List of freedom indices

This article contains a list of freedom indices produced by several non-governmental organizations that publish and maintain assessments of the state of freedom in the world, according to their own various definitions of the term, and rank countries as being free, partly free, or using various measures of freedom, including civil liberties, political rights and economic rights.

Prominent indices

The indices and their origins.

  • Canada
    • The Economic Freedom of the World Index is a report published by Canada-based Fraser Institute in conjunction with the Economic Freedom Network, a group of independent research and educational institutes in 90 nations and territories worldwide. It is a numeric index, and its results are not currently included in the table below.
  • Canada, United States, Germany
    • The Human Freedom Index presents the state of human freedom in the world based on a broad measure that encompasses personal, civil, and economic freedom.[1] The index presents a broad measure of human freedom, understood as the absence of coercive constraint. It uses 79 distinct indicators of personal and economic freedom. The index covers the following areas: Rule of Law, Security and Safety, Movement, Religion, Association, Assembly, Civil Society, Expression, Relationships, Size of Government, Legal System and Property Rights, Access to Sound Money, Freedom to Trade Internationally, and Regulation of Credit, Labor, and Business. The Human Freedom Index was created in 2015, covering 152 countries for years 2008-2012. The Human Freedom Index 2016 was published in November 2016, covering 159 countries for years 2008-2015. The report is co-published by the Cato Institute, the Fraser Institute, and the Liberales Institut at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. Co-authors of the report are Ian Vásquez and Tanja Porčnik.
    • The Index of Freedom in the World was a predecessor to the Human Freedom Index. It measured classical civil liberties and was published in 2013 by Canada's Fraser Institute, Germany's Liberales Institute, and the U.S. Cato Institute.[2] It is not currently included in the table below.
  • France
    • Worldwide Press Freedom Index, is published each year since 2002 (except that 2011 was combined with 2012) by France-based Reporters Without Borders. Countries are assessed as having a good situation, a satisfactory situation, noticeable problems, a difficult situation, or a very serious situation.[3]
  • Spain
    • The World Index of Moral Freedom was first published on April 2, 2016 by the Foundation for the Advancement of Liberty, based in Madrid, Spain. This index ranks 160 countries by five categories of indicators: religious freedom, bioethical freedom, drugs freedom, sexuality freedom and family and gender freedom. The index aims at establishing the degree of individual freedom or state control on decisions pertaining to the great moral debates of our time.[4]
  • Sweden
    • MaxRange, developed by Max Rånge, and maintained by Mikael Sandberg and Max Rånge, political scientists at Halmstad University, Sweden, is a data set defining a country's level of democracy and institutional structure (regime-type) on a 1000-point graded scale. Values are sorted based on level of democracy and political accountability. MaxRange defines the value corresponding to all states every month from 1789 to the present.[5]
  • UK
    • The Democracy Index, published by the U.K.-based Economist Intelligence Unit, is an assessment of countries' democracy. Countries are rated to be either Full Democracies, Flawed Democracies, Hybrid Regimes, or Authoritarian regimes. Full democracies, flawed democracies, and hybrid regimes are considered to be democracies, and the authoritarian nations are considered to be dictatorial. The index is based on 60 indicators grouped in five different categories measuring pluralism, civil liberties, and political culture.[6]
  • US

Annual assessments

Here is a table of the assessments by three indices, for most countries of the world. For exact rankings rather than assessments, refer to the individual index articles.

Index Scale
Freedom in the World[10] free partly free not free
Index of Economic Freedom[11] free mostly free moderately free mostly unfree repressed
Press Freedom Index[3] good situation satisfactory situation noticeable problems difficult situation very serious situation
Democracy Index [13] full democracy flawed democracy hybrid regime authoritarian regime


List by country

Country Freedom in the World 2018[10] 2018 Index of Economic Freedom[11] 2018 Press Freedom Index[3] 2017 Democracy Index[13]
 Abkhazia partly free n/a n/a n/a
 Afghanistan not free mostly unfree difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Albania partly free moderately free noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Algeria not free repressed difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Andorra free n/a satisfactory situation n/a
 Angola not free repressed difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Antigua and Barbuda free n/a satisfactory situation n/a
 Argentina free mostly unfree noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Armenia partly free moderately free noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Australia free free satisfactory situation full democracy
 Austria free mostly free good situation full democracy
 Azerbaijan not free moderately free very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Bahamas free moderately free satisfactory situation n/a
 Bahrain not free moderately free very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Bangladesh partly free mostly unfree difficult situation hybrid regime
 Barbados free mostly unfree satisfactory situation n/a
 Belarus not free mostly unfree difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Belgium free moderately free good situation flawed democracy
 Belize free mostly unfree satisfactory situation n/a
 Benin free mostly unfree noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Bhutan partly free moderately free noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Bolivia partly free repressed noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Bosnia and Herzegovina partly free moderately free noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Botswana free moderately free noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Brazil free mostly unfree noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Brunei not free moderately free difficult situation n/a
 Bulgaria free moderately free difficult situation flawed democracy
 Burkina Faso partly free moderately free satisfactory situation hybrid regime
 Burma partly free mostly unfree difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Burundi not free mostly unfree very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Cambodia not free mostly unfree difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Cameroon not free mostly unfree difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Canada free mostly free satisfactory situation full democracy
 Cape Verde free moderately free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Central African Republic not free repressed difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Chad not free repressed difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Chile free mostly free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 China not free mostly unfree very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Colombia partly free moderately free difficult situation flawed democracy
 Comoros partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems authoritarian regime
 Costa Rica free moderately free good situation flawed democracy
 Congo, Democratic Republic of the not free mostly unfree difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Congo, Republic of the not free repressed difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Croatia free moderately free noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Cuba not free repressed very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Cyprus free moderately free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Czech Republic free mostly free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Denmark free mostly free good situation full democracy
 Djibouti not free repressed very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Dominica free moderately free satisfactory situation n/a
 Dominican Republic partly free moderately free noticeable problems flawed democracy
 East Timor free repressed noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Ecuador partly free repressed noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Egypt not free mostly unfree very serious situation authoritarian regime
 El Salvador free moderately free noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Equatorial Guinea not free repressed very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Eritrea not free repressed very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Estonia free mostly free good situation flawed democracy
 Ethiopia not free mostly unfree difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Fiji partly free moderately free noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Finland free mostly free good situation full democracy
 France free moderately free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Gabon not free mostly unfree noticeable problems authoritarian regime
 Gambia partly free mostly unfree difficult situation hybrid regime
 Gaza Strip not free n/a difficult situation n/a
 Georgia partly free mostly free noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Germany free mostly free good situation full democracy
 Ghana free mostly unfree satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Greece free mostly unfree noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Grenada free n/a satisfactory situation n/a
 Guatemala partly free moderately free difficult situation hybrid regime
 Guinea partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems authoritarian regime
 Guinea-Bissau partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems authoritarian regime
 Guyana free mostly unfree noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Haiti partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Honduras partly free moderately free difficult situation hybrid regime
 Hong Kong partly free free noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Hungary free moderately free noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Iceland free mostly free good situation full democracy
 India free mostly unfree difficult situation flawed democracy
 Indonesia partly free moderately free difficult situation flawed democracy
 Iran not free mostly unfree very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Iraq not free n/a very serious situation hybrid regime
 Ireland free free good situation full democracy
 Israel free mostly free noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Italy free moderately free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Ivory Coast partly free moderately free noticeable problems authoritarian regime
 Jamaica free moderately free good situation flawed democracy
 Japan free mostly free noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Jordan partly free moderately free difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Kazakhstan not free moderately free difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Kenya partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Kiribati free mostly unfree n/a n/a
 Korea, North not free repressed very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Korea, South free mostly free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Kosovo partly free moderately free noticeable problems n/a
 Kuwait partly free moderately free noticeable problems authoritarian regime
 Kyrgyzstan partly free moderately free noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Laos not free mostly unfree very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Latvia free mostly free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Lebanon partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Lesotho partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Liberia partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Libya not free n/a very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Liechtenstein free n/a satisfactory situation n/a
 Lithuania free mostly free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Luxembourg free mostly free good situation full democracy
 Macau n/a mostly free n/a n/a
 Macedonia partly free mostly free noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Madagascar partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Malawi partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Malaysia partly free mostly free difficult situation flawed democracy
 Maldives partly free mostly unfree difficult situation n/a
 Mali partly free mostly unfree difficult situation hybrid regime
 Malta free moderately free noticeable problems full democracy
 Marshall Islands free n/a n/a n/a
 Mauritania not free mostly unfree noticeable problems authoritarian regime
 Mauritius free mostly free noticeable problems full democracy
 Mexico partly free moderately free difficult situation flawed democracy
 Micronesia, Federated States of free mostly unfree n/a n/a
 Moldova partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Monaco free n/a n/a n/a
 Mongolia free mostly unfree noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Montenegro partly free moderately free noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Morocco partly free moderately free difficult situation hybrid regime
 Mozambique partly free repressed noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Nagorno-Karabakh partly free n/a n/a n/a
 Namibia free mostly unfree satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Nauru free n/a n/a n/a
   Nepal partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Netherlands free mostly free good situation full democracy
 New Zealand free free good situation full democracy
 Nicaragua partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Niger partly free repressed noticeable problems authoritarian regime
 Nigeria partly free mostly unfree difficult situation hybrid regime
 Northern Cyprus free n/a noticeable problems n/a
 Norway free mostly free good situation full democracy
 Oman not free moderately free difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Pakistan partly free mostly unfree difficult situation hybrid regime
 Palau free n/a n/a n/a
 Palestine not free n/a difficult situation hybrid regime
 Panama free moderately free noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Papua New Guinea partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Paraguay partly free moderately free noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Peru free moderately free noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Philippines partly free moderately free difficult situation flawed democracy
 Poland free moderately free noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Portugal free moderately free good situation flawed democracy
 Qatar not free mostly free difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Romania free moderately free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Russia not free mostly unfree difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Rwanda not free moderately free difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Saint Kitts and Nevis free n/a satisfactory situation n/a
 Saint Lucia free moderately free satisfactory situation n/a
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines free moderately free satisfactory situation n/a
 Samoa free moderately free satisfactory situation n/a
 San Marino free n/a n/a n/a
 São Tomé and Príncipe free mostly unfree n/a n/a
 Saudi Arabia not free mostly unfree very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Senegal free mostly unfree noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Serbia free moderately free noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Seychelles partly free moderately free noticeable problems n/a
 Sierra Leone partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Singapore partly free free difficult situation flawed democracy
 Slovakia free moderately free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Slovenia free moderately free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Solomon Islands free mostly unfree n/a n/a
 Somalia not free n/a very serious situation n/a
 Somaliland partly free n/a n/a n/a
 South Africa free moderately free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 South Ossetia not free n/a n/a n/a
 South Sudan not free n/a difficult situation n/a
 Spain free moderately free satisfactory situation full democracy
 Sri Lanka partly free mostly unfree difficult situation flawed democracy
 Sudan not free repressed very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Suriname free repressed satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Swaziland not free mostly unfree difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Sweden free mostly free good situation full democracy
  Switzerland free free good situation full democracy
 Syria not free n/a very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Taiwan free mostly free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Tajikistan not free mostly unfree difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Tanzania partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems hybrid regime
 Thailand not free moderately free difficult situation hybrid regime
 Togo partly free repressed noticeable problems authoritarian regime
 Tonga free moderately free noticeable problems n/a
 Transnistria not free n/a n/a n/a
 Trinidad and Tobago free mostly unfree satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Tunisia free mostly unfree noticeable problems flawed democracy
 Turkey not free moderately free difficult situation hybrid regime
 Turkmenistan not free repressed very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Tuvalu free n/a n/a n/a
 Uganda partly free moderately free difficult situation hybrid regime
 Ukraine partly free mostly unfree noticeable problems hybrid regime
 United Arab Emirates not free mostly free difficult situation authoritarian regime
 United Kingdom free mostly free satisfactory situation full democracy
 United States free mostly free satisfactory situation flawed democracy
 Uruguay free moderately free satisfactory situation full democracy
 Uzbekistan not free mostly unfree very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Vanuatu free moderately free n/a n/a
 Venezuela not free repressed difficult situation authoritarian regime
 Vietnam not free mostly unfree very serious situation authoritarian regime
 West Bank not free n/a difficult situation n/a
 Western Sahara not free n/a n/a n/a
 Yemen not free n/a very serious situation authoritarian regime
 Zambia partly free mostly unfree difficult situation hybrid regime
 Zimbabwe not free repressed difficult situation authoritarian regime

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Human Freedom Index". www.cato.org/human-freedom-index. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  2. ↑ Craggs, Ryan (January 14, 2013). "World Freedom Index 2013: Canadian Fraser Institute Ranks Countries". Huffington Post.
  3. 1 2 3 "Press Freedom Index 2018", Reporters Without Borders, April 2018.
  4. ↑ World Index of Moral Freedom 2016, published by the Foundation for the Advancement of Liberty
  5. ↑ "MaxRange: Analyzing political regimes and democratization processes". Sweden: School of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Halmstad University. April 30, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Democracy index 2012: Democracy at a standstill". Economist Intelligence Unit. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  7. ↑ "CIRI Human Rights Data Project". humanrightsdat.org. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  8. ↑ Michael Kirk (December 10, 2010). "Annual International Human Rights Ratings Announced". University of Connecticut.
  9. ↑ "Human Rights in 2011: The CIRI Report". CIRI Human Rights Data Project. August 29, 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 , Freedom House, 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Heritage Foundation (2018). "Country Rankings". 2018 Index of Economic Freedom.
  12. ↑ Freedom House (January 28, 2016). Freedom in the World 2016 (PDF).
  13. 1 2 , Economist, 31 January 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  • Economic Freedom of the World. The Fraser Institute. Archived from the original on 2006-09-04.
  • Freedom in the World. Freedom House.
  • Index of Economic Freedom. The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2008-02-01.
  • World Index of Moral Freedom. Foundation for the Advancement of Liberty.
  • "Democracy continues its disturbing retreat". The Economist.
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