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Political Civil Liberties Index in Kenya

Kenya: Political Civil Liberties Index was 0.86 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.86
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
57th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.88
in 2022
All-time low
0.039
in 1920
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Political Civil Liberties Index in Kenya, 1900–2025

00.20.40.60.8190019622025

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

Analysis

Kenya recorded 0.86 for political civil liberties index in 2025.

The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 1.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political civil liberties index in Kenya peaked at 0.88 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.039, in 1920.

That places Kenya 57th 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 Kenya, year by year

Year Value Change
1900 0.04 —
1901 0.04 +0.0%
1902 0.04 +0.0%
1903 0.04 +0.0%
1904 0.04 +0.0%
1905 0.04 +0.0%
1906 0.04 +0.0%
1907 0.04 +0.0%
1908 0.04 +0.0%
1909 0.04 +0.0%
1910 0.04 +0.0%
1911 0.04 +0.0%
1912 0.04 +0.0%
1913 0.04 +0.0%
1914 0.04 +0.0%
1915 0.04 +0.0%
1916 0.04 +0.0%
1917 0.04 +0.0%
1918 0.04 +0.0%
1919 0.04 +0.0%
1920 0.039 -2.5%
1921 0.04 +2.6%
1922 0.04 +0.0%
1923 0.04 +0.0%
1924 0.04 +0.0%
1925 0.04 +0.0%
1926 0.039 -2.5%
1927 0.039 +0.0%
1928 0.062 +59.0%
1929 0.062 +0.0%
1930 0.062 +0.0%
1931 0.062 +0.0%
1932 0.062 +0.0%
1933 0.062 +0.0%
1934 0.062 +0.0%
1935 0.062 +0.0%
1936 0.062 +0.0%
1937 0.062 +0.0%
1938 0.062 +0.0%
1939 0.062 +0.0%
1940 0.06 -3.2%
1941 0.06 +0.0%
1942 0.06 +0.0%
1943 0.06 +0.0%
1944 0.06 +0.0%
1945 0.072 +20.0%
1946 0.069 -4.2%
1947 0.069 +0.0%
1948 0.073 +5.8%
1949 0.071 -2.7%
1950 0.082 +15.5%
1951 0.079 -3.7%
1952 0.075 -5.1%
1953 0.076 +1.3%
1954 0.081 +6.6%
1955 0.087 +7.4%
1956 0.084 -3.4%
1957 0.088 +4.8%
1958 0.099 +12.5%
1959 0.106 +7.1%
1960 0.166 +56.6%
1961 0.166 +0.0%
1962 0.174 +4.8%
1963 0.227 +30.5%
1964 0.299 +31.7%
1965 0.301 +0.7%
1966 0.297 -1.3%
1967 0.296 -0.3%
1968 0.29 -2.0%
1969 0.258 -11.0%
1970 0.231 -10.5%
1971 0.231 +0.0%
1972 0.222 -3.9%
1973 0.222 +0.0%
1974 0.223 +0.5%
1975 0.229 +2.7%
1976 0.229 +0.0%
1977 0.229 +0.0%
1978 0.232 +1.3%
1979 0.241 +3.9%
1980 0.231 -4.1%
1981 0.231 +0.0%
1982 0.187 -19.0%
1983 0.173 -7.5%
1984 0.154 -11.0%
1985 0.153 -0.6%
1986 0.153 +0.0%
1987 0.153 +0.0%
1988 0.153 +0.0%
1989 0.152 -0.7%
1990 0.201 +32.2%
1991 0.281 +39.8%
1992 0.503 +79.0%
1993 0.611 +21.5%
1994 0.615 +0.7%
1995 0.645 +4.9%
1996 0.645 +0.0%
1997 0.645 +0.0%
1998 0.645 +0.0%
1999 0.645 +0.0%
2000 0.686 +6.4%
2001 0.686 +0.0%
2002 0.747 +8.9%
2003 0.814 +9.0%
2004 0.814 +0.0%
2005 0.814 +0.0%
2006 0.813 -0.1%
2007 0.813 +0.0%
2008 0.814 +0.1%
2009 0.814 +0.0%
2010 0.846 +3.9%
2011 0.846 +0.0%
2012 0.846 +0.0%
2013 0.859 +1.5%
2014 0.852 -0.8%
2015 0.85 -0.2%
2016 0.852 +0.2%
2017 0.823 -3.4%
2018 0.817 -0.7%
2019 0.819 +0.2%
2020 0.838 +2.3%
2021 0.853 +1.8%
2022 0.88 +3.2%
2023 0.859 -2.4%
2024 0.856 -0.3%
2025 0.86 +0.5%

Kenya compared with similar countries

  • Kenya's 0.86 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.5695, 1.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Kenya's 0.86 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.5665, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Political Civil Liberties Index in Kenya changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1992 +79.0% 0.281 0.503
1928 +59.0% 0.039 0.062
1960 +56.6% 0.106 0.166
1991 +39.8% 0.201 0.281
1990 +32.2% 0.152 0.201
1964 +31.7% 0.227 0.299

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.04 0.04 0.04 10
1910s 0.04 0.04 0.04 10
1920s 0.0441 0.039 0.062 10
1930s 0.062 0.062 0.062 10
1940s 0.0654 0.06 0.073 10
1950s 0.0857 0.075 0.106 10
1960s 0.2474 0.166 0.301 10
1970s 0.2289 0.222 0.241 10
1980s 0.174 0.152 0.231 10
1990s 0.5436 0.201 0.645 10
2000s 0.7815 0.686 0.814 10
2010s 0.841 0.817 0.859 10
2020s 0.8577 0.838 0.88 6

Countries ranked near Kenya

  1. 54 United States 0.865 compare
  2. 55 Nepal 0.863 compare
  3. 55 Nigeria 0.863 compare
  4. 58 United Kingdom 0.858 compare
  5. 59 Lesotho 0.857 compare
  6. 60 Guatemala 0.856 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Kenya

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is political civil liberties index in Kenya?
Political civil liberties index in Kenya was 0.86 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political civil liberties index recorded in Kenya?
The highest recorded value was 0.88 in 2022.
What is the lowest political civil liberties index recorded in Kenya?
The lowest recorded value was 0.039 in 1920.
How does Kenya rank for political civil liberties index?
Kenya ranks 57th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political civil liberties index rising or falling in Kenya?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Kenya 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 Kenya. 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/kenya/

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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.