Freedom in the World

Annual survey by Freedom House

For overview of democracy indices, see List of democracy indices.

Parts of this article (those related to The table is updated only up to 2022 (and not fully)) need to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April 2024)

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2022[1]

1972

Free Partly free Not free Not covered

Freedom in the World is a yearly survey and report by the U.S.-based non-governmental organization Freedom House that measures the degree of civil liberties and political rights in every nation and significant related and disputed territories around the world.[2]

## Origin and use

[edit]

Freedom in the World was launched in 1973 by Raymond Gastil. It produces annual scores representing the levels of political rights and civil liberties in each state and territory, on a scale from 1 (most free) to 7 (least free). Depending on the ratings, the nations are then classified as "Free", "Partly Free", or "Not Free".[3] The report is often used by researchers in order to measure democracy and correlates highly with several other measures of democracy such as the Polity data series.[4]

The Freedom House rankings are widely reported in the media and used as sources by political researchers. Their construction and use has been evaluated by critics and supporters.[5]

## Country rankings

[edit]

This section relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this section by adding secondary or tertiary sources.
Find sources: "Freedom in the World" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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Countries designated "electoral democracies" in Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2023 survey, covering the year 2022[6]

The rankings are from the Freedom in the World 2019,[7] 2020,[8] 2021,[9] and 2022 surveys, each report covering the previous year. The average of each pair of ratings on political rights and civil liberties determines the overall status of "Free" (1.0–2.5), "Partly Free" (3.0–5.0), or "Not Free" (5.5–7.0).[10]

An asterisk (*) indicates countries which are "electoral democracies". To qualify as an "electoral democracy", a state must have satisfied the following criteria:

1. A competitive, multiparty political system;
2. Adult suffrage for all citizens without criminal convictions (some states may further punish and subjugate people with criminal convictions by disenfranchising them from the democratic process);
3. Regularly contested elections conducted in conditions of ballot secrecy, reasonable ballot security, and the absence of massive voter fraud that yields results that are unrepresentative of the public will; and
4. Significant public access of major political parties to the electorate through the media and through generally open political campaigning.

An electoral democracy must have a score of 7 or more out of 12 in political rights subcategory A (Electoral Progress), an overall aggregate score of 20 in their political rights rating and an overall aggregate score of 30 in their civil liberties rating.[11]

Freedom House's term "electoral democracy" differs from "liberal democracy" in that the latter also implies the presence of a substantial array of civil liberties. In the survey, all Free countries qualify as both electoral and liberal democracies. By contrast, some Partly Free countries qualify as electoral, but not liberal, democracies.[10]

### World

[edit]

* indicates "Civil liberties in country or territory" or "Human rights in country or territory" links.

PR = political rights, CL = civil liberties

### 2025

[edit]

Country (2025)

Electoral
democracy[12] | PR rating[13] | CL rating[13] | Total  | PR | CL | Overall
status
Afghanistan | No | 7  | 7  | 6  | 1  | 5  | Not free
Albania | Yes | 3  | 3  | 68  | 28  | 40  | Partly free
Algeria | No | 6  | 5  | 31  | 10  | 21  | Not free
Andorra | Yes | 1  | 1  | 93  | 38  | 55  | Free
Angola | No | 6  | 5  | 28  | 10  | 18  | Not free
Antigua and Barbuda | Yes | 2  | 2  | 83  | 32  | 51  | Free
Argentina | Yes | 2  | 2  | 85  | 35  | 50  | Free
Armenia | Yes | 4  | 4  | 54  | 23  | 31  | Partly free
Australia | Yes | 1  | 1  | 95  | 39  | 56  | Free
Austria | Yes | 1  | 1  | 93  | 37  | 56  | Free
Azerbaijan | No | 7  | 7  | 7  | 0  | 7  | Not free
Bahamas | Yes | 1  | 2  | 90  | 38  | 52  | Free
Bahrain | No | 7  | 6  | 12  | 2  | 10  | Not free
Bangladesh | No | 5  | 4  | 45  | 16  | 29  | Partly free
Barbados | Yes | 1  | 1  | 94  | 37  | 57  | Free
Belarus | No | 7  | 7  | 7  | 1  | 6  | Not free
Belgium | Yes | 1  | 1  | 96  | 39  | 57  | Free
Belize | Yes | 2  | 1  | 88  | 35  | 53  | Free
Benin | No | 4  | 3  | 60  | 18  | 42  | Partly free
Bhutan | Yes | 2  | 3  | 68  | 32  | 36  | Free
Bolivia | Yes | 3  | 3  | 65  | 26  | 39  | Partly free
Bosnia and Herzegovina | No | 5  | 3  | 52  | 17  | 35  | Partly free
Botswana | Yes | 2  | 2  | 75  | 31  | 44  | Free
Brazil | Yes | 2  | 3  | 72  | 30  | 42  | Free
Brunei | No | 6  | 5  | 27  | 7  | 20  | Not free
Bulgaria | Yes | 2  | 2  | 77  | 32  | 45  | Free
Burkina Faso | No | 7  | 5  | 25  | 3  | 22  | Not free
Burundi | No | 7  | 6  | 15  | 4  | 11  | Not free
Cambodia | No | 7  | 5  | 23  | 4  | 19  | Not free
Cameroon | No | 6  | 6  | 15  | 6  | 9  | Not free
Canada | Yes | 1  | 1  | 97  | 39  | 58  | Free
Cape Verde | Yes | 1  | 1  | 92  | 38  | 54  | Free
Central African Republic | No | 7  | 7  | 5  | 1  | 4  | Not free
Chad | No | 7  | 6  | 15  | 1  | 14  | Not free
Chile | Yes | 1  | 1  | 95  | 38  | 57  | Free
China | No | 7  | 6  | 9  | -2  | 11  | Not free
Colombia | Yes | 2  | 3  | 70  | 31  | 39  | Free
Comoros | No | 5  | 4  | 42  | 16  | 26  | Partly free
Congo (Democratic Republic) | No | 7  | 6  | 18  | 4  | 14  | Not free
Congo (Republic) | No | 7  | 6  | 17  | 2  | 15  | Not free
Costa Rica | Yes | 1  | 1  | 91  | 38  | 53  | Free
Croatia | Yes | 2  | 2  | 82  | 34  | 48  | Free
Cuba | No | 7  | 6  | 10  | 1  | 9  | Not free
Cyprus | Yes | 1  | 1  | 91  | 38  | 53  | Free
Czech Republic | Yes | 1  | 1  | 95  | 37  | 58  | Free
Denmark | Yes | 1  | 1  | 97  | 40  | 57  | Free
Djibouti | No | 7  | 5  | 24  | 5  | 19  | Not free
Dominica | Yes | 1  | 1  | 92  | 37  | 55  | Free
Dominican Republic | Yes | 3  | 3  | 68  | 27  | 41  | Partly free
Ecuador | Yes | 3  | 3  | 65  | 28  | 37  | Partly free
Egypt | No | 6  | 6  | 18  | 6  | 12  | Not free
El Salvador | No | 5  | 4  | 47  | 17  | 30  | Partly free
Equatorial Guinea | No | 7  | 7  | 5  | 0  | 5  | Not free
Eritrea | No | 7  | 7  | 3  | 1  | 2  | Not free
Estonia | Yes | 1  | 1  | 96  | 39  | 57  | Free
Eswatini | No | 7  | 6  | 17  | 1  | 16  | Not free
Ethiopia | No | 6  | 6  | 18  | 8  | 10  | Not free
Fiji | Yes | 3  | 3  | 69  | 28  | 41  | Partly free
Finland | Yes | 1  | 1  | 100  | 40  | 60  | Free
France | Yes | 1  | 2  | 89  | 38  | 51  | Free
Gabon | No | 7  | 5  | 21  | 2  | 19  | Not free
The Gambia | No | 4  | 4  | 50  | 22  | 28  | Partly free
Georgia | No | 4  | 4  | 55  | 21  | 34  | Partly free
Germany | Yes | 1  | 1  | 95  | 40  | 55  | Free
Ghana | Yes | 2  | 2  | 80  | 35  | 45  | Free
Greece | Yes | 2  | 2  | 85  | 35  | 50  | Free
Grenada | Yes | 1  | 2  | 89  | 37  | 52  | Free
Guatemala | No | 4  | 4  | 48  | 19  | 29  | Partly free
Guinea | No | 6  | 5  | 30  | 7  | 23  | Not free
Guinea-Bissau | No | 5  | 4  | 41  | 15  | 26  | Partly free
Guyana | Yes | 2  | 2  | 74  | 30  | 44  | Free
Haiti | No | 6  | 5  | 24  | 6  | 18  | Not free
Honduras | No | 4  | 4  | 48  | 22  | 26  | Partly free
Hungary | Yes | 3  | 3  | 65  | 24  | 41  | Partly free
Iceland | Yes | 1  | 1  | 95  | 38  | 57  | Free
India | Yes | 2  | 4  | 63  | 31  | 32  | Partly free
Indonesia | No | 3  | 4  | 56  | 28  | 28  | Partly free
Iran | No | 7  | 7  | 11  | 4  | 7  | Not free
Iraq | No | 5  | 6  | 31  | 16  | 15  | Not free
Ireland | Yes | 1  | 1  | 97  | 39  | 58  | Free
Israel | Yes | 2  | 3  | 73  | 34  | 39  | Free
Italy | Yes | 1  | 1  | 89  | 36  | 53  | Free
Ivory Coast | No | 4  | 4  | 49  | 19  | 30  | Partly free
Jamaica | Yes | 2  | 2  | 80  | 33  | 47  | Free
Japan | Yes | 1  | 1  | 96  | 40  | 56  | Free
Jordan | No | 5  | 5  | 34  | 12  | 22  | Partly free
Kazakhstan | No | 7  | 5  | 23  | 5  | 18  | Not free
Kenya | No | 4  | 4  | 51  | 22  | 29  | Partly free
Kiribati | Yes | 1  | 1  | 89  | 36  | 53  | Free
Kosovo | Yes | 3  | 4  | 60  | 28  | 32  | Partly free
Kuwait | No | 6  | 5  | 31  | 7  | 14  | Not free
Kyrgyzstan | No | 7  | 5  | 26  | 4  | 22  | Not free
Laos | No | 7  | 6  | 13  | 2  | 11  | Not free
Latvia | Yes | 1  | 2  | 89  | 37  | 52  | Free
Lebanon | No | 5  | 4  | 39  | 13  | 26  | Partly free
Lesotho | Yes | 2  | 3  | 66  | 30  | 36  | Free
Liberia | Yes | 2  | 4  | 64  | 30  | 34  | Partly free
Libya | No | 7  | 6  | 10  | 2  | 8  | Not free
Liechtenstein | Yes | 2  | 1  | 90  | 33  | 57  | Free
Lithuania | Yes | 1  | 2  | 89  | 38  | 51  | Free
Luxembourg | Yes | 1  | 1  | 97  | 38  | 59  | Free
Madagascar | No | 4  | 4  | 55  | 21  | 34  | Partly free
Malawi | Yes | 3  | 3  | 65  | 28  | 37  | Partly free
Malaysia | No | 4  | 4  | 53  | 22  | 31  | Partly free
Maldives | No | 4  | 5  | 43  | 20  | 23  | Partly free
Mali | No | 6  | 5  | 24  | 6  | 18  | Not free
Malta | Yes | 2  | 2  | 87  | 35  | 52  | Free
Marshall Islands | Yes | 1  | 1  | 93  | 38  | 55  | Free
Mauritania | No | 5  | 5  | 39  | 15  | 24  | Partly free
Mauritius | Yes | 2  | 2  | 86  | 35  | 51  | Free
Mexico | Yes | 3  | 4  | 59  | 26  | 33  | Partly free
Micronesia | Yes | 1  | 1  | 92  | 37  | 55  | Free
Moldova | Yes | 3  | 3  | 60  | 25  | 35  | Partly free
Monaco | Yes | 3  | 1  | 82  | 25  | 57  | Free
Mongolia | Yes | 1  | 2  | 84  | 36  | 48  | Free
Montenegro | Yes | 3  | 3  | 69  | 27  | 42  | Partly free
Morocco | No | 5  | 5  | 37  | 13  | 24  | Partly free
Mozambique | No | 5  | 4  | 41  | 12  | 29  | Partly free
Myanmar | No | 7  | 7  | 7  | 0  | 7  | Not free
Namibia | Yes | 3  | 2  | 73  | 28  | 45  | Free
Nauru | Yes | 2  | 3  | 75  | 32  | 43  | Free
Nepal | Yes | 3  | 4  | 62  | 28  | 34  | Partly free
Netherlands | Yes | 1  | 1  | 97  | 39  | 58  | Free
New Zealand | Yes | 1  | 1  | 99  | 40  | 59  | Free
Nicaragua | No | 7  | 6  | 14  | 2  | 12  | Not free
Niger | No | 7  | 5  | 30  | 5  | 25  | Not free
Nigeria | No | 4  | 5  | 44  | 20  | 24  | Partly free
North Korea | No | 7  | 7  | 3  | 0  | 3  | Not free
North Macedonia | Yes | 3  | 3  | 67  | 28  | 39  | Partly free
Norway | Yes | 1  | 1  | 99  | 39  | 60  | Free
Oman | No | 6  | 5  | 24  | 6  | 18  | Not free
Pakistan | No | 5  | 5  | 32  | 12  | 20  | Partly free
Palau | Yes | 1  | 1  | 92  | 37  | 55  | Free
Panama | Yes | 2  | 2  | 83  | 35  | 48  | Free
Papua New Guinea | No | 4  | 3  | 61  | 22  | 39  | Partly free
Paraguay | Yes | 3  | 3  | 63  | 26  | 37  | Partly free
Peru | Yes | 3  | 3  | 67  | 28  | 39  | Partly free
Philippines | Yes | 3  | 4  | 58  | 25  | 33  | Partly free
Poland | Yes | 2  | 2  | 82  | 34  | 48  | Free
Portugal | Yes | 1  | 1  | 96  | 39  | 57  | Free
Qatar | No | 6  | 5  | 25  | 7  | 18  | Not free
Romania | Yes | 2  | 2  | 82  | 34  | 48  | Free
Russia | No | 7  | 6  | 12  | 4  | 8  | Not free
Rwanda | No | 6  | 6  | 21  | 7  | 14  | Not free
Samoa | Yes | 2  | 2  | 84  | 32  | 52  | Free
San Marino | Yes | 1  | 1  | 97  | 39  | 58  | Free
São Tomé and Príncipe | Yes | 2  | 2  | 84  | 35  | 49  | Free
Saudi Arabia | No | 7  | 6  | 9  | 1  | 8  | Not free
Senegal | Yes | 2  | 3  | 69  | 30  | 39  | Free
Serbia | No | 4  | 3  | 56  | 18  | 38  | Partly free
Seychelles | Yes | 2  | 2  | 80  | 34  | 46  | Free
Sierra Leone | Yes | 4  | 3  | 59  | 23  | 36  | Partly free
Singapore | No | 4  | 4  | 48  | 19  | 29  | Partly free
Slovakia | Yes | 1  | 1  | 89  | 36  | 53  | Free
Slovenia | Yes | 1  | 1  | 96  | 39  | 57  | Free
Solomon Islands | Yes | 3  | 2  | 75  | 28  | 47  | Free
Somalia | No | 7  | 7  | 8  | 2  | 6  | Not free
South Africa | Yes | 2  | 2  | 81  | 34  | 47  | Free
South Korea | Yes | 2  | 2  | 81  | 32  | 49  | Free
South Sudan | No | 7  | 7  | 1  | -3  | 4  | Not free
Spain | Yes | 1  | 1  | 90  | 37  | 53  | Free
Sri Lanka | Yes | 3  | 4  | 58  | 26  | 32  | Partly free
Saint Kitts and Nevis | Yes | 2  | 1  | 89  | 35  | 54  | Free
Saint Lucia | Yes | 1  | 1  | 91  | 38  | 53  | Free
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Yes | 1  | 1  | 90  | 36  | 54  | Free
Sudan | No | 7  | 7  | 2  | -3  | 5  | Not free
Suriname | Yes | 2  | 2  | 80  | 34  | 46  | Free
Sweden | Yes | 1  | 1  | 99  | 40  | 59  | Free
Switzerland | Yes | 1  | 1  | 96  | 39  | 57  | Free
Syria | No | 7  | 6  | 5  | -3  | 8  | Not free
Tajikistan | No | 7  | 7  | 5  | 0  | 5  | Not free
Tanzania | No | 6  | 5  | 35  | 11  | 24  | Not free
Thailand | No | 6  | 5  | 34  | 11  | 23  | Not free
Timor-Leste | Yes | 2  | 3  | 72  | 33  | 39  | Free
Togo | No | 5  | 4  | 41  | 14  | 27  | Partly free
Tonga | Yes | 2  | 2  | 80  | 30  | 50  | Free
Trinidad and Tobago | Yes | 2  | 2  | 82  | 33  | 49  | Free
Tunisia | No | 6  | 4  | 44  | 11  | 33  | Partly free
Turkey | No | 5  | 6  | 33  | 17  | 16  | Not free
Turkmenistan | No | 7  | 7  | 1  | 0  | 1  | Not free
Tuvalu | Yes | 1  | 1  | 93  | 37  | 56  | Free
Uganda | No | 6  | 5  | 34  | 10  | 24  | Not free
Ukraine | No | 4  | 4  | 51  | 23  | 28  | Partly free
United Arab Emirates | No | 7  | 6  | 18  | 5  | 13  | Not free
United Kingdom | Yes | 1  | 1  | 92  | 39  | 53  | Free
United States | Yes | 2  | 2  | 84  | 34  | 50  | Free
Uruguay | Yes | 1  | 1  | 96  | 40  | 56  | Free
Uzbekistan | No | 7  | 6  | 12  | 2  | 10  | Not free
Vanuatu | Yes | 2  | 2  | 82  | 32  | 50  | Free
Venezuela | No | 7  | 6  | 13  | 0  | 13  | Not free
Vietnam | No | 7  | 6  | 20  | 4  | 16  | Not free
Yemen | No | 7  | 6  | 10  | 1  | 9  | Not free
Zambia | No | 4  | 4  | 53  | 22  | 31  | Partly free
Zimbabwe | No | 6  | 5  | 26  | 9  | 17  | Not free

### Before 2025

[edit]

Country  | Electoral democracy  | 2019  | 2020  | 2021  | 2022  | 2023  | 2024

|
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|
|
|

PR | CL | Overall
status  | Pts  | PR | CL | Overall
status  | Pts  | PR | CL | Overall
status  | Pts  | PR | CL | Overall
status  | Pts  | PR | CL | Overall
status  | Pts  | PR | CL | Overall
status  | Pts
Afghanistan * | No  | 5 | 6 | Not | 27  | 5 | 6 | Not | 27  | 5 | 6 | Not | 27  | 7 | 7 | Not | 2
Albania * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 68  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 67  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 66  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 67
Algeria * | No  | 6 | 5 | Not | 34  | 6 | 5 | Not | 34  | 6 | 5 | Not | 32  | 6 | 5 | Not | 32
Andorra * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93
Angola * | No  | 6 | 5 | Not | 31  | 6 | 5 | Not | 32  | 6 | 5 | Not | 31  | 6 | 5 | Not | 30
Antigua and Barbuda * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 84  | 2 | 2 | Free | 85  | 2 | 2 | Free | 85  | 2 | 2 | Free | 85
Argentina * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 84  | 2 | 2 | Free | 85  | 2 | 2 | Free | 84  | 2 | 2 | Free | 84
Armenia * | No  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 51  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 53  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 55  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 55
Australia * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 98  | 1 | 1 | Free | 97  | 1 | 1 | Free | 97  | 1 | 1 | Free | 95
Austria * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93
Azerbaijan * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 11  | 7 | 6 | Not | 10  | 7 | 6 | Not | 10  | 7 | 6 | Not | 9
Bahamas | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91
Bahrain * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 12  | 7 | 6 | Not | 11  | 7 | 6 | Not | 12  | 7 | 6 | Not | 12
Bangladesh * | No  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 41  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 39  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 39  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 39
Barbados | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96  | 1 | 1 | Free | 95  | 1 | 1 | Free | 95  | 1 | 1 | Free | 95
Belarus * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 19  | 7 | 6 | Not | 19  | 7 | 6 | Not | 11  | 7 | 7 | Not | 8
Belgium * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96
Belize * | Yes  | 1 | 2 | Free | 86  | 2 | 2 | Free | 86  | 2 | 1 | Free | 87  | 2 | 1 | Free | 87
Benin * | No  | 2 | 2 | Free | 79  | 4 | 2 | Partly | 66  | 4 | 2 | Partly | 65  | 5 | 3 | Partly | 59
Bhutan * | Yes  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 59  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 59  | 2 | 4 | Partly | 61  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 61
Bolivia * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 67  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 63  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 66  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 66
Bosnia and Herzegovina * | No  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 53  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 53  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 53  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 53
Botswana * | Yes  | 3 | 2 | Free | 72  | 3 | 2 | Free | 72  | 3 | 2 | Free | 72  | 3 | 2 | Free | 72
Brazil * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 75  | 2 | 2 | Free | 75  | 2 | 3 | Free | 74  | 2 | 3 | Free | 73
Brunei * | No  | 6 | 5 | Not | 29  | 6 | 5 | Not | 28  | 6 | 5 | Not | 28  | 6 | 5 | Not | 28
Bulgaria * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 80  | 2 | 2 | Free | 80  | 2 | 2 | Free | 78  | 2 | 2 | Free | 79
Burkina Faso * | Yes  | 4 | 3 | Partly | 60  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 56  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 54  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 53
Burundi * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 14  | 7 | 6 | Not | 13  | 7 | 6 | Not | 14  | 7 | 6 | Not | 14
Cambodia * | No  | 6 | 5 | Not | 26  | 7 | 5 | Not | 25  | 7 | 5 | Not | 24  | 7 | 5 | Not | 24
Cameroon * | No  | 6 | 6 | Not | 19  | 6 | 6 | Not | 18  | 6 | 6 | Not | 16  | 6 | 6 | Not | 15
Canada * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 99  | 1 | 1 | Free | 98  | 1 | 1 | Free | 98  | 1 | 1 | Free | 98
Cape Verde * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 90  | 1 | 1 | Free | 92  | 1 | 1 | Free | 92  | 1 | 1 | Free | 92
Central African Republic * | No  | 7 | 7 | Not | 9  | 7 | 7 | Not | 10  | 7 | 7 | Not | 9  | 7 | 7 | Not | 7
Chad * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 17  | 7 | 6 | Not | 17  | 7 | 6 | Not | 17  | 7 | 6 | Not | 15
Chile * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 2 | Free | 90  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94
China * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 11  | 7 | 6 | Not | 10  | 7 | 6 | Not | 9  | 7 | 6 | Not | 9
Colombia * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 66  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 66  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 65  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 64
Comoros * | No  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 50  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 44  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 42  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 42
DR Congo * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 15  | 7 | 6 | Not | 18  | 7 | 6 | Not | 20
Congo * | No  | 7 | 5 | Not | 21  | 7 | 5 | Not | 20  | 7 | 5 | Not | 20
Costa Rica * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91
Croatia * | Yes  | 1 | 2 | Free | 85  | 1 | 2 | Free | 85  | 1 | 2 | Free | 85
Cuba * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 14  | 7 | 6 | Not | 14  | 7 | 6 | Not | 13
Cyprus * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94
Czech Republic * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91
Denmark * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 97  | 1 | 1 | Free | 97  | 1 | 1 | Free | 97
Djibouti * | No  | 6 | 5 | Not | 26  | 7 | 5 | Not | 24  | 7 | 5 | Not | 24
Dominica | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93
Dominican Republic * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 67  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 67  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 67
Timor-Leste * | Yes  | 2 | 3 | Free | 70  | 2 | 3 | Free | 71  | 2 | 3 | Free | 72
Ecuador * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 63  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 65  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 67
Egypt * | No  | 6 | 6 | Not | 22  | 6 | 6 | Not | 21  | 6 | 6 | Not | 18
El Salvador * | Yes  | 2 | 3 | Free | 67  | 2 | 4 | Partly | 66  | 2 | 4 | Partly | 63
Equatorial Guinea * | No  | 7 | 7 | Not | 6  | 7 | 7 | Not | 6  | 7 | 7 | Not | 5
Eritrea * | No  | 7 | 7 | Not | 2  | 7 | 7 | Not | 2  | 7 | 7 | Not | 2
Estonia * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94
Ethiopia * | No  | 6 | 6 | Not | 19  | 6 | 6 | Not | 24  | 6 | 6 | Not | 22
Eswatini * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 16  | 7 | 5 | Not | 19  | 7 | 5 | Not | 19
Fiji * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 61  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 60  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 60
Finland * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 100  | 1 | 1 | Free | 100  | 1 | 1 | Free | 100
France * | Yes  | 1 | 2 | Free | 90  | 1 | 2 | Free | 90  | 1 | 2 | Free | 90
Gabon * | No  | 7 | 5 | Not | 23  | 7 | 5 | Not | 22  | 7 | 5 | Not | 22
Gambia | No  | 4 | 5 | Partly | 45  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 46  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 46
Georgia * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 63  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 61  | 4 | 3 | Partly | 60
Germany * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94
Ghana * | Yes  | 1 | 2 | Free | 83  | 2 | 2 | Free | 82  | 2 | 2 | Free | 82
Greece * | Yes  | 1 | 2 | Free | 87  | 1 | 2 | Free | 88  | 1 | 2 | Free | 87
Grenada * | Yes  | 1 | 2 | Free | 89  | 1 | 2 | Free | 89  | 1 | 2 | Free | 89
Guatemala * | No  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 53  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 52  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 52
Guinea * | No  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 43  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 40  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 38
Guinea-Bissau * | No  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 42  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 46  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 44
Guyana * | Yes  | 2 | 3 | Free | 75  | 2 | 3 | Free | 74  | 2 | 3 | Free | 73
Haiti * | No  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 41  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 38  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 37
Honduras * | No  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 46  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 45  | 4 | 5 | Partly | 44
Hungary * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 70  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 70  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 69
Iceland * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94
India * | Yes  | 2 | 3 | Free | 75  | 2 | 3 | Free | 71  | 2 | 4 | Partly | 67
Indonesia * | No  | 2 | 4 | Partly | 62  | 2 | 4 | Partly | 61  | 2 | 4 | Partly | 59
Iran * | No  | 6 | 6 | Not | 18  | 6 | 6 | Not | 17  | 6 | 6 | Not | 16
Iraq * | No  | 5 | 6 | Not | 32  | 5 | 6 | Not | 31  | 5 | 6 | Not | 29
Ireland * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 97  | 1 | 1 | Free | 97  | 1 | 1 | Free | 97
Israel * | Yes  | 2 | 3 | Free | 78  | 2 | 3 | Free | 76  | 2 | 3 | Free | 76
Italy * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 89  | 1 | 1 | Free | 89  | 1 | 1 | Free | 90
Ivory Coast * | No  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 51  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 51  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 44
Jamaica * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 78  | 2 | 2 | Free | 78  | 2 | 2 | Free | 80
Japan * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96
Jordan * | No  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 37  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 37  | 6 | 5 | Not | 34
Kazakhstan * | No  | 7 | 5 | Not |  | 7 | 5 | Not | 23  | 7 | 5 | Not | 23
Kenya * | No  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 48  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 48  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 48
Kiribati * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93
Kosovo * | Yes  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 54  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 56  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 54
Kuwait * | No  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 36  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 36  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 37
Kyrgyzstan * | No  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 38  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 39  | 7 | 5 | Not | 28
Laos * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 14  | 7 | 6 | Not | 14  | 7 | 6 | Not | 13
Latvia * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 87  | 1 | 2 | Free | 89  | 1 | 2 | Free | 89
Lebanon * | No  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 45  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 44  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 43
Lesotho * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 63  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 63  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 63
Liberia * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 62  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 60  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 60
Libya * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 9  | 7 | 6 | Not | 9  | 7 | 6 | Not | 9
Liechtenstein * | Yes  | 2 | 1 | Free | 90  | 2 | 1 | Free | 90  | 2 | 1 | Free | 90
Lithuania * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91  | 1 | 2 | Free | 90
Luxembourg | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 98  | 1 | 1 | Free | 98  | 1 | 1 | Free | 97
Madagascar * | Yes  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 56  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 61  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 60
Malawi * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 64  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 62  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 66
Malaysia * | No  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 52  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 52  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 51
Maldives * | No  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 35  | 4 | 5 | Partly | 40  | 4 | 5 | Partly | 40
Mali * | No  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 44  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 41  | 6 | 5 | Not | 33
Malta * | Yes  | 2 | 1 | Free | 91  | 2 | 1 | Free | 90  | 2 | 1 | Free | 90
Marshall Islands * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93
Mauritania * | No  | 6 | 5 | Not | 32  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 34  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 35
Mauritius * | Yes  | 1 | 2 | Free | 89  | 1 | 2 | Free | 89  | 1 | 2 | Free | 87
Mexico * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 63  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 62  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 61
Micronesia * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 92  | 1 | 1 | Free | 92  | 1 | 1 | Free | 92
Moldova * | Yes  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 58  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 60  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 61
Monaco * | Yes  | 3 | 1 | Free | 82  | 3 | 1 | Free | 83  | 3 | 1 | Free | 83
Mongolia * | Yes  | 1 | 2 | Free | 85  | 1 | 2 | Free | 84  | 1 | 2 | Free | 84
Montenegro | Yes  | 4 | 3 | Partly | 65  | 4 | 3 | Partly | 62  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 63
Morocco * | No  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 39  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 37  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 37
Mozambique * | No  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 51  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 45  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 43
Myanmar * | No  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 30  | 5 | 6 | Not | 30  | 5 | 6 | Not | 28
Namibia * | Yes  | 3 | 2 | Free | 75  | 2 | 2 | Free | 77  | 2 | 2 | Free | 77
Nauru * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 78  | 2 | 3 | Free | 77  | 2 | 3 | Free | 77
Nepal * | Yes  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 54  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 56  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 56
Netherlands * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 99  | 1 | 1 | Free | 99  | 1 | 1 | Free | 98
New Zealand * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 98  | 1 | 1 | Free | 97  | 1 | 1 | Free | 99
Nicaragua * | No  | 6 | 5 | Not | 32  | 6 | 5 | Not | 31  | 6 | 5 | Not | 30
Niger * | No  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 49  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 48  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 48
Nigeria * | No  | 3 | 5 | Partly | 50  | 4 | 5 | Partly | 47  | 4 | 5 | Partly | 45
North Korea * | No  | 7 | 7 | Not | 3  | 7 | 7 | Not | 3  | 7 | 7 | Not | 3
North Macedonia * | Yes  | 4 | 3 | Partly | 59  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 63  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 66
Norway * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 100  | 1 | 1 | Free | 100  | 1 | 1 | Free | 100
Oman * | No  | 6 | 5 | Not | 23  | 6 | 5 | Not | 23  | 6 | 5 | Not | 23
Pakistan * | No  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 39  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 38  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 37
Palau * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 92  | 1 | 1 | Free | 92  | 1 | 1 | Free | 92
Panama * | Yes  | 1 | 2 | Free | 84  | 1 | 2 | Free | 84  | 2 | 2 | Free | 83
Papua New Guinea * | Yes  | 4 | 3 | Partly | 64  | 4 | 3 | Partly | 62  | 4 | 3 | Partly | 62
Paraguay * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 65  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 65  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 65
Peru * | Yes  | 2 | 3 | Free | 73  | 2 | 3 | Free | 72  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 71
Philippines * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 61  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 59  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 56
Poland * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 84  | 2 | 2 | Free | 84  | 2 | 2 | Free | 82
Portugal * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96
Qatar * | No  | 6 | 5 | Not | 25  | 6 | 5 | Not | 25  | 6 | 5 | Not | 25
Romania * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 81  | 2 | 2 | Free | 83  | 2 | 2 | Free | 83
Russia * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 20  | 7 | 6 | Not | 20  | 7 | 6 | Not | 20
Rwanda * | No  | 6 | 6 | Not | 23  | 6 | 6 | Not | 22  | 6 | 6 | Not | 21
Saint Kitts and Nevis | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 89  | 1 | 1 | Free | 89  | 2 | 1 | Free | 89
Saint Lucia | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 92  | 1 | 1 | Free | 92  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91  | 1 | 1 | Free | 91
Samoa * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 81  | 2 | 2 | Free | 81  | 2 | 2 | Free | 81
San Marino | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 95  | 1 | 1 | Free | 95  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93
São Tomé and Príncipe * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 83  | 2 | 2 | Free | 84  | 2 | 2 | Free | 84
Saudi Arabia * | No  | 7 | 7 | Not | 7  | 7 | 7 | Not | 7  | 7 | 7 | Not | 7
Senegal * | Yes  | 2 | 3 | Free | 72  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 71  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 71
Serbia * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 67  | 4 | 3 | Partly | 66  | 4 | 3 | Partly | 64
Seychelles | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 71  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 72  | 2 | 3 | Free | 77
Sierra Leone * | Yes  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 65  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 65  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 65
Singapore * | No  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 51  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 50  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 48
Slovakia * | Yes  | 1 | 2 | Free | 88  | 1 | 2 | Free | 88  | 1 | 1 | Free | 90
Slovenia | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 95
Solomon Islands * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 79  | 2 | 2 | Free | 79  | 2 | 2 | Free | 79
Somalia * | No  | 7 | 7 | Not | 7  | 7 | 7 | Not | 7  | 7 | 7 | Not | 7
South Africa * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 79  | 2 | 2 | Free | 79  | 2 | 2 | Free | 79
South Korea * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 83  | 2 | 2 | Free | 83  | 2 | 2 | Free | 83
South Sudan * | No  | 7 | 7 | Not | 2  | 7 | 7 | Not | 2  | 7 | 7 | Not | 2
Spain * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 92  | 1 | 1 | Free | 90
Sri Lanka * | Yes  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 56  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 56  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 56
Sudan * | No  | 7 | 7 | Not | 7  | 7 | 6 | Not | 12  | 7 | 6 | Not | 17
Suriname * | Yes  | 2 | 3 | Free | 77  | 2 | 3 | Free | 75  | 2 | 2 | Free | 79
Sweden * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 100  | 1 | 1 | Free | 100  | 1 | 1 | Free | 100
Switzerland * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96  | 1 | 1 | Free | 96
Syria * | No  | 7 | 7 | Not | 0  | 7 | 7 | Not | 0  | 7 | 7 | Not | 1  | 7 | 7 | Not | 1  | 7 | 7 | Not | 1
Tajikistan * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 9  | 7 | 6 | Not | 9  | 7 | 6 | Not | 8  | 7 | 6 | Not | 8  | 7 | 6 | Not | 7
Tanzania * | No  | 4 | 5 | Partly | 45  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 40  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 34  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 34  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 36
Thailand * | No  | 7 | 5 | Not | 30  | 6 | 4 | Partly | 32  | 7 | 5 | Not | 30  | 7 | 5 | Not | 29  | 6 | 5 | Not | 30
Togo * | No  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 43  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 44  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 43  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 42  | 5 | 4 | Partly | 42
Tonga * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 79  | 2 | 2 | Free | 79  | 2 | 2 | Free | 79  | 2 | 2 | Free | 79  | 2 | 2 | Free | 81
Trinidad and Tobago * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 82  | 2 | 2 | Free | 82  | 2 | 2 | Free | 82
Tunisia * | Yes  | 2 | 3 | Free | 69  | 2 | 3 | Free | 70  | 2 | 3 | Free | 71
Turkey * | No  | 5 | 6 | Not | 31  | 5 | 6 | Not | 32  | 5 | 6 | Not | 32
Turkmenistan * | No  | 7 | 7 | Not | 2  | 7 | 7 | Not | 2  | 7 | 7 | Not | 2
Tuvalu * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93
Uganda * | No  | 6 | 5 | Not | 36  | 6 | 5 | Not | 34  | 6 | 5 | Not | 34
Ukraine * | No  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 60  | 3 | 3 | Partly | 62  | 3 | 4 | Partly | 60
United Arab Emirates * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 17  | 7 | 6 | Not | 17  | 7 | 6 | Not | 17
United Kingdom * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93  | 1 | 1 | Free | 94  | 1 | 1 | Free | 93
United States * | Yes  | 2 | 1 | Free | 86  | 2 | 1 | Free | 86  | 2 | 2 | Free | 83
Uruguay * | Yes  | 1 | 1 | Free |  | 1 | 1 | Free | 98  | 1 | 1 | Free | 98
Uzbekistan * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not |  | 7 | 6 | Not | 10  | 7 | 6 | Not | 11
Vanuatu * | Yes  | 2 | 2 | Free | 82  | 2 | 2 | Free | 82  | 2 | 2 | Free | 82
Venezuela * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 19  | 7 | 6 | Not | 16  | 7 | 6 | Not | 14
Vietnam * | No  | 7 | 5 | Not | 20  | 7 | 5 | Not | 20  | 7 | 6 | Not | 19
Yemen * | No  | 7 | 6 | Not | 11  | 7 | 6 | Not | 11  | 7 | 6 | Not | 11
Zambia * | No  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 54  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 54  | 4 | 4 | Partly | 52
Zimbabwe * | No  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 31  | 5 | 5 | Partly | 29  | 6 | 5 | Not | 28

### Territories and countries with limited recognition

[edit]

Territory (2025)

Total  | PR | CL | Overall
status
Abkhazia | 39  | 17  | 22  | Partly free
Gaza Strip | 2  | -2  | 4  | Not free
Hong Kong | 40  | 9  | 31  | Partly free
Indian Kashmir | 38  | 17  | 21  | Partly free
Northern Cyprus | 76  | 27  | 49  | Free
Pakistani Kashmir | 30  | 9  | 21  | Not free
Russian-occupied Ukraine | 2  | -1  | 3  | Not free
Somaliland | 47  | 21  | 26  | Partly free
South Ossetia | 12  | 3  | 9  | Not free
Taiwan | 94  | 38  | 56  | Free
Tibet | 0  | -2  | 2  | Not free
Transnistria | 17  | 5  | 12  | Not free
West Bank | 22  | 4  | 18  | Not free
Western Sahara | 4  | -3  | 7  | Not free
Country  | 2014  | 2015  | 2016  | 2017  | 2018  | 2020  | 2021[14]

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

PR | CL | Overall
status  | PR | CL | Overall
status  | PR | CL | Overall
status  | PR | CL | Overall
status  | PR | CL | Overall
status  | PR | CL | Overall
status  | Pts  | PR | CL | Overall
status  | Pts
Abkhazia * | 4  | 5  | Partly | 4  | 5  | Partly | 4  | 5  | Partly | 4  | 5  | Partly | 4  | 5  | Partly | 17  | 23  | Partly  | 40  | 17  | 23  | Partly  | 40
Crimea (disputed)  | 4  | 3  | Partly | 7  | 6  | Not | 7  | 6  | Not | 7  | 6  | Not | 7  | 6  | Not | -2  | 10  | Not  | 8  | -2  | 9  | Not  | 7
Donetsk PR and Luhansk PR (disputed)  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | -1  | 6  | Not  | 5  | -1  | 5  | Not  | 4
Gaza Strip (Palestine)  | 7  | 6  | Not | 7  | 6  | Not | 7  | 6  | Not | 7  | 6  | Not | 7  | 6  | Not | 3  | 8  | Not  | 11  | 3  | 8  | Not  | 11
Hong Kong * (China)  | 5  | 2  | Partly | 5  | 2  | Partly | 5  | 2  | Partly | 5  | 2  | Partly | 5  | 2  | Partly | 16  | 39  | Partly  | 55  | 15  | 37  | Partly  | 52
Indian Kashmir (India)  | 4  | 4  | Partly | 4  | 4  | Partly | 4  | 4  | Partly | 4  | 4  | Partly | 4  | 4  | Partly | 8  | 20  | Not  | 28  | 7  | 20  | Not  | 27
Azad Kashmir (Pakistan)  | 6  | 5  | Not | 6  | 5  | Not | 6  | 5  | Not | 6  | 5  | Not | 6  | 5  | Not | 9  | 19  | Not  | 28  | 9  | 19  | Not  | 28
Northern Cyprus * | 2  | 2  | Free | 2  | 2  | Free | 2  | 2  | Free | 2  | 2  | Free | 2  | 2  | Free | 31  | 50  | Free  | 81  | 28  | 50  | Free  | 78
Puerto Rico (United States)*  | 1  | 2  | Free | 1  | 2  | Free | 1  | 1  | Free[15] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Somaliland * | 4  | 5  | Partly | 4  | 5  | Partly | 5  | 5  | Partly | 5  | 5  | Partly | 4  | 5  | Partly | 17  | 24  | Partly  | 41  | 18  | 24  | Partly  | 42
South Ossetia * | 7  | 6  | Not | 7  | 6  | Not | 7  | 6  | Not | 7  | 6  | Not | 7  | 6  | Not | 2  | 8  | Not  | 10  | 2  | 8  | Not  | 10
Taiwan * |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1  | 1  | Free | 93  | 1  | 1  | Free | 94
Tibet (China)  | 7  | 7  | Not | 7  | 7  | Not | 7  | 7  | Not | 7  | 7  | Not | 7  | 7  | Not | -2  | 3  | Not  | 1  | -2  | 3  | Not  | 1
Transnistria * | 6  | 6  | Not | 6  | 6  | Not | 6  | 6  | Not | 6  | 6  | Not | 6  | 6  | Not | 9  | 13  | Not  | 22  | 8  | 12  | Not  | 20
West Bank (Palestine)  | 6  | 5  | Not | 6  | 5  | Not | 6  | 5  | Not | 7  | 5  | Not | 7  | 5  | Not | 4  | 21  | Not  | 25  | 4  | 21  | Not  | 25
Western Sahara * | 7  | 7  | Not | 7  | 7  | Not | 7  | 7  | Not | 7  | 7  | Not | 7  | 7  | Not | -3  | 7  | Not  | 4  | -3  | 7  | Not  | 4

### Former entries

[edit]

Former entries from Freedom in the World. Most are territories added in the 1978 report for 1977 and received their last coverage in the 2000 report of the same year. Other territories with differing dates are noted below. Their placements are based on their final rankings before ceasing coverage.

#### Free

[edit]

* Åland (1992–2000)
* American Samoa
* Anguilla
* Aruba (1988–2000)
* Azores
* Bermuda
* British Virgin Islands
* Canary Islands
* Cayman Islands
* Ceuta
* Christmas Island
* Cocos (Keeling) Islands
* Cook Islands
* Czechoslovakia (1972–1993)
* Easter Island
* Falkland Islands
* Faroe Islands
* French Guiana
* French Polynesia
* West Germany (1972–1990)
* Gibraltar
* Greenland
* Guadeloupe
* Guam
* Guernsey
* Isle of Man
* Jersey
* Madeira
* Martinique
* Mayotte
* Melilla
* Montserrat
* Netherlands Antilles
* New Caledonia
* Niue
* Norfolk Island
* Northern Ireland (1991–2004)
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Pitcairn Islands
* Puerto Rico (1977–2016)
* Réunion
* Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
* Saint Martin
* Saint Pierre and Miquelon
* Serbia and Montenegro (1992–2006)
* Svalbard (1992–2000)
* Tokelau
* Turks and Caicos Islands
* United States Virgin Islands
* Wallis and Futuna

#### Partly Free

[edit]

* Republic of Artsakh (1991–2023)
* Kurdistan Region (1992–2004)
* Macau (1977–2004)
* Panama Canal Zone (1977–1979)
* Vatican City (1984–1988)
* West Papua (1990–2003)
* South Vietnam (1972–1976)
* North Yemen (1972–1990)
* Yugoslavia (1972–1992)

#### Not Free

[edit]

* Bophuthatswana (1977–1994)
* Chechnya (1998–2009)
* Ciskei (1981–1994)
* Crimea (2014–2024)
* Eastern Donbas (2020–2024)
* East Germany (1972–1990)
* Juan Fernández Islands (1977–1978)
* Occupied Territories (1977–2010)
* Palestinian Territories (1997–2010)
* Transkei (1988–1994)
* Venda (1979–1994)
* Soviet Union (1972–1990)
* North Vietnam (1972–1976)
* Vojvodina (1992–1995)
* South Yemen (1972–1990)

## Evaluation

[edit]

See also: Freedom House § Criticism

There is some debate over the neutrality of Freedom House and the methodology used for the Freedom in the World report, which has been written by Raymond Gastil and his colleagues.[3] The neutrality and biases of human-rights indices have been discussed in several publications by Kenneth A. Bollen.[16] Bollen wrote that "Considered together these criticisms suggest that some nations may have been incorrectly rated on Gastil's measures. However, none of the criticisms have demonstrated a systematic bias in all the ratings. Most of the evidence consists of anecdotal evidence of relatively few cases. Whether there is a systematic or sporadic slant in Gastil's ratings is an open question" (Bollen, 1986, p. 586).[3] The freedom index of Freedom in the World has a very strong and positive (at least an 80%) correlation with three other democracy-indices studied in Mainwaring (2001, p. 53).[17]

### Ideological bias or neutrality

[edit]

In his 1986 study, Bollen discussed reviews of measurements of human rights, including the index reported in Freedom in the World (Bollen, 1986, p. 585). Criticisms of Freedom in the World during the 1980s were discussed by Gastil (1990), who stated that "generally such criticism is based on opinions about Freedom House rather than detailed examination of survey ratings", a conclusion disputed by Giannone.[18] The definition of Freedom in Gastil (1982) and Freedom House (1990) emphasized liberties rather than the exercise of freedom, according to Adam Przeworski, who gave the following example: In the United States, citizens are free to form political parties and to vote, yet even in presidential elections only half of U.S. "citizens" vote; in the U.S., "the same two parties speak in a commercially sponsored unison", wrote Przeworski (2003, p. 277).[5]

More recent charges of ideological bias prompted Freedom House to issue this 2010 statement:

> Freedom House does not maintain a culture-bound view of freedom. The methodology of the survey is grounded in basic standards of political rights and civil liberties, derived in large measure from relevant portions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These standards apply to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.[10]

Mainwaring et alia (2001, p. 52)[17] wrote that Freedom House's index had "two systematic biases: scores for leftist were tainted by political considerations, and changes in scores are sometimes driven by changes in their criteria rather than changes in real conditions." Nonetheless, when evaluated in Latin American countries yearly, Freedom House's index was very strongly and positively correlated with the index of Adam Przeworski and with the index of the authors themselves: They evaluated Pearson's coefficient of linear correlation between their index and Freedom House's index, which was 0.82; among these indices and the two others studied, the correlations were all between 0.80 and 0.86 (Mainwaring et alia, 2001, p. 53).[17]

As previously quoted, Bollen criticized previous studies of Freedom in the World as anecdotal and inconclusive; they raised issues needing further study by scientific methods rather than anecdotes.[3] Bollen studied the question of ideological bias using multivariate statistics. Using their factor-analytic model for human-rights measurements, Bollen and Paxton estimate that Gastil's method produces a bias of -0.38 standard deviations (s.d.) against Marxist–Leninist countries and a larger bias, +0.5 s.d., favoring Christian countries; similar results held for the methodology of Sussman (Bollen and Paxton, 2000, p. 585).[19] In contrast, another method by a critic of Freedom in the World produced a bias for Leftist countries during the 1980s of at least +0.8 s.d., a bias that is "consistent with the general finding that political scientists are more favorable to leftist politics than is the general population" (Bollen and Paxton, p. 585).[19]

### Coder bias

[edit]

Political scientists Andrew T. Little and Anne Meng argued that the data produced by Freedom House and the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project relies heavily on subjective, as opposed to objective, measures and thus are tainted by coder bias.[20]

### Use and conceptual analysis

[edit]

Criticisms of the reception and uses of the Freedom in the World report have been noted by Diego Giannone:[21][unreliable source?]

* "Conceptual stretching", Giovanni Sartori's critical term for a methodological shortcoming common in social studies.[22] Giannone reports as an example that, according to Landman and Hausermann (2003), "the index by FH has been used as a tool for measuring democracy, good governance, and human rights, thus producing a conceptual stretching which is a major cause of 'losses in connotative precision': in short, an instrument used to measure everything, in the end, is not able to discriminate against anything."[23]
* Issues with aggregation. Giannone quotes Scoble and Wiseberg's conclusion (1981) that "the sum of a civil liberty score of 4 and a political liberty score of 2 is the same as the sum of a civil liberty score of 2 and a political liberty score of 4 even though the substantive interpretation of these different combinations is different."[24]
* "Lack of specificity and rigorousness in construction" and "inadequate level of transparency and replicability of the scales", the first referencing to Scoble et alie (1981) and the latter to Hadenius and Teorell (2005).[25] In support of the latter, he also quotes the conclusion of Munck and Verkuilen (2002) that "the aggregate data offered by Freedom House has to be accepted largely on faith",[26] due to the factors that "no set of coding rules is provided, and the sources of information are not identified with enough precision, and because disaggregated data have not been made available to independent scholars".[25]

### Time series

[edit]

See also: Panel study and Time series

In "Political and ideological aspects in the measurement of democracy: the Freedom House case" (2010) which reviewed changes to the methodology since 1990, Diego Giannone concluded that "because of the changes in methodology over time and the strict interconnection between methodological and political aspects, the FH data do not offer an unbroken and politically neutral time series, such that they should not be used for cross-time analyses even for the development of first hypotheses. The internal consistency of the data series is open to question."[27]

On this topic, the Freedom House website replies that they have "made a number of modest methodological changes to adapt to evolving ideas about political rights and civil liberties. At the same time, the time series data are not revised retroactively, and any changes to the methodology are introduced incrementally in order to ensure the comparability of the ratings from year to year."[10]

## See also

[edit]

* Democracy in the Middle East
* Democracy Index
* Freedom in the World by region
* Index of Freedom in the World
* List of indices of freedom
* Polity data series

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Gorokhovskaia, Yana; Shahbaz, Adrian; Slipowitz, Amy (9 March 2023). "Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy". Freedom House. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
2. ^ William Ide (11 January 2000). "Freedom House Report: Asia Sees Some Significant Progress". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
3. ^ a b c d Bollen, K.A., "Political Rights and Political Liberties in Nations: An Evaluation of Human Rights Measures, 1950 to 1984", Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 8, no. 4 (November 1986), pp.567–591. Also in: Jabine, T.B. and Pierre Claude, R. (Eds.), Human Rights and Statistics, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992, pp. 188–215, ISBN 0-8122-3108-2.
4. ^ “Correlation Versus Interchangeability: the Limited Robustness of Empirical Finding on Democracy Using Highly Correlated Data Sets" Archived 20 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Gretchen Casper and Claudiu Tufis, Political Analysis, 11:2 (2003), pp. 196–203, Society for Political Methodology
5. ^ a b Przeworski, Adam (2003). "Freedom to choose and democracy". Economics and Philosophy. 19 (2): 265–279\. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.570.736. doi:10.1017/S0266267103001159. S2CID 38812895.
6. ^ List of Electoral Democracies FIW23 (.XLSX), by Freedom House
7. ^ "Freedom in the World 2019" (PDF). Freedom House. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
8. ^ "Freedom in the World 2020" (PDF). Freedom House. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
9. ^ "Freedom in the World 2021" (PDF). Freedom House. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
10. ^ a b c d "Freedom in the World 2010: Methodology" Archived 23 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Freedom in the World 2010, Freedom house
11. ^ "Methodology: Freedom in the World 2018". freedomhouse.org. 13 January 2018. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
12. ^ List of Electoral Democracies, FIW 2025 (Excel Download), Freedom In the World, List of Electoral Democracies, FIW 2025 (Excel Download), Freedom House.
13. ^ a b All Data, FIW 2013-2024 (Excel Download), Freedom In the World, All Data, 2013-2024 (Excel Download), Freedom House.
14. ^ "Countries and Territories". Freedom House. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
15. ^ Puerto Rico *. Retrieved from https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2016/puerto-rico Archived 18 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine
16. ^ Bollen has held chairs as a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and the Director of the Howard W. Odum Institute for Research in Social Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). Also serving as an Adjunct Professor of Statistics at UNC-CH, Bollen wrote the leading graduate textbook in structural equation models (SEM), often called LISREL models; SEM modeling allows the summary of a large number of measurements using a small number of meaningful factors. SEM was used by Bollen in the studies reported hereafter.
17. ^ a b c Mainwaring, S.; Brinks, D.; Pérez-Liñán, A.B. (2001). "Classifying Political Regimes in Latin". Studies in Comparative International Development. 36 (1): 37–65\. doi:10.1007/BF02687584. S2CID 155047996.
18. ^ Gastil, R.D. (1990). "The Comparative Survey of Freedom: Experiences and Suggestions". Studies in Comparative International Development. 25 (1): 25–50\. doi:10.1007/BF02716904. S2CID 144099626.
19. ^ a b Bollen, Kenneth A. and Paxton, Pamela, "Subjective Measures of Liberal Democracy", Comparative Political Studies, vol. 33, no. 1 (February 2000), pp. 58–86
20. ^ Andrew Little and Anne Meng,“Measuring Democratic Backsliding.“ PS: Political Science & Politics (forthcoming). https://osf.io/n32zk/
21. ^ Giannone, Diego, "Political and ideological aspects in the measurement of democracy: the Freedom House case", Democratization, vol. 17, no. 1 (February 2010), pp. 68–97.
22. ^ "Concept Misformation in Comparative Politics." The American Political Science Review 64 (4): 1033–1053.
23. ^ Giannone (2010), p. 69. Quoting Landman, Tod, and Julia Hausermann, indicators/GovIndicatorsEssex2003.pdf Map-Making and Analysis of the Main International Initiatives on Developing Indicators on Democracy and Good Governance [dead link], Final Report, University of Essex – Human Rights Centre, July 2003, 98 pp.
24. ^ Scoble, Harry and Laurie Wiseberg, Ved Nanda, Ved, James Scarritt, and George Shepherd (eds) (1981), "Problems of Comparative Research in Human Rights", Global Human Rights: Public Policies, Comparative Measures and NGO Strategies, pp. 147–171, Westview Press, Boulder, CO, ISBN 978-0-89158-858-0. Cited in Giannone (2010), p. 69.
25. ^ a b Giannone (2010), p. 69, citing Scoble, et al. (1981) and Axel Hadenius and Jan Teorell. "Assessing Alternative Indices of Democracy", Political Concepts, Committee on Concepts and Methods, Working Paper Series, August 2005, 47 pp.
26. ^ Munck, Gerardo L. and Verkuilen, Jay, CPS 2002.pdf "Conceptualising and Measuring Democracy: Evaluating Alternative Indices" [dead link], Comparative Political Studies, vol. 35, no. 1 (February 2002), pp. 5–34. Cited in Giannone (2010), p. 69.
27. ^ Giannone (2010), p. 68.

## References

[edit]

* Bollen, Kenneth A. (1991), Inkeles, Alex (ed.), "On measuring democracy: Its consequences and concomitants (Chapter 1, Political democracy: Conceptual and measurement traps)", Proceedings of the Conference on Measuring Democracy, 27–28 May 1988, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (second printing, 1993 ed.), New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transactions Publishers, pp. 3–20, ISBN 978-0-88738-881-1
* Bollen, Kenneth; Paxton, Pamela; Morishima, Rumi (June 2005). "Assessing international evaluations: An example from USAID's Democracy and Governance Programs" (PDF). American Journal of Evaluation. 26 (2): 189–203\. doi:10.1177/1098214005275640. S2CID 146522432. Evaluation performed on behalf of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), at the request of and with funding from the Strategic and Operational Research Agenda (SORA) of USAID (Office of Democracy and Governance in the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance), according to the National Research Council (2008, p. 28).[permanent dead link]
* Gastil, Raymond Duncan (1991), Inkeles, Alex (ed.), "On measuring democracy: Its consequences and concomitants (Chapter 2, The comparative survey of freedom: Experiences and suggestions)", Proceedings of the Conference on Measuring Democracy, 27–28 May 1988, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (second printing, 1993 ed.), New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.A.: Transactions Publishers, pp. 21–46, ISBN 978-0-88738-881-1
* Inkeles, Alex, ed. (1991), "On measuring democracy: Its consequences and concomitants (Part I: Measuring democratic political systems)", Proceedings of the Conference on Measuring Democracy, 27–28 May 1988, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (second printing, 1993 ed.), New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transactions Publishers, pp. 1–121, ISBN 978-0-88738-881-1
* National Research Council, Committee on Evaluation of USAID Democracy Assistance Programs (2008). Goldstone, Jack A (ed.). Improving democracy assistance: Building knowledge through evaluations and research. National Academies Press. pp. xvi+336. ISBN 978-0-309-11736-4. Individuals can download the complete report (pdf format) for private use.

## External links

[edit]

* Freedom in the World 2024 \- online at Freedom House
* Freedom in the World 2023 \- online at Freedom House
* Freedom in the World 2022 \- online at Freedom House
* Freedom in the World 2021 \- online at Freedom House
* Freedom in the World 2020 \- online at Freedom House
* Freedom in the World 2019 \- online at Freedom House
* Freedom in the World 2018 \- online at Freedom House
* Freedom in the World 2017 \- online at Freedom House
* Freedom in the World 2016 \- online at Freedom House
* Freedom in the World 2015 \- online at Freedom House
* Freedom in the World 2014 \- online at Freedom House
* Freedom in the World 2013 \- online at Freedom House

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