Statizoid

Political Civil Liberties Index in India

India: Political Civil Liberties Index was 0.465 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.465
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
125th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.832
in 1993
All-time low
0.224
in 1878
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Political Civil Liberties Index in India, 1789–2025

0.20.40.60.8178919072025

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

Analysis

In 2025, political civil liberties index in India stood at 0.465.

That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and down 28.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political civil liberties index in India peaked at 0.832 in 1993 and was at its lowest, 0.224, in 1878.

India ranks 125th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Political Civil Liberties Index in India, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.266 —
1790 0.266 +0.0%
1791 0.266 +0.0%
1792 0.266 +0.0%
1793 0.266 +0.0%
1794 0.266 +0.0%
1795 0.266 +0.0%
1796 0.266 +0.0%
1797 0.266 +0.0%
1798 0.266 +0.0%
1799 0.266 +0.0%
1800 0.266 +0.0%
1801 0.266 +0.0%
1802 0.266 +0.0%
1803 0.266 +0.0%
1804 0.266 +0.0%
1805 0.266 +0.0%
1806 0.266 +0.0%
1807 0.266 +0.0%
1808 0.266 +0.0%
1809 0.266 +0.0%
1810 0.266 +0.0%
1811 0.266 +0.0%
1812 0.266 +0.0%
1813 0.266 +0.0%
1814 0.266 +0.0%
1815 0.266 +0.0%
1816 0.266 +0.0%
1817 0.266 +0.0%
1818 0.282 +6.0%
1819 0.282 +0.0%
1820 0.282 +0.0%
1821 0.282 +0.0%
1822 0.282 +0.0%
1823 0.282 +0.0%
1824 0.282 +0.0%
1825 0.282 +0.0%
1826 0.282 +0.0%
1827 0.282 +0.0%
1828 0.282 +0.0%
1829 0.282 +0.0%
1830 0.282 +0.0%
1831 0.282 +0.0%
1832 0.282 +0.0%
1833 0.282 +0.0%
1834 0.282 +0.0%
1835 0.282 +0.0%
1836 0.282 +0.0%
1837 0.282 +0.0%
1838 0.33 +17.0%
1839 0.33 +0.0%
1840 0.33 +0.0%
1841 0.33 +0.0%
1842 0.33 +0.0%
1843 0.33 +0.0%
1844 0.33 +0.0%
1845 0.33 +0.0%
1846 0.33 +0.0%
1847 0.33 +0.0%
1848 0.33 +0.0%
1849 0.33 +0.0%
1850 0.33 +0.0%
1851 0.33 +0.0%
1852 0.33 +0.0%
1853 0.33 +0.0%
1854 0.33 +0.0%
1855 0.33 +0.0%
1856 0.33 +0.0%
1857 0.33 +0.0%
1858 0.297 -10.0%
1859 0.297 +0.0%
1860 0.297 +0.0%
1861 0.297 +0.0%
1862 0.297 +0.0%
1863 0.297 +0.0%
1864 0.297 +0.0%
1865 0.297 +0.0%
1866 0.297 +0.0%
1867 0.297 +0.0%
1868 0.297 +0.0%
1869 0.297 +0.0%
1870 0.297 +0.0%
1871 0.297 +0.0%
1872 0.297 +0.0%
1873 0.297 +0.0%
1874 0.297 +0.0%
1875 0.297 +0.0%
1876 0.322 +8.4%
1877 0.299 -7.1%
1878 0.224 -25.1%
1879 0.224 +0.0%
1880 0.224 +0.0%
1881 0.224 +0.0%
1882 0.244 +8.9%
1883 0.316 +29.5%
1884 0.316 +0.0%
1885 0.316 +0.0%
1886 0.316 +0.0%
1887 0.316 +0.0%
1888 0.316 +0.0%
1889 0.316 +0.0%
1890 0.316 +0.0%
1891 0.316 +0.0%
1892 0.316 +0.0%
1893 0.316 +0.0%
1894 0.316 +0.0%
1895 0.316 +0.0%
1896 0.316 +0.0%
1897 0.316 +0.0%
1898 0.316 +0.0%
1899 0.316 +0.0%
1900 0.32 +1.3%
1901 0.32 +0.0%
1902 0.32 +0.0%
1903 0.32 +0.0%
1904 0.32 +0.0%
1905 0.319 -0.3%
1906 0.323 +1.3%
1907 0.323 +0.0%
1908 0.323 +0.0%
1909 0.323 +0.0%
1910 0.323 +0.0%
1911 0.323 +0.0%
1912 0.323 +0.0%
1913 0.323 +0.0%
1914 0.323 +0.0%
1915 0.323 +0.0%
1916 0.323 +0.0%
1917 0.323 +0.0%
1918 0.323 +0.0%
1919 0.323 +0.0%
1920 0.323 +0.0%
1921 0.323 +0.0%
1922 0.323 +0.0%
1923 0.323 +0.0%
1924 0.323 +0.0%
1925 0.323 +0.0%
1926 0.323 +0.0%
1927 0.323 +0.0%
1928 0.323 +0.0%
1929 0.323 +0.0%
1930 0.323 +0.0%
1931 0.323 +0.0%
1932 0.323 +0.0%
1933 0.323 +0.0%
1934 0.323 +0.0%
1935 0.379 +17.3%
1936 0.379 +0.0%
1937 0.379 +0.0%
1938 0.379 +0.0%
1939 0.379 +0.0%
1940 0.382 +0.8%
1941 0.382 +0.0%
1942 0.382 +0.0%
1943 0.382 +0.0%
1944 0.382 +0.0%
1945 0.447 +17.0%
1946 0.454 +1.6%
1947 0.552 +21.6%
1948 0.794 +43.8%
1949 0.795 +0.1%
1950 0.806 +1.4%
1951 0.806 +0.0%
1952 0.806 +0.0%
1953 0.806 +0.0%
1954 0.806 +0.0%
1955 0.806 +0.0%
1956 0.806 +0.0%
1957 0.806 +0.0%
1958 0.806 +0.0%
1959 0.806 +0.0%
1960 0.806 +0.0%
1961 0.806 +0.0%
1962 0.806 +0.0%
1963 0.806 +0.0%
1964 0.802 -0.5%
1965 0.784 -2.2%
1966 0.786 +0.3%
1967 0.786 +0.0%
1968 0.786 +0.0%
1969 0.786 +0.0%
1970 0.788 +0.3%
1971 0.78 -1.0%
1972 0.787 +0.9%
1973 0.787 +0.0%
1974 0.707 -10.2%
1975 0.428 -39.5%
1976 0.408 -4.7%
1977 0.612 +50.0%
1978 0.819 +33.8%
1979 0.819 +0.0%
1980 0.819 +0.0%
1981 0.808 -1.3%
1982 0.808 +0.0%
1983 0.811 +0.4%
1984 0.811 +0.0%
1985 0.811 +0.0%
1986 0.816 +0.6%
1987 0.816 +0.0%
1988 0.812 -0.5%
1989 0.812 +0.0%
1990 0.823 +1.4%
1991 0.827 +0.5%
1992 0.827 +0.0%
1993 0.832 +0.6%
1994 0.832 +0.0%
1995 0.832 +0.0%
1996 0.832 +0.0%
1997 0.832 +0.0%
1998 0.832 +0.0%
1999 0.818 -1.7%
2000 0.81 -1.0%
2001 0.81 +0.0%
2002 0.816 +0.7%
2003 0.817 +0.1%
2004 0.812 -0.6%
2005 0.809 -0.4%
2006 0.811 +0.2%
2007 0.811 +0.0%
2008 0.811 +0.0%
2009 0.805 -0.7%
2010 0.81 +0.6%
2011 0.81 +0.0%
2012 0.795 -1.9%
2013 0.786 -1.1%
2014 0.752 -4.3%
2015 0.648 -13.8%
2016 0.61 -5.9%
2017 0.569 -6.7%
2018 0.563 -1.1%
2019 0.516 -8.3%
2020 0.463 -10.3%
2021 0.489 +5.6%
2022 0.458 -6.3%
2023 0.449 -2.0%
2024 0.463 +3.1%
2025 0.465 +0.4%

India compared with similar countries

  • India's 0.465 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.5695, 82% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • India's 0.465 is below the median for South Asia, which is 0.691, 67% of the median. (6 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.266 0.266 0.266 1
1790s 0.266 0.266 0.266 10
1800s 0.266 0.266 0.266 10
1810s 0.2692 0.266 0.282 10
1820s 0.282 0.282 0.282 10
1830s 0.2916 0.282 0.33 10
1840s 0.33 0.33 0.33 10
1850s 0.3234 0.297 0.33 10
1860s 0.297 0.297 0.297 10
1870s 0.2851 0.224 0.322 10
1880s 0.2904 0.224 0.316 10
1890s 0.316 0.316 0.316 10
1900s 0.3211 0.319 0.323 10
1910s 0.323 0.323 0.323 10
1920s 0.323 0.323 0.323 10
1930s 0.351 0.323 0.379 10
1940s 0.4952 0.382 0.795 10
1950s 0.806 0.806 0.806 10
1960s 0.7954 0.784 0.806 10
1970s 0.6935 0.408 0.819 10
1980s 0.8124 0.808 0.819 10
1990s 0.8287 0.818 0.832 10
2000s 0.8112 0.805 0.817 10
2010s 0.6859 0.516 0.81 10
2020s 0.4645 0.449 0.489 6

Countries ranked near India

  1. 122 Mozambique 0.504 compare
  2. 123 Pakistan 0.502 compare
  3. 124 Togo 0.483 compare
  4. 126 Guinea 0.453 compare
  5. 127 Mali 0.439 compare
  6. 128 El Salvador 0.429 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is political civil liberties index in India?
Political civil liberties index in India was 0.465 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political civil liberties index recorded in India?
The highest recorded value was 0.832 in 1993.
What is the lowest political civil liberties index recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 0.224 in 1878.
How does India rank for political civil liberties index?
India ranks 125th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political civil liberties index rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is down 28.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this India 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 India. 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/india/

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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.