Top 10 African countries where Civic freedoms are most restricted, according to latest research

• Eritrea has Africa’s lowest civic-space score at 4/100, followed by Sudan (9), Burundi and Djibouti (12 each), according to CIVICUS Monitor’s 2025 assessment.

• Eight of the 10 countries are rated “Closed”, the most restrictive category, while South Sudan and Cameroon are classified as “Repressed”.

• CIVICUS reports that civic space deteriorated in 15 sub-Saharan African countries in 2025, with restrictions on protesters, journalists, activists and civil society groups remaining widespread.

The CIVICUS Monitor assesses civic space in 198 countries and territories, examining freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression. Its ratings range from Open and Narrowed to Obstructed, Repressed and Closed, with “Closed” representing the most severe level of restriction.

Based on CIVICUS Monitor’s 2025 scores, the following are the 10 African countries with the lowest civic-space ratings:

Eritrea holds the lowest score of any African country on the index, and has been rated "Closed" every year since at least 2018. The country has no independent media, no legal opposition parties, and indefinite national service that rights groups have compared to forced labour.

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Sudan has deteriorated sharply, moving from "Repressed" in 2021 to "Closed" in the most recent rating, one of two countries CIVICUS singled out as having dropped to the worst possible tier this year, driven by the ongoing civil conflict and its impact on civilians and civil society.

Burundi has held a "Closed" rating consistently since 2018, reflecting years of severe restrictions on independent media, opposition activity, and civil society following the country's 2015 political crisis.

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Djibouti's rating has worsened over the period, moving from "Repressed" in 2018 to "Closed" by 2021, where it has remained since, one of the more overlooked entries on this list given how rarely the country makes international headlines.

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Equatorial Guinea has been rated "Closed" throughout the 2018–2025 period, consistent with one of the world's longest-serving governments and minimal tolerance for independent political or civic activity.

Africa's last absolute monarchy has worsened over the period tracked, moving from "Repressed" in 2018 and 2021 to "Closed" in the latest rating, following continued crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters.

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Egypt has held a "Closed" rating throughout the entire 2018–2025 period, with CIVICUS and other rights groups repeatedly citing mass detention of activists, restrictions on NGOs, and tight control of media as key drivers.

Ethiopia's rating has worsened since 2018, moving from "Repressed" to "Closed," reflecting the civic space fallout from the Tigray conflict and subsequent unrest in other regions.

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South Sudan is the one country on this list moving in a positive direction, improving from "Closed" in 2018 to "Repressed" today — still one of the worst ratings on the continent, but a step up from the bottom tier.

Cameroon has held a "Repressed" rating consistently since 2018, with ongoing restrictions tied to the Anglophone crisis in the country's North-West and South-West regions.

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The findings point to a broader challenge across the continent. CIVICUS says 44 of 50 countries and territories in Africa south of the Sahara are rated Obstructed, Repressed or Closed, while more than 80% of the region’s population lives in countries where civic space is either Repressed or Closed.

The 2025 assessment recorded deterioration in civic space in 15 countries, while three, Gabon, Mauritania and Senegal, recorded improvements. Burundi and Sudan were both downgraded to the worst possible “Closed” rating, while Madagascar moved from Obstructed to Repressed.

CIVICUS also found that detention of protesters was the most frequently documented civic-space violation in 2025, with restrictions on journalists, activists and civil society groups also widespread.

Globally, only 7.2% of the world’s population now lives in countries rated Open or Narrowed, according to the 2025 CIVICUS Monitor report, underlining the scale of the global decline in civic freedoms.