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.
Critical assessments of the survey have highlighted potential biases stemming from its funding, methodology, ideological leanings and the subjective nature of the scoring. Freedom House has defended its ratings as independent and evidence-based.
Origin and use 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". 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."Correlation Versus Interchangeability: the Limited Robustness of Empirical Finding on Democracy Using Highly Correlated Data Sets" , Gretchen Casper and Claudiu Tufis, Political Analysis, 11:2 (2003), pp. 196–203, Society for Political Methodology
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.
Country and territory assessments
Methodology Together with descriptive texts, Freedom in the World reports assign each country and territory "scores", "ratings", and a "status", as well as determining whether or not it is an "electoral democracy". Ratings are derived from scores, and status, in turn, is derived from ratings. Each report covers the year prior to its publication.
Countries and territories The 2026 edition covered 195 "countries" (the 193 UN member states, as well as Kosovo and Taiwan), and 13 "territories". Freedom House states that it "typically takes no position on territorial or separatist disputes as such, focusing instead on the level of political rights and civil liberties in a given geographical area". Its selection of territories for assessment is officially based on several parameters:
separate governance; unique conditions which mean an assessment is likely to yield different ratings from "the relevant country or countries"; pressure for a change in political status, such as "autonomy, independence, or incorporation into another country"; stability that would allow assessment of a full, single year, as well as expectation of stability over future years that would allow comparisons over time; size and/or political significance.
Scores Each country and territory is awarded a "score" of 0 to 4 for each of 25 indicators. 10 of the indicators are for "political rights" (PR), and 15 are for "civil liberties" (CL). Therefore, the total CL score can be between 0 and 60, while the PR score, where 1 to 4 points can be deducted on the basis of an additional discretionary question, can range from -4 and 40. This means that the lowest total score possible (meaning the least freedom) is -4, and the highest (meaning most freedom) is 100.
Before the 2018 report, there was another additional discretionary question, which could be used to award 1 to 4 points to "traditional monarchies that had no political parties or significant electoral processes but provided for some form of consultation with the public". The assessment of this kind of consultation is now done elsewhere in the methodology.
Ratings and status Each country and territory also receives two "ratings" ranging from 1 to 7, one for PR and one for CL, with 1 meaning the most possible freedom, and 7 meaning the least. The ratings are derived from the scores. The average of each pair of ratings determines the overall "status" of "Free" (1.0–2.5), "Partly Free" (3.0–5.0), or "Not Free" (5.5–7.0)."Freedom in the World 2010: Methodology" , Freedom in the World 2010, Freedom house While the formula for converting scores into status remains the same, since 2020 the reports have started to put less of an emphasis on the ratings, though they can still be accessed in the raw data.
Electoral democracy Under the reports' methodology, to qualify as an "electoral democracy" a country (territories are not included in this list) must have a score of 7 or more out of 12 in political rights subcategory A (Electoral Progress), an overall aggregate score of 20 or more in their political rights rating, and (since 2018) an overall aggregate score of 30 or more in their civil liberties rating.
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 and a robust observance of democratic ideals. In the survey, most Free countries could qualify as both electoral and liberal democracies. By contrast, some Partly Free countries qualify as electoral, but not liberal, democracies.
Assessments * indicates "Civil liberties in country or territory" or "Human rights in country or territory" links.
PR = political rights, CL = civil liberties
2024 countries (according to Freedom House) Country (2024)ElectoraldemocracyPR ratingCL rating Total Overallstatus Afghanistan 77 6 1 5 Albania 33 68 28 40 Algeria 65 31 10 21 Andorra 11 93 38 55 Angola 65 28 10 18 Antigua and Barbuda 22 83 32 51 Argentina 22 85 35 50 Armenia 44 54 23 31 Australia 11 95 39 56 Austria 11 93 37 56 Azerbaijan 77 7 0 7 Bahamas 12 90 38 52 Bahrain 76 12 2 10 Bangladesh 54 45 16 29 Barbados 11 94 37 57 Belarus 77 7 1 6 Belgium 11 96 39 57 Belize 21 88 35 53 Benin 43 60 18 42 Bhutan 23 68 32 36 Bolivia 33 65 26 39 Bosnia and Herzegovina 53 52 17 35 Botswana 22 75 31 44 Brazil 23 72 30 42 Brunei 65 27 7 20 Bulgaria 22 77 32 45 Burkina Faso 75 25 3 22 Burundi 76 15 4 11 Cambodia 75 23 4 19 Cameroon 66 15 6 9 Canada 11 97 39 58 Cape Verde 11 92 38 54 Central African Republic 77 5 1 4 Chad 76 15 1 14 Chile 11 95 38 57 China 76 9 -2 11 Colombia 23 70 31 39 Comoros 54 42 16 26 Congo (Democratic Republic) 76 18 4 14 Congo (Republic) 76 17 2 15 Costa Rica 11 91 38 53 Croatia 22 82 34 48 Cuba 76 10 1 9 Cyprus 11 91 38 53 Czech Republic 11 95 37 58 Denmark 11 97 40 57 Djibouti 75 24 5 19 Dominica 11 92 37 55 Dominican Republic 33 68 27 41 Ecuador 33 65 28 37 Egypt 66 18 6 12 El Salvador 54 47 17 30 Equatorial Guinea 77 5 0 5 Eritrea 77 3 1 2 Estonia 11 96 39 57 Eswatini 76 17 1 16 Ethiopia 66 18 8 10 Fiji 33 69 28 41 Finland 11 100 40 60 France 12 89 38 51 Gabon 7 5 21 2 19 The Gambia 4 4 50 22 28 Georgia 44 55 21 34 Germany 11 95 40 55 Ghana 22 80 35 45 Greece 22 85 35 50 Grenada 12 89 37 52 Guatemala 44 48 19 29 Guinea 65 30 7 23 Guinea-Bissau 54 41 15 26 Guyana 22 74 30 44 Haiti 65 24 6 18 Honduras 44 48 22 26 Hungary 33 65 24 41 Iceland 11 95 38 57 India 24 63 31 32 Indonesia 34 56 28 28 Iran 77 11 4 7 Iraq 56 31 16 15 Ireland 11 97 39 58 Israel 23 73 34 39 Italy 11 89 36 53 Ivory Coast 44 49 19 30 Jamaica 22 80 33 47 Japan 11 96 40 56 Jordan 55 34 12 22 Kazakhstan 75 23 5 18 Kenya 44 51 22 29 Kiribati 11 89 36 53 KosovoYes34602832 Kuwait 65 31 7 14 Kyrgyzstan 75 26 4 22 Laos 76 13 2 11 Latvia 12 89 37 52 Lebanon 54 39 13 26 Lesotho 23 66 30 36 Liberia 24 64 30 34 Libya 76 10 2 8 Liechtenstein 21 90 33 57 Lithuania 12 89 38 51 Luxembourg 11 97 38 59 Madagascar 44 55 21 34 Malawi 33 65 28 37 Malaysia 44 53 22 31 Maldives 45 43 20 23 Mali 65 24 6 18 Malta 22 87 35 52 Marshall Islands 11 93 38 55 Mauritania 55 39 15 24 Mauritius 22 86 35 51 Mexico 34 59 26 33 Micronesia 11 92 37 55 Moldova 33 60 25 35 Monaco 31 82 25 57 Mongolia 12 84 36 48 Montenegro 33 69 27 42 Morocco 55 37 13 24 Mozambique 54 41 12 29 Myanmar 77 7 0 7 Namibia 32 73 28 45 Nauru 23 75 32 43 Nepal 34 62 28 34 Netherlands 11 97 39 58 New Zealand 11 99 40 59 Nicaragua 76 14 2 12 Niger 75 30 5 25 Nigeria 45 44 20 24 North Korea 77 3 0 3 North Macedonia 33 67 28 39 Norway 11 99 39 60 Oman 65 24 6 18 Pakistan 55 32 12 20 Palau 11 92 37 55 Panama 22 83 35 48 Papua New Guinea 43 61 22 39 Paraguay 33 63 26 37 Peru 33 67 28 39 Philippines 34 58 25 33 Poland 22 82 34 48 Portugal 11 96 39 57 Qatar 65 25 7 18 Romania 22 82 34 48 Russia 76 12 4 8 Rwanda 66 21 7 14 Samoa 22 84 32 52 San Marino 11 97 39 58 São Tomé and Príncipe 22 84 35 49 Saudi Arabia 76 9 1 8 Senegal 23 69 30 39 Serbia 43 56 18 38 Seychelles 22 80 34 46 Sierra Leone 43 59 23 36 Singapore 44 48 19 29 Slovakia 11 89 36 53 Slovenia 11 96 39 57 Solomon Islands 32 75 28 47 Somalia 77 8 2 6 South Africa 22 81 34 47 South Korea 22 81 32 49 South Sudan 77 1 -3 4 Spain 11 90 37 53 Sri Lanka 34 58 26 32 Saint Kitts and Nevis 21 89 35 54 Saint Lucia 11 91 38 53 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 11 90 36 54 Sudan 77 2 -3 5 Suriname 22 80 34 46 Sweden 11 99 40 59 Switzerland 11 96 39 57 Syria 76 5 -3 8 TaiwanYes11943856 Tajikistan 77 5 0 5 Tanzania 65 35 11 24 Thailand 65 34 11 23 Timor-Leste 23 72 33 39 Togo 54 41 14 27 Tonga 22 80 30 50 Trinidad and Tobago 22 82 33 49 Tunisia 64 44 11 33 Turkey 56 33 17 16 Turkmenistan 77 1 0 1 Tuvalu 11 93 37 56 Uganda 65 34 10 24 Ukraine 44 51 23 28 United Arab Emirates 76 18 5 13 United Kingdom 11 92 39 53 United States 22 84 34 50 Uruguay 11 96 40 56 Uzbekistan 76 12 2 10 Vanuatu 22 82 32 50 Venezuela 76 13 0 13 Vietnam 76 20 4 16 Yemen 76 10 1 9 Zambia 44 53 22 31 Zimbabwe 65 26 9 17
2024 territories (according to Freedom House) Territory (2024) Total Overallstatus Abkhazia 39 17 22 Gaza Strip 2 -2 4 Hong Kong 40 9 31 Indian Kashmir 38 17 21 Northern Cyprus 76 27 49 Pakistani Kashmir 30 9 21 Russian-occupied Ukraine 2 -1 3 Somaliland 47 21 26 South Ossetia 12 3 9 Tibet 0 -2 2 Transnistria 17 5 12 West Bank 22 4 18 Western Sahara 4 -3 7
Before 2024