberties Index was 0.062 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
0.062
Change on year
down 1.6%
World rank
166th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.296
in 1970
All-time low
0.059
in 2022
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Political Civil Liberties Index in Eswatini, 1900–2025

0.050.10.150.20.250.3190019622025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for political civil liberties index in Eswatini is 0.062, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.6% on the previous year and down 52.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political civil liberties index in Eswatini peaked at 0.296 in 1970 and was at its lowest, 0.059, in 2022.

Eswatini ranks 166th of 176 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 126 years of available data.

Political Civil Liberties Index in Eswatini, year by year

Year Value Change
1900 0.23 —
1901 0.23 +0.0%
1902 0.227 -1.3%
1903 0.227 +0.0%
1904 0.227 +0.0%
1905 0.227 +0.0%
1906 0.227 +0.0%
1907 0.227 +0.0%
1908 0.227 +0.0%
1909 0.235 +3.5%
1910 0.235 +0.0%
1911 0.235 +0.0%
1912 0.235 +0.0%
1913 0.235 +0.0%
1914 0.235 +0.0%
1915 0.235 +0.0%
1916 0.235 +0.0%
1917 0.235 +0.0%
1918 0.235 +0.0%
1919 0.235 +0.0%
1920 0.235 +0.0%
1921 0.235 +0.0%
1922 0.235 +0.0%
1923 0.235 +0.0%
1924 0.235 +0.0%
1925 0.235 +0.0%
1926 0.235 +0.0%
1927 0.235 +0.0%
1928 0.235 +0.0%
1929 0.235 +0.0%
1930 0.235 +0.0%
1931 0.235 +0.0%
1932 0.235 +0.0%
1933 0.235 +0.0%
1934 0.235 +0.0%
1935 0.235 +0.0%
1936 0.235 +0.0%
1937 0.235 +0.0%
1938 0.235 +0.0%
1939 0.235 +0.0%
1940 0.235 +0.0%
1941 0.235 +0.0%
1942 0.235 +0.0%
1943 0.235 +0.0%
1944 0.235 +0.0%
1945 0.235 +0.0%
1946 0.235 +0.0%
1947 0.235 +0.0%
1948 0.235 +0.0%
1949 0.235 +0.0%
1950 0.235 +0.0%
1951 0.235 +0.0%
1952 0.235 +0.0%
1953 0.235 +0.0%
1954 0.235 +0.0%
1955 0.235 +0.0%
1956 0.235 +0.0%
1957 0.235 +0.0%
1958 0.235 +0.0%
1959 0.235 +0.0%
1960 0.235 +0.0%
1961 0.241 +2.6%
1962 0.241 +0.0%
1963 0.259 +7.5%
1964 0.22 -15.1%
1965 0.229 +4.1%
1966 0.231 +0.9%
1967 0.25 +8.2%
1968 0.261 +4.4%
1969 0.282 +8.0%
1970 0.296 +5.0%
1971 0.267 -9.8%
1972 0.234 -12.4%
1973 0.152 -35.0%
1974 0.119 -21.7%
1975 0.119 +0.0%
1976 0.119 +0.0%
1977 0.119 +0.0%
1978 0.119 +0.0%
1979 0.119 +0.0%
1980 0.12 +0.8%
1981 0.12 +0.0%
1982 0.12 +0.0%
1983 0.12 +0.0%
1984 0.12 +0.0%
1985 0.12 +0.0%
1986 0.12 +0.0%
1987 0.12 +0.0%
1988 0.12 +0.0%
1989 0.12 +0.0%
1990 0.12 +0.0%
1991 0.12 +0.0%
1992 0.12 +0.0%
1993 0.12 +0.0%
1994 0.12 +0.0%
1995 0.121 +0.8%
1996 0.113 -6.6%
1997 0.113 +0.0%
1998 0.113 +0.0%
1999 0.113 +0.0%
2000 0.117 +3.5%
2001 0.124 +6.0%
2002 0.124 +0.0%
2003 0.124 +0.0%
2004 0.124 +0.0%
2005 0.126 +1.6%
2006 0.129 +2.4%
2007 0.129 +0.0%
2008 0.125 -3.1%
2009 0.125 +0.0%
2010 0.117 -6.4%
2011 0.116 -0.9%
2012 0.116 +0.0%
2013 0.131 +12.9%
2014 0.131 +0.0%
2015 0.131 +0.0%
2016 0.131 +0.0%
2017 0.133 +1.5%
2018 0.128 -3.8%
2019 0.129 +0.8%
2020 0.118 -8.5%
2021 0.061 -48.3%
2022 0.059 -3.3%
2023 0.063 +6.8%
2024 0.063 +0.0%
2025 0.062 -1.6%

Eswatini compared with similar countries

  • Eswatini's 0.062 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.5695, 11% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Eswatini's 0.062 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.5665, 11% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.2284 0.227 0.235 10
1910s 0.235 0.235 0.235 10
1920s 0.235 0.235 0.235 10
1930s 0.235 0.235 0.235 10
1940s 0.235 0.235 0.235 10
1950s 0.235 0.235 0.235 10
1960s 0.2449 0.22 0.282 10
1970s 0.1663 0.119 0.296 10
1980s 0.12 0.12 0.12 10
1990s 0.1173 0.113 0.121 10
2000s 0.1247 0.117 0.129 10
2010s 0.1263 0.116 0.133 10
2020s 0.071 0.059 0.118 6

Countries ranked near Eswatini

  1. 163 Saudi Arabia 0.083 compare
  2. 164 Qatar 0.079 compare
  3. 165 Tajikistan 0.07 compare
  4. 167 Myanmar 0.058 compare
  5. 168 Turkmenistan 0.054 compare
  6. 169 Laos 0.053 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Eswatini

All data for Eswatini →

Frequently asked questions

What is political civil liberties index in Eswatini?
Political civil liberties index in Eswatini was 0.062 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political civil liberties index recorded in Eswatini?
The highest recorded value was 0.296 in 1970.
What is the lowest political civil liberties index recorded in Eswatini?
The lowest recorded value was 0.059 in 2022.
How does Eswatini rank for political civil liberties index?
Eswatini ranks 166th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political civil liberties index rising or falling in Eswatini?
Over the last ten years it is down 52.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Eswatini 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 Eswatini. 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/eswatini/

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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.