Mapped: The State of Freedom Around the World in 2025

Dorothy Neufeld
2025-07-05 08:11:00
www.visualcapitalist.com

The State of Freedom Around the World in 2025

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In 2024, 60 countries saw their freedom decline in a historic election year.

Strikingly, 40% of countries and territories that held elections experienced targeted attacks on candidates amid heightened instability. Yet bright spots were seen in Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Syria, driven by political reform.

This graphic shows the state of freedom by country, based on data from Freedom House.

Global Freedom Continues to Deteriorate

For the 19th year in a row, the state of freedom declined globally.

In particular, freedom declined the most in 2024 for El Salvador, Haiti, and Kuwait. In absolute terms, the Gaza Strip and the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine have among the lowest scores of freedom amid ongoing, violent conflict.

Country/ Territory	Status	Score
Finland	F	100
New Zealand	F	99
Norway	F	99
Sweden	F	99
Canada	F	97
Denmark	F	97
Ireland	F	97
Luxembourg	F	97
Netherlands	F	97
San Marino	F	97
Belgium	F	96
Estonia	F	96
Japan	F	96
Portugal	F	96
Slovenia	F	96
Switzerland	F	96
Uruguay	F	96
Australia	F	95
Chile	F	95
Czech Republic	F	95
Germany	F	95
Iceland	F	95
Barbados	F	94
Taiwan	F	94
Andorra	F	93
Austria	F	93
Marshall Islands	F	93
Tuvalu	F	93
Cabo Verde	F	92
Dominica	F	92
Micronesia	F	92
Palau	F	92
United Kingdom	F	92
Costa Rica	F	91
Cyprus	F	91
St. Lucia	F	91
Bahamas	F	90
Liechtenstein	F	90
Spain	F	90
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	F	90
France	F	89
Grenada	F	89
Italy	F	89
Kiribati	F	89
Latvia	F	89
Lithuania	F	89
Slovakia	F	89
St. Kitts and Nevis	F	89
Belize	F	88
Malta	F	87
Mauritius	F	86
Argentina	F	85
Greece	F	85
Mongolia	F	84
Samoa	F	84
Sao Tome and Principe	F	84
United States	F	84
Antigua and Barbuda	F	83
Panama	F	83
Croatia	F	82
Monaco	F	82
Poland	F	82
Romania	F	82
Trinidad and Tobago	F	82
Vanuatu	F	82
South Africa	F	81
South Korea	F	81
Ghana	F	80
Jamaica	F	80
Seychelles	F	80
Suriname	F	80
Tonga	F	80
Bulgaria	F	77
Northern Cyprus	F	76
Botswana	F	75
Nauru	F	75
Solomon Islands	F	75
Guyana	F	74
Israel	F	73
Namibia	F	73
Brazil	F	72
Timor-Leste	F	72
Colombia	F	70
Fiji	PF	69
Montenegro	PF	69
Senegal	F	69
Albania	PF	68
Bhutan	F	68
Dominican Republic	PF	68
North Macedonia	PF	67
Peru	PF	67
Lesotho	F	66
Bolivia	PF	65
Ecuador	PF	65
Hungary	PF	65
Malawi	PF	65
Liberia	PF	64
India	PF	63
Paraguay	PF	63
Nepal	PF	62
Papua New Guinea	PF	61
Benin	PF	60
Kosovo	PF	60
Moldova	PF	60
Mexico	PF	59
Sierra Leone	PF	59
Philippines	PF	58
Sri Lanka	PF	58
Indonesia	PF	56
Serbia	PF	56
Georgia	PF	55
Madagascar	PF	55
Armenia	PF	54
Malaysia	PF	53
Zambia	PF	53
Bosnia and Herzegovina	PF	52
Kenya	PF	51
Ukraine	PF	51
The Gambia	PF	50
Cote d’Ivoire	PF	49
Guatemala	PF	48
Honduras	PF	48
Singapore	PF	48
El Salvador	PF	47
Somaliland	PF	47
Bangladesh	PF	45
Nigeria	PF	44
Tunisia	PF	44
Maldives	PF	43
Comoros	PF	42
Guinea-Bissau	PF	41
Mozambique	PF	41
Togo	PF	41
Hong Kong	PF	40
Abkhazia	PF	39
Lebanon	PF	39
Mauritania	PF	39
Indian Kashmir	PF	38
Morocco	PF	37
Tanzania	NF	35
Jordan	PF	34
Thailand	NF	34
Uganda	NF	34
Turkey	NF	33
Pakistan	PF	32
Algeria	NF	31
Iraq	NF	31
Kuwait	NF	31
Guinea	NF	30
Niger	NF	30
Pakistani Kashmir	NF	30
Angola	NF	28
Brunei	NF	27
Kyrgyzstan	NF	26
Zimbabwe	NF	26
Burkina Faso	NF	25
Qatar	NF	25
Djibouti	NF	24
Haiti	NF	24
Mali	NF	24
Oman	NF	24
Cambodia	NF	23
Kazakhstan	NF	23
West Bank	NF	22
Gabon	NF	21
Rwanda	NF	21
Vietnam	NF	20
Congo (Kinshasa)	NF	18
Egypt	NF	18
Ethiopia	NF	18
United Arab Emirates	NF	18
Congo (Brazzaville)	NF	17
Eswatini	NF	17
Transnistria	NF	17
Burundi	NF	15
Cameroon	NF	15
Chad	NF	15
Nicaragua	NF	14
Laos	NF	13
Venezuela	NF	13
Bahrain	NF	12
Russia	NF	12
South Ossetia	NF	12
Uzbekistan	NF	12
Iran	NF	11
Cuba	NF	10
Libya	NF	10
Yemen	NF	10
China	NF	9
Saudi Arabia	NF	9
Somalia	NF	8
Azerbaijan	NF	7
Belarus	NF	7
Myanmar	NF	7
Afghanistan	NF	6
Central African Republic	NF	5
Equatorial Guinea	NF	5
Syria	NF	5
Tajikistan	NF	5
Western Sahara	NF	4
Eritrea	NF	3
North Korea	NF	3
Gaza Strip	NF	2
Sudan	NF	2
South Sudan	NF	1
Turkmenistan	NF	1
Tibet	NF	0
Russian-Occupied Territories of Ukraine	NF	-1

Finland ranks highest globally, supported by a multiparty system that mitigates voter polarization.

Following behind are New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden—each with populations under six million. Notably, only two countries in the top 10 have medium-sized populations: the Netherlands (18 million) and Canada (39 million).

When it comes to the U.S., freedom continued to erode in 2024. In recent years, institutional trust has plunged to near record lows. Political polarization has deepened alongside growing income inequality, further weakening public confidence.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh recorded one of the biggest gains. In 2024, mass protests ousted Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year regime. Under interim leader and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, reforms aimed at curbing corruption and expanding welfare are now underway.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic from a democratic perspective, check out this graphic on the state of democracy by country in 2024.

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