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Political Civil Liberties Index in Sweden

Sweden: Political Civil Liberties Index was 0.96 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.96
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
6th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.976
in 1990
All-time low
0.388
in 1789
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Political Civil Liberties Index in Sweden, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.81178919072025

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

Analysis

Sweden recorded 0.96 for political civil liberties index in 2025.

That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and down 1.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political civil liberties index in Sweden peaked at 0.976 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0.388, in 1789.

Sweden ranks 6th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Political Civil Liberties Index in Sweden, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.388 —
1790 0.388 +0.0%
1791 0.388 +0.0%
1792 0.388 +0.0%
1793 0.388 +0.0%
1794 0.388 +0.0%
1795 0.388 +0.0%
1796 0.388 +0.0%
1797 0.388 +0.0%
1798 0.388 +0.0%
1799 0.388 +0.0%
1800 0.388 +0.0%
1801 0.388 +0.0%
1802 0.388 +0.0%
1803 0.388 +0.0%
1804 0.388 +0.0%
1805 0.388 +0.0%
1806 0.388 +0.0%
1807 0.388 +0.0%
1808 0.388 +0.0%
1809 0.552 +42.3%
1810 0.607 +10.0%
1811 0.607 +0.0%
1812 0.607 +0.0%
1813 0.607 +0.0%
1814 0.607 +0.0%
1815 0.607 +0.0%
1816 0.607 +0.0%
1817 0.607 +0.0%
1818 0.607 +0.0%
1819 0.607 +0.0%
1820 0.607 +0.0%
1821 0.607 +0.0%
1822 0.607 +0.0%
1823 0.607 +0.0%
1824 0.607 +0.0%
1825 0.607 +0.0%
1826 0.607 +0.0%
1827 0.607 +0.0%
1828 0.607 +0.0%
1829 0.607 +0.0%
1830 0.607 +0.0%
1831 0.607 +0.0%
1832 0.607 +0.0%
1833 0.607 +0.0%
1834 0.607 +0.0%
1835 0.607 +0.0%
1836 0.607 +0.0%
1837 0.607 +0.0%
1838 0.607 +0.0%
1839 0.607 +0.0%
1840 0.839 +38.2%
1841 0.839 +0.0%
1842 0.839 +0.0%
1843 0.839 +0.0%
1844 0.839 +0.0%
1845 0.853 +1.7%
1846 0.853 +0.0%
1847 0.853 +0.0%
1848 0.853 +0.0%
1849 0.853 +0.0%
1850 0.853 +0.0%
1851 0.853 +0.0%
1852 0.853 +0.0%
1853 0.853 +0.0%
1854 0.853 +0.0%
1855 0.853 +0.0%
1856 0.853 +0.0%
1857 0.853 +0.0%
1858 0.853 +0.0%
1859 0.853 +0.0%
1860 0.853 +0.0%
1861 0.853 +0.0%
1862 0.853 +0.0%
1863 0.853 +0.0%
1864 0.853 +0.0%
1865 0.853 +0.0%
1866 0.853 +0.0%
1867 0.853 +0.0%
1868 0.853 +0.0%
1869 0.853 +0.0%
1870 0.853 +0.0%
1871 0.853 +0.0%
1872 0.853 +0.0%
1873 0.853 +0.0%
1874 0.853 +0.0%
1875 0.853 +0.0%
1876 0.853 +0.0%
1877 0.853 +0.0%
1878 0.853 +0.0%
1879 0.853 +0.0%
1880 0.853 +0.0%
1881 0.853 +0.0%
1882 0.853 +0.0%
1883 0.853 +0.0%
1884 0.853 +0.0%
1885 0.853 +0.0%
1886 0.853 +0.0%
1887 0.853 +0.0%
1888 0.853 +0.0%
1889 0.853 +0.0%
1890 0.853 +0.0%
1891 0.853 +0.0%
1892 0.853 +0.0%
1893 0.853 +0.0%
1894 0.853 +0.0%
1895 0.853 +0.0%
1896 0.853 +0.0%
1897 0.853 +0.0%
1898 0.853 +0.0%
1899 0.853 +0.0%
1900 0.858 +0.6%
1901 0.858 +0.0%
1902 0.858 +0.0%
1903 0.858 +0.0%
1904 0.858 +0.0%
1905 0.858 +0.0%
1906 0.858 +0.0%
1907 0.858 +0.0%
1908 0.858 +0.0%
1909 0.858 +0.0%
1910 0.858 +0.0%
1911 0.858 +0.0%
1912 0.858 +0.0%
1913 0.853 -0.6%
1914 0.859 +0.7%
1915 0.859 +0.0%
1916 0.859 +0.0%
1917 0.87 +1.3%
1918 0.877 +0.8%
1919 0.891 +1.6%
1920 0.9 +1.0%
1921 0.9 +0.0%
1922 0.908 +0.9%
1923 0.908 +0.0%
1924 0.914 +0.7%
1925 0.914 +0.0%
1926 0.914 +0.0%
1927 0.914 +0.0%
1928 0.914 +0.0%
1929 0.914 +0.0%
1930 0.914 +0.0%
1931 0.909 -0.5%
1932 0.913 +0.4%
1933 0.913 +0.0%
1934 0.913 +0.0%
1935 0.913 +0.0%
1936 0.897 -1.8%
1937 0.897 +0.0%
1938 0.892 -0.6%
1939 0.877 -1.7%
1940 0.866 -1.3%
1941 0.866 +0.0%
1942 0.866 +0.0%
1943 0.866 +0.0%
1944 0.866 +0.0%
1945 0.881 +1.7%
1946 0.954 +8.3%
1947 0.956 +0.2%
1948 0.956 +0.0%
1949 0.961 +0.5%
1950 0.962 +0.1%
1951 0.962 +0.0%
1952 0.962 +0.0%
1953 0.962 +0.0%
1954 0.962 +0.0%
1955 0.962 +0.0%
1956 0.962 +0.0%
1957 0.962 +0.0%
1958 0.962 +0.0%
1959 0.962 +0.0%
1960 0.962 +0.0%
1961 0.962 +0.0%
1962 0.962 +0.0%
1963 0.962 +0.0%
1964 0.962 +0.0%
1965 0.962 +0.0%
1966 0.959 -0.3%
1967 0.959 +0.0%
1968 0.959 +0.0%
1969 0.959 +0.0%
1970 0.959 +0.0%
1971 0.959 +0.0%
1972 0.961 +0.2%
1973 0.961 +0.0%
1974 0.967 +0.6%
1975 0.973 +0.6%
1976 0.973 +0.0%
1977 0.973 +0.0%
1978 0.973 +0.0%
1979 0.973 +0.0%
1980 0.973 +0.0%
1981 0.973 +0.0%
1982 0.973 +0.0%
1983 0.973 +0.0%
1984 0.973 +0.0%
1985 0.973 +0.0%
1986 0.973 +0.0%
1987 0.973 +0.0%
1988 0.973 +0.0%
1989 0.973 +0.0%
1990 0.976 +0.3%
1991 0.976 +0.0%
1992 0.976 +0.0%
1993 0.976 +0.0%
1994 0.976 +0.0%
1995 0.976 +0.0%
1996 0.976 +0.0%
1997 0.976 +0.0%
1998 0.976 +0.0%
1999 0.974 -0.2%
2000 0.974 +0.0%
2001 0.974 +0.0%
2002 0.974 +0.0%
2003 0.974 +0.0%
2004 0.974 +0.0%
2005 0.974 +0.0%
2006 0.974 +0.0%
2007 0.976 +0.2%
2008 0.976 +0.0%
2009 0.976 +0.0%
2010 0.976 +0.0%
2011 0.976 +0.0%
2012 0.976 +0.0%
2013 0.975 -0.1%
2014 0.975 +0.0%
2015 0.974 -0.1%
2016 0.973 -0.1%
2017 0.973 +0.0%
2018 0.967 -0.6%
2019 0.967 +0.0%
2020 0.968 +0.1%
2021 0.968 +0.0%
2022 0.963 -0.5%
2023 0.959 -0.4%
2024 0.955 -0.4%
2025 0.96 +0.5%

Sweden compared with similar countries

  • Sweden's 0.96 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.893, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Sweden's 0.96 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.8515, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.388 0.388 0.388 1
1790s 0.388 0.388 0.388 10
1800s 0.4044 0.388 0.552 10
1810s 0.607 0.607 0.607 10
1820s 0.607 0.607 0.607 10
1830s 0.607 0.607 0.607 10
1840s 0.846 0.839 0.853 10
1850s 0.853 0.853 0.853 10
1860s 0.853 0.853 0.853 10
1870s 0.853 0.853 0.853 10
1880s 0.853 0.853 0.853 10
1890s 0.853 0.853 0.853 10
1900s 0.858 0.858 0.858 10
1910s 0.8642 0.853 0.891 10
1920s 0.91 0.9 0.914 10
1930s 0.9038 0.877 0.914 10
1940s 0.9038 0.866 0.961 10
1950s 0.962 0.962 0.962 10
1960s 0.9608 0.959 0.962 10
1970s 0.9672 0.959 0.973 10
1980s 0.973 0.973 0.973 10
1990s 0.9758 0.974 0.976 10
2000s 0.9746 0.974 0.976 10
2010s 0.9732 0.967 0.976 10
2020s 0.9622 0.955 0.968 6

Countries ranked near Sweden

  1. 3 Ireland 0.967 compare
  2. 4 Estonia 0.966 compare
  3. 5 Belgium 0.963 compare
  4. 7 Luxembourg 0.956 compare
  5. 8 Norway 0.955 compare
  6. 9 France 0.953 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Sweden

All data for Sweden →

Frequently asked questions

What is political civil liberties index in Sweden?
Political civil liberties index in Sweden was 0.96 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political civil liberties index recorded in Sweden?
The highest recorded value was 0.976 in 1990.
What is the lowest political civil liberties index recorded in Sweden?
The lowest recorded value was 0.388 in 1789.
How does Sweden rank for political civil liberties index?
Sweden ranks 6th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political civil liberties index rising or falling in Sweden?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sweden 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 Sweden. 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/sweden/

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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.