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Political civil liberties index in South Africa

South Africa: Political civil liberties index was 0.884 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.884
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
48th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.922
in 2006
All-time low
0.201
in 1980
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Political civil liberties index in South Africa, 1900–2025

0.20.40.60.81190019622025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for political civil liberties index in South Africa is 0.884, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 1.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political civil liberties index in South Africa peaked at 0.922 in 2006 and was at its lowest, 0.201, in 1980.

South Africa ranks 48th of 176 countries on this measure, 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 South Africa, year by year

Year Value Change
1900 0.387 —
1901 0.387 +0.0%
1902 0.387 +0.0%
1903 0.387 +0.0%
1904 0.387 +0.0%
1905 0.387 +0.0%
1906 0.387 +0.0%
1907 0.387 +0.0%
1908 0.387 +0.0%
1909 0.387 +0.0%
1910 0.408 +5.4%
1911 0.408 +0.0%
1912 0.408 +0.0%
1913 0.408 +0.0%
1914 0.408 +0.0%
1915 0.408 +0.0%
1916 0.408 +0.0%
1917 0.408 +0.0%
1918 0.408 +0.0%
1919 0.408 +0.0%
1920 0.408 +0.0%
1921 0.408 +0.0%
1922 0.408 +0.0%
1923 0.408 +0.0%
1924 0.408 +0.0%
1925 0.408 +0.0%
1926 0.408 +0.0%
1927 0.408 +0.0%
1928 0.408 +0.0%
1929 0.408 +0.0%
1930 0.408 +0.0%
1931 0.408 +0.0%
1932 0.408 +0.0%
1933 0.408 +0.0%
1934 0.408 +0.0%
1935 0.408 +0.0%
1936 0.408 +0.0%
1937 0.408 +0.0%
1938 0.408 +0.0%
1939 0.408 +0.0%
1940 0.408 +0.0%
1941 0.408 +0.0%
1942 0.408 +0.0%
1943 0.408 +0.0%
1944 0.408 +0.0%
1945 0.408 +0.0%
1946 0.408 +0.0%
1947 0.389 -4.7%
1948 0.288 -26.0%
1949 0.278 -3.5%
1950 0.277 -0.4%
1951 0.277 +0.0%
1952 0.277 +0.0%
1953 0.277 +0.0%
1954 0.277 +0.0%
1955 0.277 +0.0%
1956 0.277 +0.0%
1957 0.277 +0.0%
1958 0.277 +0.0%
1959 0.277 +0.0%
1960 0.252 -9.0%
1961 0.251 -0.4%
1962 0.241 -4.0%
1963 0.241 +0.0%
1964 0.227 -5.8%
1965 0.227 +0.0%
1966 0.227 +0.0%
1967 0.227 +0.0%
1968 0.227 +0.0%
1969 0.227 +0.0%
1970 0.227 +0.0%
1971 0.227 +0.0%
1972 0.227 +0.0%
1973 0.227 +0.0%
1974 0.219 -3.5%
1975 0.219 +0.0%
1976 0.219 +0.0%
1977 0.208 -5.0%
1978 0.208 +0.0%
1979 0.208 +0.0%
1980 0.201 -3.4%
1981 0.201 +0.0%
1982 0.201 +0.0%
1983 0.201 +0.0%
1984 0.201 +0.0%
1985 0.201 +0.0%
1986 0.201 +0.0%
1987 0.201 +0.0%
1988 0.201 +0.0%
1989 0.215 +7.0%
1990 0.385 +79.1%
1991 0.498 +29.4%
1992 0.498 +0.0%
1993 0.524 +5.2%
1994 0.882 +68.3%
1995 0.92 +4.3%
1996 0.92 +0.0%
1997 0.92 +0.0%
1998 0.92 +0.0%
1999 0.92 +0.0%
2000 0.92 +0.0%
2001 0.92 +0.0%
2002 0.92 +0.0%
2003 0.92 +0.0%
2004 0.92 +0.0%
2005 0.92 +0.0%
2006 0.922 +0.2%
2007 0.922 +0.0%
2008 0.916 -0.7%
2009 0.917 +0.1%
2010 0.91 -0.8%
2011 0.908 -0.2%
2012 0.909 +0.1%
2013 0.897 -1.3%
2014 0.897 +0.0%
2015 0.897 +0.0%
2016 0.894 -0.3%
2017 0.875 -2.1%
2018 0.885 +1.1%
2019 0.881 -0.5%
2020 0.879 -0.2%
2021 0.887 +0.9%
2022 0.886 -0.1%
2023 0.884 -0.2%
2024 0.889 +0.6%
2025 0.884 -0.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.387 0.387 0.387 10
1910s 0.408 0.408 0.408 10
1920s 0.408 0.408 0.408 10
1930s 0.408 0.408 0.408 10
1940s 0.3811 0.278 0.408 10
1950s 0.277 0.277 0.277 10
1960s 0.2347 0.227 0.252 10
1970s 0.2189 0.208 0.227 10
1980s 0.2024 0.201 0.215 10
1990s 0.7387 0.385 0.92 10
2000s 0.9197 0.916 0.922 10
2010s 0.8953 0.875 0.91 10
2020s 0.8848 0.879 0.889 6

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 46 Papua New Guinea 0.889 compare
  2. 47 Panama 0.885 compare
  3. 49 Cyprus 0.879 compare
  4. 50 Honduras 0.876 compare
  5. 51 Italy 0.873 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is political civil liberties index in South Africa?
Political civil liberties index in South Africa was 0.884 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest political civil liberties index recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.922 in 2006.
What is the lowest political civil liberties index recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.201 in 1980.
How does South Africa rank for political civil liberties index?
South Africa ranks 48th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political civil liberties index rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from 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 South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 26 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-civil-liberties-index/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Political civil liberties index
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,211 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed