Free country in India
India: 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 1972
All-time low
1
in 1975
Years of data
53
1972–2025
Free country in India, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
India recorded 1 for free country in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 53 years on record.
That represents a change of down 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, free country in India peaked at 2 in 1972 and was at its lowest, 1, in 1975.
India ranks 90th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.
Free country in India, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 2 | — |
| 1973 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 1976 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 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 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 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 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 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 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 2021 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 1 | +0.0% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 1 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- India's 1 is above the median for South Asia, which is 1, 1.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.75 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 1980s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| 1990s | 1.3 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
- 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 Hong Kong 1 compare
- 90 Hungary 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 India
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 20.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 68.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 246.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 15.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 246.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 70.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 19.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 309.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1,063 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 85.03 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is free country in India?
- Free country in India was 1 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest free country recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 1972.
- What is the lowest free country recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 in 1975.
- How does India rank for free country?
- India ranks 90th out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is free country rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India 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 — 53 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).