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Political Civil Liberties Index in Rwanda

Rwanda: Political Civil Liberties Index was 0.174 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.174
Change on year
up 1.8%
World rank
149th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.358
in 1993
All-time low
0.085
in 1916
Years of data
110
1916–2025

Political Civil Liberties Index in Rwanda, 1916–2025

0.10.20.30.4191619702025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for political civil liberties index in Rwanda is 0.174, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.8% on the previous year and down 43.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political civil liberties index in Rwanda peaked at 0.358 in 1993 and was at its lowest, 0.085, in 1916.

Rwanda ranks 149th of 176 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 110 years of available data.

Political Civil Liberties Index in Rwanda, year by year

Year Value Change
1916 0.085 —
1917 0.085 +0.0%
1918 0.085 +0.0%
1919 0.085 +0.0%
1920 0.085 +0.0%
1921 0.085 +0.0%
1922 0.085 +0.0%
1923 0.085 +0.0%
1924 0.085 +0.0%
1925 0.085 +0.0%
1926 0.085 +0.0%
1927 0.085 +0.0%
1928 0.085 +0.0%
1929 0.085 +0.0%
1930 0.085 +0.0%
1931 0.089 +4.7%
1932 0.089 +0.0%
1933 0.089 +0.0%
1934 0.089 +0.0%
1935 0.089 +0.0%
1936 0.089 +0.0%
1937 0.089 +0.0%
1938 0.089 +0.0%
1939 0.089 +0.0%
1940 0.088 -1.1%
1941 0.088 +0.0%
1942 0.088 +0.0%
1943 0.088 +0.0%
1944 0.088 +0.0%
1945 0.088 +0.0%
1946 0.088 +0.0%
1947 0.088 +0.0%
1948 0.088 +0.0%
1949 0.088 +0.0%
1950 0.089 +1.1%
1951 0.089 +0.0%
1952 0.089 +0.0%
1953 0.088 -1.1%
1954 0.088 +0.0%
1955 0.092 +4.5%
1956 0.11 +19.6%
1957 0.159 +44.5%
1958 0.182 +14.5%
1959 0.209 +14.8%
1960 0.251 +20.1%
1961 0.266 +6.0%
1962 0.328 +23.3%
1963 0.303 -7.6%
1964 0.29 -4.3%
1965 0.274 -5.5%
1966 0.274 +0.0%
1967 0.274 +0.0%
1968 0.274 +0.0%
1969 0.274 +0.0%
1970 0.292 +6.6%
1971 0.292 +0.0%
1972 0.292 +0.0%
1973 0.235 -19.5%
1974 0.122 -48.1%
1975 0.116 -4.9%
1976 0.122 +5.2%
1977 0.122 +0.0%
1978 0.155 +27.0%
1979 0.163 +5.2%
1980 0.155 -4.9%
1981 0.155 +0.0%
1982 0.155 +0.0%
1983 0.155 +0.0%
1984 0.155 +0.0%
1985 0.155 +0.0%
1986 0.155 +0.0%
1987 0.155 +0.0%
1988 0.15 -3.2%
1989 0.15 +0.0%
1990 0.15 +0.0%
1991 0.281 +87.3%
1992 0.352 +25.3%
1993 0.358 +1.7%
1994 0.299 -16.5%
1995 0.167 -44.1%
1996 0.19 +13.8%
1997 0.19 +0.0%
1998 0.19 +0.0%
1999 0.19 +0.0%
2000 0.236 +24.2%
2001 0.236 +0.0%
2002 0.232 -1.7%
2003 0.229 -1.3%
2004 0.225 -1.7%
2005 0.228 +1.3%
2006 0.225 -1.3%
2007 0.231 +2.7%
2008 0.231 +0.0%
2009 0.227 -1.7%
2010 0.225 -0.9%
2011 0.234 +4.0%
2012 0.249 +6.4%
2013 0.284 +14.1%
2014 0.299 +5.3%
2015 0.305 +2.0%
2016 0.285 -6.6%
2017 0.25 -12.3%
2018 0.27 +8.0%
2019 0.274 +1.5%
2020 0.257 -6.2%
2021 0.267 +3.9%
2022 0.231 -13.5%
2023 0.208 -10.0%
2024 0.171 -17.8%
2025 0.174 +1.8%

Rwanda compared with similar countries

  • Rwanda's 0.174 is below the median for low income countries, which is 0.368, 47% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Rwanda's 0.174 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.5665, 31% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1910s 0.085 0.085 0.085 4
1920s 0.085 0.085 0.085 10
1930s 0.0886 0.085 0.089 10
1940s 0.088 0.088 0.088 10
1950s 0.1195 0.088 0.209 10
1960s 0.2808 0.251 0.328 10
1970s 0.1911 0.116 0.292 10
1980s 0.154 0.15 0.155 10
1990s 0.2367 0.15 0.358 10
2000s 0.23 0.225 0.236 10
2010s 0.2675 0.225 0.305 10
2020s 0.218 0.171 0.267 6

Countries ranked near Rwanda

  1. 146 Uzbekistan 0.249 compare
  2. 147 Hong Kong 0.231 compare
  3. 148 Cambodia 0.208 compare
  4. 150 Oman 0.167 compare
  5. 151 Iran 0.158 compare
  6. 152 Burundi 0.157 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Rwanda

All data for Rwanda →

Frequently asked questions

What is political civil liberties index in Rwanda?
Political civil liberties index in Rwanda was 0.174 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political civil liberties index recorded in Rwanda?
The highest recorded value was 0.358 in 1993.
What is the lowest political civil liberties index recorded in Rwanda?
The lowest recorded value was 0.085 in 1916.
How does Rwanda rank for political civil liberties index?
Rwanda ranks 149th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political civil liberties index rising or falling in Rwanda?
Over the last ten years it is down 43.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Rwanda 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 Rwanda. 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/rwanda/

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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.