Country Foundations

Indonesia

Constitution in force since 1959, 5,915 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
67%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
62%
mean across compared rights
Gap
−6%
delivers less than promised
Executive respects constitution
60%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 62%, gap −38%Right to life100%62%−38%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 60%, gap −40%Freedom from torture100%60%−40%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 100%, practiced 71%, gap −29%Freedom from slavery and forced labour100%71%−29%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 0%, practiced 59%, gap +59%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…0%59%+59%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 0%, practiced 59%, gap +59%Right to a fair and public trial0%59%+59%Presumption of innocence — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure0%——Right to legal counsel — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure0%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 100%, practiced 47%, gap −53%Due process of law100%47%−53%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 69%, gap −31%Freedom of expression100%69%−31%Freedom of the press — declared 0%, practiced 55%, gap +55%Freedom of the press0%55%+55%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 54%, gap −46%Freedom of thought and conscience100%54%−46%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 73%, gap −27%Freedom of religion100%73%−27%Separation of religion and state — declared 50%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure50%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 50%, gap +50%Academic freedom0%50%+50%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 62%, gap −38%Freedom of assembly100%62%−38%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 65%, gap −35%Freedom of association100%65%−35%Right to petition government — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure0%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 0%, practiced 68%, gap +68%Right to form and join trade unions0%68%+68%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 86%, gap +36%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%86%+36%Right to privacy — declared 0%, practiced 76%, gap +76%Right to privacy0%76%+76%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 78%, gap −22%Freedom of movement100%78%−22%Right to asylum — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure100%——Right to own property — declared 100%, practiced 73%, gap −27%Right to own property100%73%−27%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 60%, gap −40%Equality before the law100%60%−40%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 46%, gap −54%Right to education100%46%−54%Right to health care — declared 100%, practiced 48%, gap −52%Right to health care100%48%−52%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 41%, gap +41%Right to shelter or housing0%41%+41%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 56%, gap −44%Independent judiciary100%56%−44%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001949: constitutional text changed (+51 pts declared)1950: constitutional text changed (−7 pts declared)1959: constitutional text changed (−46 pts declared)2000: constitutional text changed (+33 pts declared)2001: constitutional text changed (+9 pts declared)2002: constitutional text changed (+4 pts declared)195019752000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1945–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Right to life −38%
  • Freedom from torture −40%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour −29%
  • Due process of law −53%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) +59%
  • Right to a fair and public trial +59%
  • Freedom of the press +55%
  • Academic freedom +50%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 2006
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 2006
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1999
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1984
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1998
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1990
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2011
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)signed only
Migrant Workers (ICMW)ratified 2012

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.