Free country in Hong Kong
Hong Kong: Free country was 1 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
1
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
90th
of 199 countries
All-time high
2
in 1974
All-time low
1
in 1972
Years of data
52
1972–2025
Free country in Hong Kong, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Hong Kong recorded 1 for free country in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 52 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, free country in Hong Kong peaked at 2 in 1974 and was at its lowest, 1, in 1972.
Hong Kong ranks 90th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 52 years of available data.
Free country in Hong Kong, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 1 | — |
| 1974 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 1975 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 1980 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 1 | +0.0% |
Hong Kong compared with similar countries
- Hong Kong's 1 is below the median for high income countries, which is 2, 50% of the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Hong Kong's 1 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2, 50% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.71 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Hong Kong
- 90 Albania 1 compare
- 90 Armenia 1 compare
- 90 Bangladesh 1 compare
- 90 Benin 1 compare
- 90 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 compare
- 90 Comoros 1 compare
- 90 Cote d'Ivoire 1 compare
- 90 Dominican Republic 1 compare
- 90 Ecuador 1 compare
- 90 El Salvador 1 compare
- 90 Gambia 1 compare
- 90 Georgia 1 compare
- 90 Guatemala 1 compare
- 90 Guinea-Bissau 1 compare
- 90 Honduras 1 compare
- 90 Hungary 1 compare
- 90 India 1 compare
- 90 Indonesia 1 compare
- 90 Jordan 1 compare
- 90 Kenya 1 compare
- 90 Lebanon 1 compare
- 90 Liberia 1 compare
- 90 Madagascar 1 compare
- 90 Malaysia 1 compare
- 90 Maldives 1 compare
- 90 Mauritania 1 compare
- 90 Mexico 1 compare
- 90 Moldova 1 compare
- 90 Montenegro 1 compare
- 90 Morocco 1 compare
- 90 Mozambique 1 compare
- 90 Nepal 1 compare
- 90 Nigeria 1 compare
- 90 North Macedonia 1 compare
- 90 Pakistan 1 compare
- 90 Papua New Guinea 1 compare
- 90 Paraguay 1 compare
- 90 Peru 1 compare
- 90 Philippines 1 compare
- 90 Serbia 1 compare
- 90 Sierra Leone 1 compare
- 90 Singapore 1 compare
- 90 Sri Lanka 1 compare
- 90 Togo 1 compare
- 90 Tunisia 1 compare
- 90 USSR 1 compare
- 90 Ukraine 1 compare
- 90 Zambia 1 compare
More reference data data for Hong Kong
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0072 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0072 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0011 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0012 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0 (1990)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Agricultural Soils 7.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Agricultural 7.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0219 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Crop Residues 0.0002 (1990)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0028 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is free country in Hong Kong?
- Free country in Hong Kong was 1 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest free country recorded in Hong Kong?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 1974.
- What is the lowest free country recorded in Hong Kong?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 in 1972.
- How does Hong Kong rank for free country?
- Hong Kong ranks 90th out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is free country rising or falling in Hong Kong?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Hong Kong 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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).