Africans broadly express support for their right to join any organisation and for the media’s freedom from censorship and its responsibility to report on government mistakes, the latest Afrobarometer Pan-Africa Profile shows.

Yet their experience of these freedoms is highly uneven and, in many contexts, eroding, increasingly constrained by the very governments that are formally committed to protecting them.The new report, based on 50,961 interviews across 38 African countries in 2024/2025, shows that while many citizens say they can associate freely and vote without pressure, only 13 of the countries have majorities who feel “completely” free to say what they think.

Perceived freedom of speech has declined over the past decade, and only a slim majority of Africans consider their media free.

Key findings

• On average across 38 countries, more than six in 10 Africans (64%) affirm the right to join any organisation of their choice (Figure 1).
  • Clear majorities support media freedom: 65% endorse the media’s right to publish without government control, and 72% say the media should investigate and report on government mistakes and corruption.
• About two-thirds (65%) of citizens say they feel “somewhat” or “completely” free to say what they think (Figure 2).
  • In 25 of the 38 surveyed countries, fewer than half of citizens feel “completely” free to say what they think. The sense of complete freedom of speech is especially scarce in Eswatini (18%), Togo (15%), Comoros (8%), and Congo-Brazzaville (7%).
  • Across 28 countries surveyed consistently since 2014, assessments of this freedom have declined by 7 percentage points (Figure 3).
• Strong majorities say they feel “somewhat” or “completely” free to join any political organisation they want (77%) and to vote for their preferred candidate without feeling pressured (86%) (Figure 4).
  • The picture is starkly different in Comoros and Congo-Brazzaville, where citizens report some of the lowest levels of freedom to associate and to vote.
• A slim majority (53%) see the media in their country as “somewhat” or “completely” free to report without government interference (Figure 5).
  • Perceived media freedom declined significantly in 20 of the 30 countries surveyed consistently between 2019 and 2025.

Afrobarometer surveys

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, nonpartisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. Ten survey rounds in up to 45 countries have been completed since 1999. Round 10 surveys (2024/2025) cover 38 countries.

Afrobarometer’s National Partners conduct face-to-face interviews with nationally representative samples of adults in the language of the respondent’s choice that yield country-level results with margins of error of +/-2 to +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Charts

Figure 1: Support for media freedom and watchdog role, freedom of association       | 38 countries | 2024/2025

Respondents were asked:

Which of the following statements is closest to your view?

Statement 1: The government should be able to ban any organisation that goes against its policies. Statement 2: We should be able to join any organisation, whether or not the government approves of it.

Which of the following statements is closest to your view?

Statement 1: The media should have the right to publish any views and ideas without government control.

Statement 2: The government should have the right to prevent the media from publishing things that it disapproves of.

Which of the following statements is closest to your view?

Statement 1: The news media should constantly investigate and report on government mistakes and corruption.

Statement 2: Too much reporting on negative events, like government mistakes and corruption, only harms the country.

Figure 2: Freedom to say what you think | 38 countries | 2024/2025

Respondents were asked: In this country, how free are you to say what you think?

Figure 3: Perceived supply of civic freedoms | 28 countries* | 2014-2025

Respondents were asked: In this country, how free are you: To say what you think? To join any political organisation you want? To choose whom to vote for without feeling pressured? (% who say “somewhat free” or “completely free”)

*The question about freedom to join any political organisation was not asked in Eswatini.

Figure 4: Freedom to join any political organisation | 37 countries* | 2024/2025

Respondents were asked: In this country, how free are you to join any political organisation you want?

(*This question was not asked in Eswatini.)

Figure 5: How free is the media? | 38 countries | 2024/2025

Respondents were asked: In your opinion, how free is the news media in this country to report and comment on the news without censorship or interference by the government?