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. 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, 2010, 2011 and 2012. In January 2016 data for 2013 was added, covering 157 countries. The Human Freedom Index 2016 was published in November 2016, covering 159 countries. The report is co-published by the Cato Institute, the Fraser Institute, and the Liberales Institut at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
  • The Index of Freedom in the World is an index measuring classical civil liberties published by Canada's Fraser Institute, Germany's Liberales Institute, and the U.S. Cato Institute. 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• US
  • The CIRI Human Rights Data Project measures a range of human, civil, women's, and workers' rights. It was created in 1994 and is now hosted by the University of Connecticut. In its 2011 report, the U.S. was ranked 38th in overall human rights.
  • Freedom in the World, published each year since 1972 by the U.S.-based Freedom House, ranks countries by political rights and civil liberties that are derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Countries are assessed as free, partly free, or unfree.
  • Freedom of the Press is a report published each year since 1980 by Freedom House.
  • The Index of Economic Freedom is an annual report published by The Wall Street Journal and the U.S.-based Heritage Foundation. Countries are assessed as free, mostly free, moderately free, mostly unfree, and repressed.
  • The U.S.-based Polity data series is a widely used data series in political science research. It contains coded annual information on regime authority characteristics and transitions for all independent states with total populations greater than 500,000 and covers the years 1800–2006. Polity's conclusions about a state's level of democracy are based on an evaluation of that state's elections for competitiveness, openness, and level of participation. Data from this series is not currently included in the table below. The Polity work is sponsored by the Political Instability Task Force (PITF) which is funded by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency; however, the views expressed in the reports are the authors' alone and do not represent the views of the U.S. Government.

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.

• 

  Country ratings from Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2016 survey, concerning the state of world freedom in 2015

• 

  2018 Index of Economic Freedom.
  Source: Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal

• 

  The global situation of press freedom in 2017 according to Reporters Without Borders

Index	Scale
Freedom in the World	free																				partly free																				not free
Index of Economic Freedom	free												mostly free												moderately free												mostly unfree												repressed
Press Freedom Index	good situation												satisfactory situation												noticeable problems												difficult situation												very serious situation

List by country

Country	Freedom in the World 2018	2018 Index of Economic Freedom	2017 Press Freedom Index
Abkhazia	3 partly free	n/a	n/a
Afghanistan	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Albania	3 partly free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Algeria	5 not free	5 repressed	4 difficult situation
Andorra	1 free	n/a	2 satisfactory situation
Angola	5 not free	5 repressed	4 difficult situation
Antigua and Barbuda	1 free	n/a	2 satisfactory situation
Argentina	1 free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Armenia	3 partly free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Australia	1 free	1 free	2 satisfactory situation
Austria	1 free	2 mostly free	1 good situation
Azerbaijan	5 not free	3 moderately free	5 very serious situation
Bahamas	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Bahrain	5 not free	3 moderately free	5 very serious situation
Bangladesh	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Barbados	1 free	4 mostly unfree	2 satisfactory situation
Belarus	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Belgium	1 free	3 moderately free	1 good situation
Belize	1 free	4 mostly unfree	2 satisfactory situation
Benin	1 free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Bhutan	3 partly free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Bolivia	3 partly free	5 repressed	3 noticeable problems
Bosnia and Herzegovina	3 partly free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Botswana	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Brazil	1 free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Brunei	5 not free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Bulgaria	1 free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Burkina Faso	3 partly free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Burma	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Burundi	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	5 very serious situation
Cambodia	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Cameroon	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Canada	1 free	2 mostly free	2 satisfactory situation
Cape Verde	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Central African Republic	5 not free	5 repressed	4 difficult situation
Chad	5 not free	5 repressed	4 difficult situation
Chile	1 free	2 mostly free	2 satisfactory situation
China	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	5 very serious situation
Colombia	3 partly free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Comoros	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	2 satisfactory situation
Costa Rica	1 free	3 moderately free	1 good situation
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Congo, Republic of the	5 not free	5 repressed	4 difficult situation
Croatia	1 free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Cuba	5 not free	5 repressed	5 very serious situation
Cyprus	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Czech Republic	1 free	2 mostly free	2 satisfactory situation
Denmark	1 free	2 mostly free	1 good situation
Djibouti	5 not free	5 repressed	5 very serious situation
Dominica	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Dominican Republic	3 partly free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
East Timor	1 free	5 repressed	3 noticeable problems
Ecuador	3 partly free	5 repressed	3 noticeable problems
Egypt	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	5 very serious situation
El Salvador	1 free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Equatorial Guinea	5 not free	5 repressed	5 very serious situation
Eritrea	5 not free	5 repressed	5 very serious situation
Estonia	1 free	2 mostly free	1 good situation
Ethiopia	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Fiji	3 partly free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Finland	1 free	2 mostly free	1 good situation
France	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Gabon	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Gambia	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Gaza Strip	5 not free	n/a	4 difficult situation
Georgia	3 partly free	2 mostly free	3 noticeable problems
Germany	1 free	2 mostly free	1 good situation
Ghana	1 free	4 mostly unfree	2 satisfactory situation
Greece	1 free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Grenada	1 free	n/a	2 satisfactory situation
Guatemala	3 partly free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Guinea	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Guinea-Bissau	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Guyana	1 free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Haiti	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Honduras	3 partly free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Hong Kong	3 partly free	1 free	3 noticeable problems
Hungary	1 free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Iceland	1 free	2 mostly free	1 good situation
India	1 free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Indonesia	3 partly free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Iran	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	5 very serious situation
Iraq	5 not free	n/a	4 difficult situation
Ireland	1 free	1 free	1 good situation
Israel	1 free	2 mostly free	3 noticeable problems
Italy	1 free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Ivory Coast	3 partly free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Jamaica	1 free	3 moderately free	1 good situation
Japan	1 free	2 mostly free	3 noticeable problems
Jordan	3 partly free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Kazakhstan	5 not free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Kenya	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Kiribati	1 free	4 mostly unfree	n/a
Korea, North	5 not free	5 repressed	5 very serious situation
Korea, South	1 free	2 mostly free	3 noticeable problems
Kosovo	3 partly free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Kuwait	3 partly free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Kyrgyzstan	3 partly free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Laos	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	5 very serious situation
Latvia	1 free	2 mostly free	2 satisfactory situation
Lebanon	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Lesotho	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Liberia	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Libya	5 not free	n/a	5 very serious situation
Liechtenstein	1 free	n/a	2 satisfactory situation
Lithuania	1 free	2 mostly free	2 satisfactory situation
Luxembourg	1 free	2 mostly free	1 good situation
Macau	n/a	2 mostly free	n/a
Macedonia	3 partly free	2 mostly free	4 difficult situation
Madagascar	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Malawi	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Malaysia	3 partly free	2 mostly free	4 difficult situation
Maldives	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Mali	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Malta	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Marshall Islands	1 free	n/a	n/a
Mauritania	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Mauritius	1 free	2 mostly free	3 noticeable problems
Mexico	3 partly free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Micronesia, Federated States of	1 free	4 mostly unfree	n/a
Moldova	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Monaco	1 free	n/a	n/a
Mongolia	1 free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Montenegro	3 partly free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Morocco	3 partly free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Mozambique	3 partly free	5 repressed	3 noticeable problems
Nagorno-Karabakh	3 partly free	n/a	n/a
Namibia	1 free	4 mostly unfree	2 satisfactory situation
Nauru	1 free	n/a	n/a
Nepal	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Netherlands	1 free	2 mostly free	1 good situation
New Zealand	1 free	1 free	1 good situation
Nicaragua	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Niger	3 partly free	5 repressed	3 noticeable problems
Nigeria	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Northern Cyprus	1 free	n/a	3 noticeable problems
Norway	1 free	2 mostly free	1 good situation
Oman	5 not free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Pakistan	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Palau	1 free	n/a	n/a
Palestine	5 not free	n/a	4 difficult situation
Panama	1 free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Papua New Guinea	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Paraguay	3 partly free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Peru	1 free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Philippines	3 partly free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Poland	1 free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Portugal	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Qatar	5 not free	2 mostly free	4 difficult situation
Romania	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Russia	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Rwanda	5 not free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Saint Kitts and Nevis	1 free	n/a	2 satisfactory situation
Saint Lucia	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Samoa	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
San Marino	1 free	n/a	n/a
São Tomé and Príncipe	1 free	4 mostly unfree	n/a
Saudi Arabia	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	5 very serious situation
Senegal	1 free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Serbia	1 free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Seychelles	3 partly free	3 moderately free	3 noticeable problems
Sierra Leone	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Singapore	3 partly free	1 free	4 difficult situation
Slovakia	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Slovenia	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Solomon Islands	1 free	4 mostly unfree	n/a
Somalia	5 not free	n/a	5 very serious situation
Somaliland	3 partly free	n/a	n/a
South Africa	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
South Ossetia	5 not free	n/a	n/a
South Sudan	5 not free	n/a	4 difficult situation
Spain	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Sri Lanka	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Sudan	5 not free	5 repressed	5 very serious situation
Suriname	1 free	5 repressed	2 satisfactory situation
Swaziland	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Sweden	1 free	2 mostly free	1 good situation
Switzerland	1 free	1 free	1 good situation
Syria	5 not free	n/a	5 very serious situation
Taiwan	1 free	2 mostly free	2 satisfactory situation
Tajikistan	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Tanzania	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Thailand	5 not free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Togo	3 partly free	5 repressed	3 noticeable problems
Tonga	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Transnistria	5 not free	n/a	n/a
Trinidad and Tobago	1 free	4 mostly unfree	2 satisfactory situation
Tunisia	1 free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
Turkey	5 not free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Turkmenistan	5 not free	5 repressed	5 very serious situation
Tuvalu	1 free	n/a	n/a
Uganda	3 partly free	3 moderately free	4 difficult situation
Ukraine	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	3 noticeable problems
United Arab Emirates	5 not free	2 mostly free	4 difficult situation
United Kingdom	1 free	2 mostly free	2 satisfactory situation
United States	1 free	2 mostly free	2 satisfactory situation
Uruguay	1 free	3 moderately free	2 satisfactory situation
Uzbekistan	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	5 very serious situation
Vanuatu	1 free	3 moderately free	n/a
Venezuela	5 not free	5 repressed	4 difficult situation
Vietnam	5 not free	4 mostly unfree	5 very serious situation
West Bank	5 not free	n/a	4 difficult situation
Western Sahara	5 not free	n/a	n/a
Yemen	5 not free	n/a	5 very serious situation
Zambia	3 partly free	4 mostly unfree	4 difficult situation
Zimbabwe	5 not free	5 repressed	4 difficult situation

See also

• Areopagitica: A speech of Mr John Milton for the liberty of unlicensed printing to the Parliament of England
• Censorship by country
• Corruption Perceptions Index
• Ease of doing business index
• Freedom House
• Freedom in the World
• Indices of economic freedom
• Internet censorship and surveillance by country
• Media transparency
• Transparency (behavior)
• Transparency (market)
• United Nations Parliamentary Assembly

External links

• 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.