Free country in Tonga
Tonga: 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 2012
All-time low
1
in 1972
Years of data
53
1972–2025
Free country in Tonga, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Tonga recorded 2 for free country in 2025. That is the highest value across all 53 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, free country in Tonga peaked at 2 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 1, in 1972.
That places Tonga 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 53 years of available data.
Free country in Tonga, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 1 | — |
| 1973 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 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 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 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% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 2 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1, 2.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 2 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2, 1.0× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.8 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
- 1 Andorra 2 compare
- 1 Antigua and Barbuda 2 compare
- 1 Argentina 2 compare
- 1 Australia 2 compare
- 1 Austria 2 compare
- 1 Bahamas 2 compare
- 1 Barbados 2 compare
- 1 Belgium 2 compare
- 1 Belize 2 compare
- 1 Bhutan 2 compare
- 1 Bolivia 2 compare
- 1 Botswana 2 compare
- 1 Brazil 2 compare
- 1 Bulgaria 2 compare
- 1 Canada 2 compare
- 1 Cape Verde 2 compare
- 1 Chile 2 compare
- 1 Colombia 2 compare
- 1 Costa Rica 2 compare
- 1 Croatia 2 compare
- 1 Cyprus 2 compare
- 1 Czechia 2 compare
- 1 Denmark 2 compare
- 1 Dominica 2 compare
- 1 East Timor 2 compare
- 1 Estonia 2 compare
- 1 Fiji 2 compare
- 1 Finland 2 compare
- 1 France 2 compare
- 1 Germany 2 compare
- 1 Ghana 2 compare
- 1 Greece 2 compare
- 1 Grenada 2 compare
- 1 Guyana 2 compare
- 1 Iceland 2 compare
- 1 Ireland 2 compare
- 1 Israel 2 compare
- 1 Italy 2 compare
- 1 Jamaica 2 compare
- 1 Japan 2 compare
- 1 Kiribati 2 compare
- 1 Latvia 2 compare
- 1 Lesotho 2 compare
- 1 Liechtenstein 2 compare
- 1 Lithuania 2 compare
- 1 Luxembourg 2 compare
- 1 Malawi 2 compare
- 1 Malta 2 compare
- 1 Marshall Islands 2 compare
- 1 Mauritius 2 compare
- 1 Micronesia (country) 2 compare
- 1 Monaco 2 compare
- 1 Mongolia 2 compare
- 1 Namibia 2 compare
- 1 Nauru 2 compare
- 1 Netherlands 2 compare
- 1 New Zealand 2 compare
- 1 Norway 2 compare
- 1 Palau 2 compare
- 1 Panama 2 compare
- 1 Poland 2 compare
- 1 Portugal 2 compare
- 1 Puerto Rico 2 compare
- 1 Romania 2 compare
- 1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 2 compare
- 1 Saint Lucia 2 compare
- 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 compare
- 1 Samoa 2 compare
- 1 San Marino 2 compare
- 1 Sao Tome and Principe 2 compare
- 1 Senegal 2 compare
- 1 Seychelles 2 compare
- 1 Slovakia 2 compare
- 1 Slovenia 2 compare
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- 1 South Africa 2 compare
- 1 South Korea 2 compare
- 1 Spain 2 compare
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- 1 Sweden 2 compare
- 1 Switzerland 2 compare
- 1 Taiwan 2 compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 2 compare
- 1 Tuvalu 2 compare
- 1 United Kingdom 2 compare
- 1 United States 2 compare
- 1 Uruguay 2 compare
- 1 Vanuatu 2 compare
More reference data data for Tonga
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0105 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0092 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0197 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0197 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0353 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0269 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0446 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1068 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0799 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied 9.35 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is free country in Tonga?
- Free country in Tonga was 2 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest free country recorded in Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 2012.
- What is the lowest free country recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 in 1972.
- How does Tonga rank for free country?
- Tonga ranks 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is free country rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tonga 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).