Freedom in the World (report)

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Map reflecting the findings of Freedom House's 2008 survey, concerning the state of world freedom in 2007, which correlates highly with other measures of democracy^[1]. Some of these estimates are disputed.^[2] Free (90) Partly Free (60) Not Free (43)

Map reflecting the findings of Freedom House's 2007 survey, concerning the state of international civil liberties in 2006. Most Freedom Least Freedom

Freedom in the World is a yearly report by US-based Freedom House that attempts to measure the degree of democracy and political freedom in every nation and significant disputed territories around the world, and which 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". It is often used by researchers in order to measure democracy and correlates highly with several other measures of democracy like the Polity data series.^[3] There is some debate over the neutrality of Freedom House and the methodology used for the FITW report.^[2]

1 Freedom in the World 2008
2 Global trends in Freedom
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Freedom in the World 2008

Detailed descriptions of all nations from the previous year's edition can be found online in Freedom in the World 2007. Please note that while the rankings below are from the current year's edition of Freedom in the World (2008), detailed reports for 2008 will not be available online until late spring/early summer.

Each pair of political rights and civil liberties ratings is averaged to determine an overall status of "Free," "Partly Free," or "Not Free." Those whose ratings average 1.0 to 2.5 are considered Free, 3.0 to 5.0 Partly Free, and 5.5 to 7.0 Not Free. The methodology is explained here: Methodology, Freedom house

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

A competitive, multiparty political system;
Universal adult suffrage for all citizens (with exceptions for restrictions that states may legitimately place on citizens as sanctions for criminal offenses);
Regularly contested elections conducted in conditions of ballot secrecy, reasonable ballot security, and in the absence of massive voter fraud that yields results that are unrepresentative of the public will;
Significant public access of major political parties to the electorate through the media and through generally open political campaigning

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.^[4]

PR - Political Rights CL - Civil Liberties
* - Electoral democracies per definition stated above

[edit] Sub-Saharan Africa

Country	PR	CL	Status	Country	PR	CL	Status
Angola	6	5	Not Free	Liberia*	3	4	Partly Free
Benin*	2	2	Free	Madagascar*	4	3	Partly Free
Botswana*	2	2	Free	Malawi*	4	4	Partly Free
Burkina Faso	5	3	Partly Free	Mali*	2	3	Free
Burundi*	4	5	Partly Free	Mauritania*	4	4	Partly Free
Cameroon	6	6	Not Free	Mauritius*	1	2	Free
Cape Verde*	1	1	Free	Mozambique*	3	3	Partly Free
Central African Republic*	5	5	Partly Free	Namibia*	2	2	Free
Chad	7	6	Not Free	Niger*	3	4	Partly Free
Comoros*	4	4	Partly Free	Nigeria	4	4	Partly Free
Congo-Brazzaville	6	5	Not Free	Rwanda	6	5	Not Free
Congo-Kinshasa	5	6	Not Free	São Tomé and Príncipe*	2	2	Free
Côte d'Ivoire	7	5	Not Free	Senegal*	2	3	Free
Djibouti	5	5	Partly Free	Seychelles*	3	3	Partly Free
Equatorial Guinea	7	6	Not Free	Sierra Leone*	3	3	Partly Free
Eritrea	7	6	Not Free	Somalia	7	7	Not Free
Ethiopia	5	5	Partly Free	South Africa*	2	2	Free
Gabon	6	4	Partly Free	Sudan	7	7	Not Free
Gambia	5	4	Partly Free	Swaziland	7	5	Not Free
Ghana*	1	2	Free	Tanzania	4	3	Partly Free
Guinea	6	5	Not Free	Togo	5	5	Partly Free
Guinea-Bissau*	4	4	Partly Free	Uganda	5	4	Partly Free
Kenya	4	3	Partly Free	Zambia*	3	4	Partly Free
Lesotho*	2	3	Free	Zimbabwe	7	6	Not Free

[edit] Americas

Country	PR	CL	Status	Country	PR	CL	Status
Antigua and Barbuda*	2	2	Free	Guyana*	2	3	Free
Argentina*	2	2	Free	Haiti*	4	5	Partly Free
Bahamas*	1	1	Free	Honduras*	3	3	Partly Free
Barbados*	1	1	Free	Jamaica*	2	3	Free
Belize*	1	2	Free	Mexico*	2	3	Free
Bolivia*	3	3	Partly Free	Nicaragua*	3	3	Partly Free
Brazil*	2	2	Free	Panama*	1	2	Free
Canada*	1	1	Free	Paraguay*	3	3	Partly Free
Chile*	1	1	Free	Peru*	2	3	Free
Colombia*	3	3	Partly Free	Saint Kitts and Nevis*	1	1	Free
Costa Rica*	1	1	Free	Saint Lucia*	1	1	Free
Cuba	7	7	Not Free	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines*	2	1	Free
Dominica*	1	1	Free	Suriname*	2	2	Free
Dominican Republic*	2	2	Free	Trinidad and Tobago*	2	2	Free
Ecuador*	3	3	Partly Free	United States*	1	1	Free
El Salvador*	2	3	Free	Uruguay*	1	1	Free
Grenada*	1	2	Free	Venezuela*	4	4	Partly Free
Guatemala*	3	4	Partly Free

[edit] Asia-Pacific

Country	PR	CL	Status	Country	PR	CL	Status
Afghanistan	5	5	Partly Free	Nauru*	1	1	Free
Australia*	1	1	Free	Nepal	5	4	Partly Free
Bangladesh	5	4	Partly Free	New Zealand*	1	1	Free
Bhutan	6	5	Not Free	North Korea	7	7	Not Free
Brunei	6	5	Not Free	Pakistan	6	5	Not Free
Burma	7	7	Not Free	Palau*	1	1	Free
Cambodia	6	5	Not Free	Papua New Guinea*	3	3	Partly Free
People's Republic of China (mainland only)	7	6	Not Free	Philippines	4	3	Partly Free
Timor-Leste*	3	4	Partly Free	Samoa*	2	2	Free
Fiji	6	4	Partly Free	Singapore	5	4	Partly Free
India*	2	3	Free	Solomon Islands	4	3	Partly Free
Indonesia*	2	3	Free	South Korea*	1	2	Free
Japan*	1	2	Free	Sri Lanka*	4	4	Partly Free
Kiribati*	1	1	Free	Republic of China*	2	1	Free
Laos	7	6	Not Free	Thailand	6	4	Partly Free
Malaysia	4	4	Partly Free	Tonga	5	3	Partly Free
Maldives	6	5	Not Free	Tuvalu*	1	1	Free
Marshall Islands*	1	1	Free	Vanuatu*	2	2	Free
FS Micronesia*	1	1	Free	Vietnam	7	5	Not Free
Mongolia*	2	2	Free

[edit] Central & Eastern Europe & the former Soviet Union

Country	PR	CL	Status	Country	PR	CL	Status
Albania*	3	3	Partly Free	Lithuania*	1	1	Free
Armenia	5	4	Partly Free	Macedonia*	3	3	Partly Free
Azerbaijan	6	5	Not Free	Moldova*	3	4	Partly Free
Belarus	7	6	Not Free	Montenegro*	3	3	Partly Free
Bosnia and Herzegovina	4	3	Partly Free	Poland*	1	1	Free
Bulgaria*	1	2	Free	Romania*	2	2	Free
Croatia*	2	2	Free	Russia	6	5	Not Free
Czech Republic*	1	1	Free	Serbia*	3	2	Free
Estonia*	1	1	Free	Slovakia*	1	1	Free
Georgia*	4	4	Partly Free	Slovenia*	1	1	Free
Hungary*	1	1	Free	Tajikistan	6	5	Not Free
Kazakhstan	6	5	Not Free	Turkmenistan	7	7	Not Free
Kyrgyzstan	5	4	Partly Free	Ukraine*	3	2	Free
Latvia*	2	1	Free	Uzbekistan	7	7	Not Free

[edit] Western & Southern Europe

Country	PR	CL	Status	Country	PR	CL	Status
Andorra*	1	1	Free	Luxembourg*	1	1	Free
Austria*	1	1	Free	Malta*	1	1	Free
Belgium*	1	1	Free	Monaco*	2	1	Free
Cyprus*	1	1	Free	Netherlands*	1	1	Free
Denmark*	1	1	Free	Norway*	1	1	Free
Finland*	1	1	Free	Portugal*	1	1	Free
France*	1	1	Free	San Marino*	1	1	Free
Germany*	1	1	Free	Spain*	1	1	Free
Greece*	1	2	Free	Sweden*	1	1	Free
Iceland*	1	1	Free	Switzerland*	1	1	Free
Ireland*	1	1	Free	Turkey*	3	3	Partly Free
Italy*	1	1	Free	United Kingdom*	1	1	Free
Liechtenstein*	1	1	Free

[edit] Middle East & North Africa

Country	PR	CL	Status	Country	PR	CL	Status
Algeria	6	5	Not Free	Libya	7	7	Not Free
Bahrain	5	5	Partly Free	Morocco	5	4	Partly Free
Egypt	6	5	Not Free	Oman	6	5	Not Free
Iran	6	6	Not Free	Qatar	6	5	Not Free
Iraq	6	6	Not Free	Saudi Arabia	7	6	Not Free
Israel*	1	2	Free	Syria	7	6	Not Free
Jordan	5	4	Partly Free	Tunisia	7	5	Not Free
Kuwait	4	4	Partly Free	United Arab Emirates	6	5	Not Free
Lebanon	5	4	Partly Free	Yemen	5	5	Partly Free

[edit] Related/Disputed Territories

Country / Territory	PR	CL	Status	Country / Territory	PR	CL	Status
Abkhazia (Georgia)	5	5	Partly Free	Northern Cyprus	2	2	Free
Chechnya (Russia)	7	7	Not Free	Palestinian Authority Administered Territories	5	6	Not Free
Hong Kong (People's Republic of China)	5	2	Partly Free	Puerto Rico (United States)	1	1	Free
Kashmir (Indian Administered)	5	4	Partly Free	Somaliland	5	4	Partly Free
Kashmir (Pakistani Administered)	7	5	Not Free	Tibet (People's Republic of China)	7	7	Not Free
Kosovo (Serbia)	6	5	Not Free	Transnistria (Moldova)	6	6	Not Free
Macau (People's Republic of China)	6	4	Partly Free	West Bank (Israeli-Occupied Territories)	6	6	Not Free
Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenia-Azerbaijan)	5	5	Partly Free	Western Sahara (Morocco)	7	6	Not Free

[edit] Global trends in Freedom

Note: Does not include Related/Disputed Territories.

Year Under Review	Free	Partly Free	Not Free
1977	43 (28%)	48 (31%)	64 (41%)
1987	58 (35%)	58 (34%)	51 (30%)
1997	81 (42%)	57 (30%)	53 (28%)
2007	90 (47%)	60 (31%)	43 (22%)

[edit] See also

List of indices of freedom

[edit] Notes

^ http://polisci.la.psu.edu/faculty/Casper/caspertufisPAweb.pdf
^ ^a ^b Bollen, K.A. (1992) Political Rights and Political Liberties in Nations: An Evaluation of Human Rights Measures, 1950 to 1984. In: Jabine, T.B. and Pierre Claude, R. "Human Rights and Statistics". University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812231082
^ Casper, Gretchen, and Claudiu Tufis. 2003. “Correlation Versus Interchangeability: the Limited Robustness of Empirical Finding on Democracy Using Highly Correlated Data Sets.” Political Analysis 11: 196-203
^ http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=35&year=2005 Methodology, Freedom house

[edit] References

Freedom House (2007). Freedom in the World 2006. Freedom House//Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-7425-5802-9.

[edit] External links

Freedom in the World - online at Freedom House

v • d • e Lists of countries with rankings

Geography	Area • Coastline • Coast/area ratio • Exclusive Economic Zone • Number of neighbouring countries • Highest point • Lowest point • Northernmost point • Southernmost point

Demographics	Population (graphical • by density) • Population growth • Human Development Index • Life expectancy • Infant mortality • Fertility • Birth rate • Death rate • Sex ratio • Homicides • Income equality • Literacy • National IQ • HIV/AIDS • Unemployment • Employment • Labour force • Poverty • Immigrant population • Suicides (OECD) • Undernourishment • Firearm-related deaths • Gun ownership

GDP	Nominal (per capita) • PPP (per capita • per hour) • Past (nominal • PPP) • Future (nominal • PPP • PPP per capita) • GNI per capita • Growth (real • real per capita) • Sector composition • Demographics comparison

Finances	Current account balance • Foreign exchange reserves • Foreign Direct Investment • Debt (External, Public) • Imports • Exports (per capita)

Energy Industry	Energy ( consumption • production • intensity) • Natural gas ( consumption • production • reserves • imports • exports) • Oil ( consumption • production • reserves • imports • exports) • Coal ( production • reserves) • Nuclear power • Uranium reserves • Renewable energy ( Hydropower) • Iron production • Steel production • Aluminium production • Zinc production • Automobile production • Industrial growth

Agriculture	Fishing • Milk production • Crops production ( Fruits • Sugar cane • Maize • Wheat • Rice • Potatoes • Sugar beet • Soybean • Barley )

Politics Society	Freedom • Press freedom • Privacy • Perception of corruption • Bribe paying • Property rights • Economic freedom • Democracy • Globalization • Ease of doing business • Economic competitiveness • Date of formation • Legal drinking age • School leaving age • Abortion law • Homosexuality laws • Death penalty • Quality-of-life • Failed States • Student performance

Sports	Olympics ( medals • hosts) • FIFA World Cup ( winners • hosts) • FIFA World Rankings • Ice Hockey World Championship

Military	Size of armed forces • Number of active troops • Military expenditures • Possession of nuclear weapons • Exports of arms • UN peacekeepers currently deployed • Global Peace Index

Communication	Telephone lines • Television sets • Mobile phones • Internet users ( Broadband) • E-readiness

Transport	Waterways • Merchant marine • Railways • Rail usage • Rapid transit systems • Roadways ( OECD) • Vehicles • Road fatalities • Airports

Tourism	Tourist visits • World Heritage Sites

Environment	Carbon dioxide emissions (per capita) • Greenhouse gas emissions per capita • GDP per emissions • Sustainability • Environmental Performance • Happy Planet Index

Categories: Human rights | Lists of countries by international rankings