Over 80% of people in Africa South of the Sahara live in countries with “Repressed” or “Closed” civic space.
Detention of journalists is the top tactic used by African governments to silence dissent.
Burundi, Sudan, Madagascar, and Liberia downgraded; Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania upgraded.
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The CIVICUS Monitor announced in a new report on Tuesday that the vast majority of people in Africa South of the Sahara live under significant civic space restrictions, as four more countries had their civic space ratings downgraded.
The annual data and ratings report, People Power Under Attack 2025 , finds that over 80% of people in Africa South of the Sahara live in countries where civic space is rated “Repressed” or “Closed.” Only a few island states like Cabo Verde and São Tomé e Príncipe are rated “Open.”
CIVICUS Monitor data shows that governments across the continent detain journalists as their primary tactic to silence dissent. Authorities in 33 out of 50 countries and territories south of the Sahara detained journalists in 2025. Somalia, a top detainer of journalists, arrested 46 media workers between January and April 2025 alone.
Authorities also increasingly use excessive and lethal force against protesters, the data shows, particularly to crush youth-led movements demanding economic and political change. In Kenya, at least 65 protesters were killed and over 600 injured during a crackdown on demonstrations commemorating last year’s anti-tax protests, while Mozambican authorities brutally suppressed post-election protests, resulting in over 300 deaths and 4,200 arrests.
“The state of fundamental freedoms in Africa South of the Sahara is alarming, with severe and widespread civic space restrictions,” said Dr Baiye Mbu, West and Central Africa researcher for CIVICUS Monitor. “Journalists are being detained in Africa more than anywhere else on Earth. Excessive and lethal force against protesters is commonplace.”
Burundi was downgraded to “Closed,” the worst possible ranking, due to extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and the impunity of state-backed militias like the Imbonerakure leading up to the 2025 elections.
Sudan also fell to “Closed”, reflecting the devastating impact of the conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023 in which the warring sides have targeted and even killed journalists, human rights defenders, and humanitarian workers.
Madagascar was also downgraded, from the middle tier “Obstructed” to the second lower tier of “Repressed,” after security forces violently cracked down on youth-led protests.
Liberia, previously in the upper tier “Narrowed” is now rated “Obstructed” following security forces physical assaults on journalists and the violent dispersal of peaceful protests.
Transnational repression is another deepening concern in Africa as states collaborate to erase across borders to erase safe havens for critics across the continent. For instance, Ugandan opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye was abducted in Kenya, Burkinabe activist Alino Faso died in Ivorian custody, while Ivorian authorities arrested exiled Beninese journalist Comlan Hugues Sossoukpè and extradited him to Benin to face terrorism charges for his critical reporting.
Despite the negative trends overall, three countries’ ratings were upgraded this year, revealing positive, albeit fragile, progress, all from the rating “Repressed” to “Obstructed.”
Senegal’s upgrade reflects progress over two years following a transition to a new government, peaceful legislative elections, a new whistleblower law, and steps toward accountability for past abuses, though arrests of journalists show the country’s civic space remains restricted.
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Gabon also moved up following improvements, such as the return of exiled journalists and a timeline for 2025 elections, after a 2023 military coup that ended decades of repression by the former ruling Bongo family.
Mauritania also improved after the government joined the Partnership for Information and Democracy, which works to promote freedom of expression and trustworthy news, and regularised public media contracts, though judicial harassment of activists and excessive force against protesters remain significant problems.
“The civic space picture across Africa is gloomy, but it does not have to be that way,” said Dr Baiye Mbu. “We still see positive though cautious improvements in some parts of the continent, which prove that people power and political will can reverse restrictions on civic space.”
