Statizoid

Free country in Botswana

Botswana: Free country was 2 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
2
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 199 countries
All-time high
2
in 1973
All-time low
1
in 1972
Years of data
53
1972–2025

Free country in Botswana, 1972–2025

00.511.52197219982025

Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for free country in Botswana is 2, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 53 years on record.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, free country in Botswana peaked at 2 in 1973 and was at its lowest, 1, in 1972.

Botswana ranks 1st of 199 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 53 years of available data.

Free country in Botswana, year by year

Year Value Change
1972 1 —
1973 2 +100.0%
1974 2 +0.0%
1975 2 +0.0%
1976 2 +0.0%
1977 2 +0.0%
1978 2 +0.0%
1979 2 +0.0%
1980 2 +0.0%
1982 2 +0.0%
1983 2 +0.0%
1984 2 +0.0%
1985 2 +0.0%
1986 2 +0.0%
1987 2 +0.0%
1988 2 +0.0%
1989 2 +0.0%
1990 2 +0.0%
1991 2 +0.0%
1992 2 +0.0%
1993 2 +0.0%
1994 2 +0.0%
1995 2 +0.0%
1996 2 +0.0%
1997 2 +0.0%
1998 2 +0.0%
1999 2 +0.0%
2000 2 +0.0%
2001 2 +0.0%
2002 2 +0.0%
2003 2 +0.0%
2004 2 +0.0%
2005 2 +0.0%
2006 2 +0.0%
2007 2 +0.0%
2008 2 +0.0%
2009 2 +0.0%
2010 2 +0.0%
2011 2 +0.0%
2012 2 +0.0%
2013 2 +0.0%
2014 2 +0.0%
2015 2 +0.0%
2016 2 +0.0%
2017 2 +0.0%
2018 2 +0.0%
2019 2 +0.0%
2020 2 +0.0%
2021 2 +0.0%
2022 2 +0.0%
2023 2 +0.0%
2024 2 +0.0%
2025 2 +0.0%

Botswana compared with similar countries

  • Botswana's 2 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1, 2.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • Botswana's 2 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1, 2.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 1.88 1 2 8
1980s 2 2 2 9
1990s 2 2 2 10
2000s 2 2 2 10
2010s 2 2 2 10
2020s 2 2 2 6

Countries ranked near Botswana

  1. 1 Andorra 2 compare
  2. 1 Antigua and Barbuda 2 compare
  3. 1 Argentina 2 compare
  4. 1 Australia 2 compare
  5. 1 Austria 2 compare
  6. 1 Bahamas 2 compare
  7. 1 Barbados 2 compare
  8. 1 Belgium 2 compare
  9. 1 Belize 2 compare
  10. 1 Bhutan 2 compare
  11. 1 Bolivia 2 compare
  12. 1 Brazil 2 compare
  13. 1 Bulgaria 2 compare
  14. 1 Canada 2 compare
  15. 1 Cape Verde 2 compare
  16. 1 Chile 2 compare
  17. 1 Colombia 2 compare
  18. 1 Costa Rica 2 compare
  19. 1 Croatia 2 compare
  20. 1 Cyprus 2 compare
  21. 1 Czechia 2 compare
  22. 1 Denmark 2 compare
  23. 1 Dominica 2 compare
  24. 1 East Timor 2 compare
  25. 1 Estonia 2 compare
  26. 1 Fiji 2 compare
  27. 1 Finland 2 compare
  28. 1 France 2 compare
  29. 1 Germany 2 compare
  30. 1 Ghana 2 compare
  31. 1 Greece 2 compare
  32. 1 Grenada 2 compare
  33. 1 Guyana 2 compare
  34. 1 Iceland 2 compare
  35. 1 Ireland 2 compare
  36. 1 Israel 2 compare
  37. 1 Italy 2 compare
  38. 1 Jamaica 2 compare
  39. 1 Japan 2 compare
  40. 1 Kiribati 2 compare
  41. 1 Latvia 2 compare
  42. 1 Lesotho 2 compare
  43. 1 Liechtenstein 2 compare
  44. 1 Lithuania 2 compare
  45. 1 Luxembourg 2 compare
  46. 1 Malawi 2 compare
  47. 1 Malta 2 compare
  48. 1 Marshall Islands 2 compare
  49. 1 Mauritius 2 compare
  50. 1 Micronesia (country) 2 compare
  51. 1 Monaco 2 compare
  52. 1 Mongolia 2 compare
  53. 1 Namibia 2 compare
  54. 1 Nauru 2 compare
  55. 1 Netherlands 2 compare
  56. 1 New Zealand 2 compare
  57. 1 Norway 2 compare
  58. 1 Palau 2 compare
  59. 1 Panama 2 compare
  60. 1 Poland 2 compare
  61. 1 Portugal 2 compare
  62. 1 Puerto Rico 2 compare
  63. 1 Romania 2 compare
  64. 1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 2 compare
  65. 1 Saint Lucia 2 compare
  66. 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 compare
  67. 1 Samoa 2 compare
  68. 1 San Marino 2 compare
  69. 1 Sao Tome and Principe 2 compare
  70. 1 Senegal 2 compare
  71. 1 Seychelles 2 compare
  72. 1 Slovakia 2 compare
  73. 1 Slovenia 2 compare
  74. 1 Solomon Islands 2 compare
  75. 1 South Africa 2 compare
  76. 1 South Korea 2 compare
  77. 1 Spain 2 compare
  78. 1 Suriname 2 compare
  79. 1 Sweden 2 compare
  80. 1 Switzerland 2 compare
  81. 1 Taiwan 2 compare
  82. 1 Tonga 2 compare
  83. 1 Trinidad and Tobago 2 compare
  84. 1 Tuvalu 2 compare
  85. 1 United Kingdom 2 compare
  86. 1 United States 2 compare
  87. 1 Uruguay 2 compare
  88. 1 Vanuatu 2 compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Botswana

All data for Botswana →

Frequently asked questions

What is free country in Botswana?
Free country in Botswana was 2 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest free country recorded in Botswana?
The highest recorded value was 2 in 1973.
What is the lowest free country recorded in Botswana?
The lowest recorded value was 1 in 1972.
How does Botswana rank for free country?
Botswana ranks 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
Is free country rising or falling in Botswana?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Botswana data come from?
The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Free country. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Relationships involving this indicator

Comparisons with other indicators across countries. Each was re-measured with population and national income held constant, so a relationship that only reflected country size is not listed here.

All correlations →

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Free country in Botswana. Statizoid, drawing on Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-regime-fh/botswana/

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About this data

Indicator
Free country
Source
Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 10,083 data points, 1972–2025
Last refreshed

The variable identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between free countries (score 2), partly free countries (score 1), and not free countries (score 0).