Kyrgyzstan
How well is Kyrgyzstan respecting people's human rights?
Use the tabs below to explore the scores.
Kyrgyzstan at a glance
Quality of Life
Economic and Social Rights
(2019)
Summary score
89.4%
How well is Kyrgyzstan doing compared to what is possible at its level of income?
Right to
0
% of income adjusted benchmark achieved
HRMI score
100%
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Safety from the State
Civil and Political Rights
(2021)
Summary score
6.1
How well is Kyrgyzstan's government respecting each right?
Right to freedom from
0
Score
10
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Empowerment
Civil and Political Rights
(2021)
Summary score
5.6
How well is Kyrgyzstan's government respecting each right?
Right to
0
Score
10
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
Quality of Life
Kyrgyzstan scores 89.4% on Quality of Life when scored against the 'Income adjusted' benchmark.
Compared with the other countries in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan is performing close to average on Quality of Life rights (this comparison is calculated using the 'Income adjusted' benchmark).
To change the performance benchmark or assessment standard, please click on ‘Switch view’ above
Safety from the State
Kyrgyzstan's Safety from the State score of 6.1 out of 10 suggests that many people are not safe from one or more of the following: arbitrary arrest, torture and ill-treatment, forced disappearance, execution or extrajudicial killing.
For the civil and political rights we do not have data for enough countries in Europe and Central Asia to do a regional comparison. However, compared to the other 40 countries in our sample, Kyrgyzstan is performing close to average on the right to be safe from the state.
Empowerment
Kyrgyzstan's Empowerment score of 5.6 out of 10 suggests that many people are not enjoying their civil liberties and political freedoms (freedom of speech, assembly and association, and democratic rights).
For the civil and political rights we do not have data for enough countries in Europe and Central Asia to do a regional comparison. However, compared to the other 38 countries in our sample, Kyrgyzstan is performing close to average on empowerment rights.
Quality of Life - overview
(2019)
How well is Kyrgyzstan doing compared to what is possible at its level of income?
Summary score
0
% of income adjusted benchmark achieved
HRMI score
100%
Right to
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
Quality of Life rights (or 'economic and social rights') include the rights to food, health, education, housing, and work. HRMI gives two scores, measuring against two different benchmarks.
Kyrgyzstan scores 89.4% on Quality of Life when scored against the 'Income adjusted' benchmark. This score takes into account Kyrgyzstan's resources and how well it is using them to make sure its people's Quality of Life rights are fulfilled.
This score tells us that Kyrgyzstan is only doing 89.4% of what should be possible right now with the resources it has. Since anything less than 100% indicates that a country is not meeting its current duty under international human rights law, our assessment is that Kyrgyzstan has some way to go to meet its immediate economic and social rights duty.
When measured against the Global best benchmark, comparing Kyrgyzstan to the best performing countries in the world, Kyrgyzstan's score is 84.0%, indicating that it has some way to go to meet current Global best standards for ensuring all people have adequate food, education, healthcare, housing and work.
Compared with the other countries in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan is performing close to average on Quality of Life rights (this comparison is calculated using the 'Income adjusted' benchmark).
To change the performance benchmark or assessment standard, please click on ‘Switch view’ above
Quality of Life - full details
See more detail on how Kyrgyzstan performs on the
?Right to
0
% of income adjusted benchmark achieved
HRMI score
100%
Right to
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
By sex
How does Kyrgyzstan perform by sex for
?By sex
0
% of income adjusted benchmark achieved
HRMI score
100%
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
Over time
How does Kyrgyzstan perform over time for
?Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
People at risk
Which people in Kyrgyzstan were identified by human rights experts to be particularly at risk of having their
violated?Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to education in 2021, our respondents mentioned all of the following:
- People of particular ethnicities, particularly Uzbeks and Liuli, as schools do not provide education in the languages of ethnic minorities
- LGBTQIA+ people, especially those who are visibly transgender
- Women, particularly those in the South, do not often obtain education after grade 9 and are sometimes forced to marry at a young age
- People in specific geographic locations, including the South and remote mountainous areas
- People without legal identification
- People with disabilities, especially disabilities that limit physical movement
- Children, especially those with developmental delays, and orphans
- Girls, particularly those wearing headscarves
- All people were at risk due to the poor quality of education
Safety from the State - overview
(2021)
How well is Kyrgyzstan's government respecting each right?
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to freedom from
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
Kyrgyzstan's Safety from the State score of 6.1 out of 10 suggests that many people are not safe from one or more of the following: arbitrary arrest, torture and ill-treatment, forced disappearance, execution or extrajudicial killing.
For the civil and political rights we do not have data for enough countries in Europe and Central Asia to do a regional comparison. However, compared to the other 40 countries in our sample, Kyrgyzstan is performing close to average on the right to be safe from the state.
Over time
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
People at risk
Which people in Kyrgyzstan were identified by human rights experts to be particularly at risk of having their
violated?Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to arbitrary or political arrest and detention by government agents in 2021, our respondents mentioned all of the following:
- People of particular ethnicities, particularly Uyghurs, Uzbeks, Tajiks, and other smaller Slavic groups, and especially if they vocally express differing religious beliefs
- People in specific geographic locations, especially minorities in the South, are arrested by the government in the name of fighting extremism
- People with particular political affiliations or beliefs, especially critics of the government or those belonging to feminist organisations, are illegally detained at peaceful protests
- Journalists, especially those who criticise the government
- People with particular religious beliefs or practices, especially those belonging to organisations the government has labelled as extremist, such as Yakyn Inkar
- Politicians, particularly those in the opposition or those who held high positions in the previous government
- People of particular nationalities, particularly when the government is complying with orders to repatriate a foreign national
- Businesspeople, who are arrested by the government under corruption charges but often released after they give the government money
- Protesters, especially those protesting the detention of investigative journalists, are illegally detained
- Human rights advocates, especially women’s rights groups
- LGBTQIA+ people, often in the name of counter-extremism
Empowerment - overview
(2021)
How well is Kyrgyzstan's government respecting each right?
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
Kyrgyzstan's Empowerment score of 5.6 out of 10 suggests that many people are not enjoying their civil liberties and political freedoms (freedom of speech, assembly and association, and democratic rights).
For the civil and political rights we do not have data for enough countries in Europe and Central Asia to do a regional comparison. However, compared to the other 38 countries in our sample, Kyrgyzstan is performing close to average on empowerment rights.
Over time
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
People at risk
Which people in Kyrgyzstan were identified by human rights experts to be particularly at risk of having their
violated?Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to restrictions on their rights to assembly and association by the government or its agents in 2021, our respondents mentioned all of the following:
- Human rights defenders, activists, and protesters supporting women’s rights as police violently break up protesters or send other civilians to attack the protesters
- People with particularly political affiliations or beliefs, especially members of political parties, human rights activists, and journalists who criticised the government and its policies
- All people were at risk as the government adopted laws regulating non-profit organisations, legal entities, and politicians’ offices requiring they provide additional financial information and any entity that does not comply is considered to be an illegal entity
- All people were at risk as the government used Covid-19 to ban protests, particularly protests for women’s rights and LGBTQIA+ rights
- People living near the Batken region
- People in rural areas as electricity outages limit people’s ability to organise protests online
- People of particular ethnicities, particularly Uzbeks, who, for example, avoid large state gatherings, like state holiday celebrations, for fear of violence
- People with particular political affiliations or beliefs, especially those against the war in Ukraine
- Trade unions
Which people are most at risk?
We asked human rights experts to choose from a list of options for which people were particularly at risk of having this right violated. The images below show their answers.
Highlight
in the word clouds below.Quality of Life
People at risk for
Right to education
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to food
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to health
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to housing
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to work
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Safety from the State
People at risk for
Right to freedom from arbitrary arrest
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to freedom from forced disappearance
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to freedom from the death penalty
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to freedom from extrajudicial execution
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to freedom from torture and ill-treatment
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Empowerment
People at risk for
Right to assembly and association
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to opinion and expression
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to participate in government
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Behind the numbers
Quality of Life
China is performing better than average in economic and social rights compared with other East Asian countries, according to our income-adjusted benchmark, though it still has significant challenges. We produce scores for China for the rights to food, health, housing and work.
Under the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which China has signed, all countries agree to devote their maximum available resources to making things progressively better for their people in these areas.
HRMI has calculated what China could be achieving at its current level of income. The scores are given as a percentage of that realistic potential achievement.
China’s best scores are for the right to health, where it is achieving 98.4% of what we calculate should be possible, and for the right to food (96.4%). For these rights, China is doing nearly as well as it possibly could, given its level of income. It could still afford to make some gains now, but then would need to increase its income to make further improvements.
Of the four quality of life rights we measure, China needs to improve the most in the right to housing, where it is currently achieving only 87.2% of what we calculate should be possible at its level of income.
We further break the right to housing down into scores for the right to sanitation and the right to water.
With a GDP per capita of US$10,144 we calculate that China has the resources to ensure all of its people have running water and toilets in their homes. The good news is that China’s scores have been steadily improving since 2007, when the nation scored 74.5%.
However, China’s right to sanitation score of 83.9% shows that many people are missing out, even though China could afford to do better. If China efficiently used its available resources, it could achieve a score of 100%, which would mean that over 129 million additional Chinese would gain access to basic sanitation in their homes.
If China improved its performance for the right to water from 90.6% to 100%, over 106 million more people would have water on their premises.
When it comes to the right to food, if China lifted its score to 100%, over 2.5 million more children under five years old would have enough nutritious food to grow well – that would mean all children in China under five would have enough nutritious food to grow well. This is an achievable goal.
With a current score of 96.4%, China has improved only a little in respecting people’s right to food over the last 11 years.
On the right to work, China’s score has climbed up to 93.7% in 2019 from 62.2% in 2007, meaning many fewer people have been living in poverty over the last decade. Still, the latest score means 76 million Chinese are unnecessarily living in absolute poverty (living on less that $3.20 per day, measured in 2011 PPP$), and the government is only doing a ‘fair’ job at ensuring people have subsistence income.
China comes in second in the world in ensuring people’s right to health is fulfilled, with a score of 98.4%, when using the low and middle income assessment standard (when using the high income standard, China still comes in third in the world). For countries doing this well with their current level of income, an increase of income will be necessary to make significant further improvements. This is the right where China is most constrained by resources – for all of the other rights we measure, China should already be able to do nearly as well as any country in the world, at its current level of income.
People at risk
While China has room for improvement in all the rights we measure, a further consideration is inequity. There are several groups of people who our experts identified as being at higher risk of missing out. These include:
- People with lower social or economic status
- People from ethnic minorities, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, and Kazakhs
- Human rights advocates, protestors, and anyone who criticises the government
- People living in rural areas, particularly older people, and women
- Disabled people
- Detainees
- People from religious minorities, particularly those practising Falun Gong, Christianity, or Islam
- Internally displaced people
See the people at risk tab on the Rights Tracker for the full lists. The data also show a strong connection between political activity, especially criticism of the government, and lack of enjoyment of economic and social rights.
Room for improvement
All our Quality of Life scores show that China could make significant improvements to its people’s lives, even without more resources.
If China were using its resources more efficiently to ensure its people’s wellbeing, it could achieve 100% for all the rights we measure. Yet, while its best score is close to that mark—98.4% on the right to health — its worst score — 87.2% on the right to housing — is far from that level.
If China better upheld its rights obligations, and achieved a full 100% score on all the rights we measure, we would see millions more Chinese people living lives of dignity, even without income growth. For example, if China reached 100% we would see the following number of extra people benefitting:
- If China were to operate at its full potential given its current resources, we would expect an additional 2.5 million children under five to grow well and not be stunted.
- If China were operating at best practice, each year we would expect an extra 56,900 newborn babies to survive until their fifth birthday.
- If China were reaching its full potential, given its income constraints, an extra 343,300 15-year-olds could eventually reach the age of 60.
- If China used its resources efficiently, an additional 129 million people could have a toilet at home, and an extra 109 million people could have access to water in their homes.
- If China were operating at its full potential given its current resources, it could lift 76 million people out of absolute poverty.
Safety from the State
China scores 2.8 out of 10 for our overall Safety from the State category, telling us that many people are at risk of arbitrary or political arrest or detention, torture and ill-treatment, forced disappearance, execution, or extrajudicial killing. This is one of the lowest scores in our sample of 31 countries.
China’s worst score in this category is 1 out of 10 for freedom from the death penalty, the lowest score among all the countries we measure.
The human rights experts we surveyed said that agents of the state, particularly police, had total impunity to engage in torture of those detained.
Respondents overwhelmingly agreed that human rights advocates, protestors, and people who criticised the government were at particular risk of rights violations, especially arbitrary arrest and detention, forced disappearance, and torture and ill-treatment.
Survey respondents said that information about executions was deliberately obfuscated by the Chinese government, blurring the line between extrajudicial and judicial executions.
People from ethnic minorities were at extra risk of all five Safety from the State rights. Respondents noted that Uyghur people, and other ethnic minorities, were commonly detained incommunicado in concentration camps.
Other vulnerable groups include:
- People from ethnic minorities, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, and Kazakhs
- Human rights advocates, protestors, and anyone who criticises the government
- Detainees and those accused of crimes
- People from religious minorities, particularly those practising Falun Gong, Christianity, or Islam
- Internally displaced people
- People in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong
Among other East Asian countries and territories where we measure these rights, China has the lowest scores for all five Safety from the State rights.
Right to Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Detention in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to Freedom from Forced Disappearance in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to Freedom from Death Penalty in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to Freedom from Extrajudicial Execution in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to Freedom from Torture and Ill-treatment in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Empowerment
The Chinese government limits civil liberties and political freedom, with China scoring a very low 2.1 out of 10 in empowerment rights. This is the lowest score in our sample of 30 countries.
For the rights to assembly and association, opinion and expression, and participation in government, all of China’s scores fall into the ‘very bad’ range. For all three rights, the human rights experts we surveyed agreed overwhelmingly that ‘all people’ were at risk of violations of these rights.
When it comes to the right to assembly and association, China scores 2 out of 10, and human rights experts identified a wide range of people not enjoying their rights, including human rights advocates, protestors, and people criticising or opposing the government, as well as those from ethnic and religious minorities. They also noted that people from religious minorities cannot freely gather, and that even small gatherings in homes have been broken up by authorities.
China’s score for the right to opinion and expression is a very low 2.3 out of 10, with no improvement from 2022. Respondents noted that there are no independent media organisations allowed in China, and that teachers, academics, and journalists cannot speak freely. Expression is also limited online, where content is censored by Chinese regulators.
China also scores in the ‘very bad’ range for the right to participate in government, with a score of 1.9 out of 10. Respondents noted that political participation is controlled and severely limited by the Chinese Communist Party, which selects legislators and other political representatives.
Other vulnerable groups include:
- People from ethnic minorities, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, and Kazakhs
- Human rights advocates, protestors, and anyone who criticises the government
- Detainees and those accused of crimes
- People from religious minorities, particularly those practising Falun Gong, Christianity, or Islam
- Internally displaced people
- People in Tibet and Xinjiang
Right to Assembly and Association in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to Opinion and Expression in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to Participate in Government in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Country details
Population
6.6m (2020)
GDP/capita
$1,176 (2020)
current US dollars
$4,715 (2020)
2017 PPP dollars