50 FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2023 - Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy
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50
ANNIVERSARY
EDITION
FREEDOM IN
THE WORLD 2023
Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy
Highlights from Freedom House’s annual report on political rights and civil liberties
FREEDOM IN March 2023
THE WORLD 2023
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key findings...................................................................................................... 1
Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy......................................... 2
Executive Summary.................................................................................................................... 2
Direct attacks on democracy and the human cost of authoritarian rule......... 3
A possible turning point for global freedom.................................................................. 8
Free expression: A leading indicator of democratic decline................................... 13
Lessons from 50 years of Freedom in the World........................................................ 16
Freedom in the World Methodology.............................................................. 21
Freedom in the World 2023 Map.................................................................... 22
Regional Trends............................................................................................... 24
Countries in the Spotlight............................................................................... 31
Policy Recommendations ............................................................................... 32
This report was made possible by the generous support of Google, Inc.,
The Hurford Foundation, Jyllands-Posten Foundation, Lilly Endowment Inc.,
the Merrill Family Foundation, and National Endowment for Democracy.
The Freedom in the World Junior Fellowship program gives young researchers
critical work experience in the democracy and human rights field. The nine-
month program employs Junior Fellows in core research positions to contribute
to this report, and equips them with a range of marketable skills that can propel
them on to successful careers.
The Freedom in the World Junior Fellowship program is generously underwritten
by the Merrill Family Foundation, with support from the Panter Foundation.
The Junior Fellows contributing to Freedom in the World 2023 include:
Dasha M., Junior Fellow for Europe and Eurasia
Arya Patel, Junior Fellow for sub-Saharan Africa
Eilidh Stalker, Junior Fellow for the Americas
Freedom House is solely responsible for the report’s content.
Cathryn Grothe was also instrumental in the writing of this booklet. Elisha Aaron,
David Meijer, Shannon O’Toole, Tyler Roylance, and Lora Uhlig edited the report. ON THE COVER
Iranian people in Izmir protest
This booklet is a summary of findings for the 2023 edition of Freedom in the the death of Jina Mahsa
Amini while in custody of
World. The complete analysis including narrative reports on all countries and the morality police in Iran.
territories can be found on our website at www.freedomhouse.org. (İdil Toffolo / Alamy)
FREEDOM IN
THE WORLD 2023
Key findings
Global freedom declined for the control at the expense of competence exposed the limits
17th consecutive year. of the authoritarian models offered by Beijing, Moscow,
Caracas, or Tehran. Meanwhile, democratic alliances
Moscow’s war of aggression led to devastating human rights
demonstrated solidarity and vigor.
atrocities in Ukraine. New coups and other attempts to
undermine representative government destabilized Burkina
Faso, Tunisia, Peru, and Brazil. Previous years’ coups and Infringement on freedom of
ongoing repression continued to diminish basic liberties expression has long been a key
in Guinea and constrain those in Turkey, Myanmar, and driver of global democratic decline.
Thailand, among others. Two countries suffered downgrades Over the last 17 years, the number of countries and
in their overall freedom status: Peru moved from Free territories that receive a score of 0 out of 4 on the report’s
to Partly Free, and Burkina Faso moved from Partly Free media freedom indicator has ballooned from 14 to 33,
to Not Free. as journalists face persistent attacks from autocrats and
their supporters while receiving inadequate protection
The struggle for democracy may be from intimidation and violence even in some democracies.
approaching a turning point. The past year brought more of the same, with media
freedom coming under pressure in at least 157 countries
The gap between the number of countries that registered
and territories during 2022. Scores for a related indicator
overall improvements in political rights and civil liberties
pertaining to freedom of personal expression have also
and those that registered overall declines for 2022 was
declined over the years amid greater invasions of privacy,
the narrowest it has ever been through 17 years of global
harassment and intimidation, and incentives to self-censor
deterioration. Thirty-four countries made improvements,
both online and offline.
and the tally of countries with declines, at 35, was the
smallest recorded since the negative pattern began. The
gains were driven by more competitive elections as well The fight for freedom persists
as a rollback of pandemic-related restrictions that had across decades.
disproportionately affected freedom of assembly and When Freedom House issued the first edition of its global
freedom of movement. Two countries, Colombia and survey in 1973, 44 of 148 countries were rated Free. Today,
Lesotho, earned upgrades in their overall freedom status, 84 of 195 countries are Free. Over the past 50 years,
moving from Partly Free to Free. consolidated democracies have not only emerged from
deeply repressive environments but also proven to be
While authoritarians remain remarkably resilient in the face of new challenges. Although
extremely dangerous, they are democratization has slowed and encountered setbacks,
not unbeatable. ordinary people around the world, including in Iran,
China, and Cuba, continue to defend their rights against
The year’s events showed that autocrats are far from
authoritarian encroachment.
infallible, and their errors provide openings for democratic
forces. The effects of corruption and a focus on political
FreedomHouse.org 1
FREEDOM IN Marking 50 Years in the
THE WORLD 2023 Struggle for Democracy
Marking 50 Years in the
Struggle for Democracy
By Yana Gorokhovskaia, Adrian Shahbaz, and Amy Slipowitz
Executive Summary with material support from many democracies, beat back
T
a vast Russian army that was hampered by decades of
he global struggle for democracy approached a possible
corruption. In China, the ruling Communist Party’s onerous
turning point in 2022. The gap between the number of
and politicized COVID-19 policies were abruptly dismantled in
countries that registered overall improvements in political
the face of public protests.
rights and civil liberties and those that registered overall
declines was the narrowest it has ever been through 17
The 2023 edition of Freedom in the World is the 50th in this
consecutive years of deterioration.
series of annual comparative reports. As such, it provides an
The most serious setbacks for freedom and democracy opportunity to reflect on the challenges to and achievements
were the result of war, coups, and attacks on democratic of democracy over the past five decades. Among the more
institutions by illiberal incumbents. The authoritarian regime significant challenges has been a widespread assault on
in Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a bid to the civil liberties that can be used to hold governments to
scuttle that country’s hard-won democratic progress. New account—most notably, freedom of expression.
coups and other attempts to undermine representative
government destabilized Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Peru, and Over the last 17 years, the number of countries and territories
Brazil. Previous years’ coups and ongoing repression that receive a score of 0 out of 4 on the report’s media
continued to diminish basic liberties in Guinea and constrain freedom indicator has ballooned from 14 to 33. The year
those in settings such as Turkey, Myanmar, and Thailand. 2022 brought more of the same, with media freedom coming
Afghanistan’s Taliban regime barred girls from receiving under pressure in at least 157 countries and territories. Scores
an education in the midst of an ongoing economic and for a related indicator pertaining to freedom of personal
humanitarian crisis. Governments and occupying powers used expression have also suffered over the years amid greater
violence and other means to destroy cultures and change invasions of privacy, harassment and intimidation, and
the ethnic composition of populations in 21 countries and incentives to self-censor both online and offline.
territories, including Ukraine, Ethiopia, and Myanmar.
It has become more difficult to consolidate nascent
A total of 34 countries showed improvements in political democratic institutions in recent decades. More and more
rights and civil liberties, compared with 35 that lost countries have remained Partly Free instead of moving
ground, signaling a possible slowdown in the global toward full democratization. Still, the world is significantly
decline. Democratic gains were achieved through more freer today than it was 50 years ago. In 1973, 44 of 148
transparent and competitive elections in Lesotho, Colombia, countries were rated Free. Today, 84 of 195 countries have
and Kenya. A lifting of pandemic-related restrictions that earned that status. Many strong democracies that emerged
disproportionately affected freedom of assembly and during periods of progress have since withstood serious
freedom of movement also produced positive change, as political, social, and economic pressures.
did a renewed commitment to judicial independence in
some countries. Ongoing protests against repression in Iran, Cuba, China, and
other authoritarian countries suggest that people’s desire for
In addition to these outright improvements, the year freedom is enduring, and that no setback should be regarded
brought fresh evidence of the limits of authoritarian as permanent. Democratic societies’ international solidarity,
power. Authoritarian influence at the United Nations and commitment to shared values, and continued support for
other international organizations faltered as democracies human rights defenders are crucial to ensuring that the next
reaffirmed the value of multilateral engagement. Ukrainians, 50 years bring the world closer to a state of freedom for all.
2 @ FreedomHouse #FreedomInTheWorld
Freedom House
Direct attacks on democracy and the
human cost of authoritarian rule
D ramatic declines in political rights and civil liberties
during 2022 were driven by direct assaults on democratic
institutions, whether by foreign military forces or incumbent
The war has been, as Ukrainian president Volodymyr
Zelenskyy put it, a disaster with a high price. In his desire
to destroy democracy in Ukraine and deny Ukrainians
officials in positions of trust. War, coups d’état, and power their political rights and civil liberties, Putin has caused the
grabs repeatedly posed an existential threat to elected deaths and injuries of thousands of Ukrainian civilians as
governments around the world. well as soldiers on both sides, the destruction of crucial
infrastructure, the displacement of millions of people
In February, Ukrainians were violently thrust into the from their homes, a proliferation of torture and sexual
heart of the global struggle to defend democracy against violence, and the intensification of already harsh repression
authoritarianism. President Vladimir Putin of Russia, having within Russia.
already overseen the illegal occupation of Ukrainian territory
in Crimea and eastern Donbas since 2014, launched a full-
scale invasion of the country. Whatever false justifications
Military coups
for this war of aggression have been promulgated by the
Kremlin’s state-controlled media, its clear purpose is to While the assault on Ukraine’s democracy came from a
remove the elected leadership in Kyiv and deprive Ukrainians neighboring state, a growing number of countries faced
of their fundamental right to free self-government. attacks from within. Burkina Faso experienced the steepest
17 YEARS OF DEMOCRATIC DECLINE
Countries with aggregate score declines in Freedom 17 Years of Democratic
in the Decline
World have outnumbered those with gains every year for the
Countries with aggregate score declines in
past 17 years. However, events in 2022 generated the smallest margin—aWorld
Freedom in the nd thehave outnumbered
smallest number those
of with
countries with declines—
gains every year for the past 17 years. However, events in 2022 generated the smallest margin—
since the negative pattern began.
and the smallest number of countries with declines—since the negative pattern began.
83
This year featured
the fewest countries
56 with declines in the
50 17-year period.
43 43 43
40
38
34 34 37
33 36 35 37 34
28 25
NUMBER OF
COUNTRIES THAT
IMPROVED
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
NUMBER OF
COUNTRIES THAT
DECLINED
35
Note: Countries
49
whose scores were 52 54 54
unchanged are not 59 59 60 60
63 62 64
included
Note:in this comparison.
Countries whose scores were 67 67 68
unchanged are not included in this
Freedom in the World assesses 72 71 73
comparison. Freedom in the World
195 countries and 15and
assesses 195 countries territories.
15 territories.
This infographic is from the Freedom in the World 2023 report by freedomhouse.org
FreedomHouse.org 3
FREEDOM IN Marking 50 Years in the
THE WORLD 2023 Struggle for Democracy
Captain Ibrahim
Traoré, installed as
leader of Burkina
Faso following
a coup, gives a
news conference
in October 2022,
in Ouagadougou.
(Image credit:
Stringer / Anadolu
Agency via
Getty Images)
decline in freedom in this year’s report, losing a total of 23 the implementation of a state of emergency that granted
points on the 100-point scale and falling from Partly Free special powers to security services and limited the right to
to Not Free status as a result of two successive coups. In assembly. Over two dozen people were killed and hundreds
January 2022, Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo were injured in December alone as police responded to the
Damiba, leading a self-proclaimed Patriotic Movement for protests with deadly force, and unrest continued into the
Safeguard and Restoration, ousted the elected president, new year. The crisis caused the country to drop from Free
suspended the constitution, dissolved the legislature, and to Partly Free status and threatened to further undermine
instituted a curfew. Just eight months later, he was replaced a political system that has endured multiple presidential
by another officer, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who dismissed the resignations and impeachments in recent years.
transitional government, again suspended the constitution,
closed the borders, and issued orders that prevented civil In addition to the dangers they pose in the moment, coups
society organizations from operating. Both coup leaders ruled and coup attempts can have repercussions that substantially
by decree and made only vague commitments to holding degrade protections for human rights in the long run.
democratic elections in the future. Thailand’s civil society continues to feel the effects of a 2014
coup by army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha. Perceived critics of
Events at the end of 2022 showed that even unsuccessful the military-backed government face charges under lèse-
coup attempts can do immediate harm to the political majesté laws, which forbid insulting the monarchy, and human
system and human rights, especially when they take place in rights organizations were subjected to increasingly intense
a country that has previously experienced authoritarianism. legal harassment in 2022. The ruling junta in Guinea, which
In December, Peru’s President Pedro Castillo tried to came to power in a 2021 coup, has continued to roll back
avoid imminent impeachment by suspending Congress rights and reverse the democratic gains of the past decade,
and declaring a nationwide curfew. Castillo’s attempted banning all political protests last year. Since a 2021 coup in
“autogolpe,” or self-coup, happened 30 years after President Myanmar, the military junta there has waged a relentless and
Alberto Fujimori seized legislative and judicial powers in the brutal campaign of violence across the country, detaining
country with help from the military and began a decade- and killing thousands of people, displacing approximately one
long dictatorship. Even though Castillo was quickly removed million residents, and destroying an experiment with elected
from office and replaced by the vice president, his arrest civilian rule that the military itself had initiated with a new
sparked large protests across the country and triggered constitution in 2008.
4 @ FreedomHouse #FreedomInTheWorldFreedom House
In Turkey, a failed 2016 coup attempt has cast a long shadow Tunisia experienced the third-largest score decline of any
over political rights and civil liberties. President Recep Tayyip country as a direct result of the actions of the elected
Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) president. Kaïs Saïed, who had unilaterally dismissed the
used the incident to justify the removal of key democratic prime minister and suspended the parliament in 2021,
checks and balances and the elimination of political rivals. continued to consolidate power by formally dissolving the
This process continued in 2022, as Turkey prepared for a parliament in March. He then rolled out a new constitution
pivotal presidential election in the first half of 2023. Ahead that gave more authority to the presidency and dismantled
of the vote, the government adopted a new law to control legislative and judicial checks on the executive branch,
the selection of judges who will review challenges to election securing approval for the document through a flawed
results, and approved a “disinformation” law that could referendum. December parliamentary elections, which were
further stifle opposition campaigns and independent media. boycotted by most opposition parties, drew a voter turnout
of just 11 percent and prompted calls from the opposition for
Saïed to resign.
The threat from incumbent leaders In El Salvador, the parliamentary supermajority gained by
Democratic institutions suffered from abuses by powerful President Nayib Bukele’s allies in 2021 elections continued
incumbents in 2022. After assuming office through elections, to help him undermine democratic controls. In March 2022,
these leaders rejected the established democratic process the legislature approved his request for a state of exception
and sought to rewrite the rules of the game to maintain their intended to address gang violence, which has led to the
grip on power. indefinite detention of tens of thousands of people, with
Controlling
CONTROLLING LAND BY CHANGING ITS Land by Changing Its People
PEOPLE
Governments and occupying powers in 21 countries and territories use a variety of methods to forcibly change
Governments
theand occupying
ethnic powersofina21country
composition countries and territories
or territory so as use a varietya culture
to destroy of methods tothe
or tip forcibly change
political the ethnic
balance.
composition of a country or territory so as to destroy a culture or tip the political balance.
CULTURAL MASS DETENTION DIRECTED
PERSECUTION AND EXPULSION SETTLEMENT
Ukraine: Russian occupation Myanmar: The military West Bank: Israeli
authorities have destroyed has methodically authorities have promoted
Ukrainian cultural sites, destroyed the villages of the growth of Israeli
suppressed the Ukrainian Rohingya and other ethnic Jewish settlements and
language in education, and minority groups, forcing demolished Palestinian
forcibly transferred Ukrainian residents to flee. housing in the occupied
children to Russia for adoption West Bank.
Ethiopia: Ongoing civil
by Russian families.
conflict in the Tigray Tibet: Communist Party
China: Communist Party region has resulted in the authorities have forcibly
authorities have forced Uyghur expulsion of hundreds of resettled members of
children to attend boarding thousands of people based ethnic minorities.
schools away from their families on their ethnicity.
and receive Mandarin-only
instruction and indoctrination.
This infographic is from the Freedom in the World 2023 report by freedomhouse.org
FreedomHouse.org 5FREEDOM IN Marking 50 Years in the
THE WORLD 2023 Struggle for Democracy
A woman holds an
infant inside a school
in Mekelle, within
the Tigray region of
Ethiopia. The school
was turned into a
temporary shelter
for people displaced
by conflict in the
region. (Image credit:
Reuters/Baz Ratner)
little regard for their due process rights. Under the state of for a military coup against the new government, stormed
exception, authorities have also suspended anticorruption Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential palace.
mechanisms that would shed light on government spending Although the elected administration retained power and
and contracts. In September, Bukele announced that he would cracked down on the perpetrators, Brazilian democracy
compete for a second term, a year after the Constitutional remained on the defensive after this destructive event.
Court—newly packed with his appointees after a wholesale
purge—overturned a ban on consecutive presidential terms.
The worst excesses of
The victory of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party unchecked power
in Hungary’s April 2022 elections was facilitated by his When assessing the stakes of the struggle for democracy, it is
government’s campaign since 2010 to systematically important to remember the devastating costs that authoritarian
undermine the independence of the judiciary, opposition rule can impose on entire populations. In the absence of any
groups, the media, and nongovernmental organizations. Among meaningful constraints on political power and the use of force,
other advantages, Fidesz benefited from legislative changes it a growing number of regimes around the world have engaged in
had pushed through two years earlier, which raised the vote wholesale persecution of women or ethnic minority groups, in
threshold that parties must reach to enter the parliament. some cases drawing accusations of genocide.
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s warnings that he would Since overthrowing Afghanistan’s elected government in
not accept election results if he lost stoked mistrust in the 2021, the Taliban have presided over a catastrophic economic
democratic process among his supporters. After losing collapse, a surge in hunger and poverty, and mass emigration.
to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a runoff, Bolsonaro avoided Rather than taking steps that would reduce its international
formally conceding, and his campaign later attempted to isolation, however, the regime has moved in the opposite
overturn the result in court by claiming that a computer error direction. The Taliban authorities barred girls from attending
had disqualified large batches of votes. Just before Lula’s secondary school in March 2022, effectively ending education
January 1 inauguration, Bolsonaro traveled to the United for women after the sixth grade, and in December they
States, avoiding participation in the traditional transfer of the ordered private and public universities to prohibit female
presidential sash to the new leader. The next week, thousands students from attending classes, preventing women who
of the former president’s loyalists, who had repeatedly called already reached higher education from completing their
6 @ FreedomHouse #FreedomInTheWorldFreedom House
studies. Also in December, authorities issued a decree
banning women from working in national and international
nongovernmental organizations. Lacking any recourse within When assessing the stakes of the
the political system, Afghan women took their demands struggle for democracy, it is important
to the streets, where they were met with water cannons,
beatings, and arrests. to remember the devastating costs
that authoritarian rule can impose
The number of countries and territories where the
government or an occupying power is deliberately changing
on entire populations.
the ethnic composition of the population in order to destroy
a culture or tip the political balance increased from 19 to
21 last year. Ethiopia and Ukraine were added to the list, of migration from Russia, transfers of local prisoners and
joining longtime sites of forced ethnic change like China conscripts to Russia, deportations of those who refuse
and Myanmar. Russian citizenship, and repression of the Ukrainian and Tatar
cultures and languages within the education system. These
In Ethiopia, the ongoing civil conflict centered on the practices were expanded to other parts of occupied Ukraine
northern Tigray region has resulted in, among other abuses, after the full-scale invasion, and augmented with horrific
extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and the projects like the mass abduction and removal of Ukrainian
expulsion of hundreds of thousands of people from their children to Russia.
homes on the basis of their ethnicity. Like other countries
and territories in the Not Free category, Ethiopia lacks many Forced ethnic change is also a matter of official policy for the
aspects of the rule of law that might protect its citizens’ Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which aims to deliberately
fundamental human rights. break up the cultures and geographic concentrations of
ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia.
Moscow’s occupation of Crimea and eastern Donbas has Among the 57 Not Free countries in the world, China ranks
entailed a long-standing campaign of forced ethnic change in near the absolute bottom in terms of overall political rights
those Ukrainian territories. Since 2014, many Crimean Tatars and civil liberties. It is joined there by Myanmar, where the
and ethnic Ukrainians have left the regions, driven not only military has engaged in violent attacks on and expulsions
by political persecution and the violence of war but also by of the Rohingya population as well as several other
overt policies of Russification, including encouragement ethnic groups.
FreedomHouse.org 7FREEDOM IN Marking 50 Years in the
THE WORLD 2023 Struggle for Democracy
A possible turning point
for global freedom
T here were signs during the past year that the world’s long
freedom recession may be bottoming out, which would
set the stage for a future recovery. The gap between the
in respect for fundamental rights even before the election
period, as the government granted temporary protection
permits to more Venezuelan refugees and the Constitutional
number of countries that registered overall improvements Court decriminalized abortion.
in political rights and civil liberties and those that registered
overall declines in 2022 was the narrowest it has ever been Establishing a strong record of peaceful political competition
through 17 consecutive years of deterioration. The number of and democratic power transfers can be a long and arduous
countries with declines, at 35, was the smallest recorded since process. The elections in both Colombia and Lesotho were
the negative pattern began. Thirty-four countries registered not without problems, and obstacles to further progress
improvements. remain. Lesotho continues to struggle with ills including
police brutality, a legacy of political influence exercised by the
The gains came in various forms. Eight countries registered security agencies, and chronic political turmoil. In Colombia,
modest improvements in civil liberties due to the rollback of politicians faced threats of violence while on the campaign
COVID-19 restrictions that had disproportionately infringed trail, and illegal armed groups associated with the far left and
on the freedoms of assembly and movement. But the most far right remain a menace to the rule of law and civil society.
significant positive developments were driven by competitive The country is one of the deadliest in the world for human
elections in Latin America and Africa, with politicians and rights defenders.
ordinary people in the affected countries reaffirming their
commitment to the democratic process. The United States navigated its 2022 midterm elections
without any violence of the sort that occurred during the
The year also brought fresh evidence of the limits of January 2021 assault on the Capitol. The elections produced
authoritarian power, as key regimes faltered in their attempts a divided Congress, with the Republican Party winning a
to exert influence at international organizations and their narrow majority in the House of Representatives while the
internal governance flaws led to dramatic policy setbacks. Democratic Party maintained control in the Senate. Although
hundreds of Republican candidates who explicitly denied the
legitimacy of President Joseph Biden’s victory over former
president Donald Trump in the 2020 election ran for office
Consolidating democracy
across the country, they lost in almost all key statewide races.
through elections This comparative stability on the political front was offset by
Two countries, Lesotho and Colombia, improved from Partly the Supreme Court’s removal of constitutional protections
Free to Free last year following successful competitive against strict abortion bans.
elections. In Lesotho, Sam Matekane’s Revolution for
Prosperity party won a plurality of seats in the parliament In Slovenia, a competitive election with the highest voter
and replaced the incumbent government. Representing turnout in 20 years resulted in defeat for the right-wing
a departure from years of instability, the elections were populist government, which had repeatedly threatened media
hailed as fair and peaceful by observers from numerous freedom and other democratic norms. Kenya held what
international organizations. In Colombia, a broad coalition observers hailed as its most transparent presidential election
enabled Gustavo Petro to win the June presidential runoff ever, and the results were confirmed by an independent
vote, overcoming political forces associated with former Supreme Court. The country’s political leaders notably
president Álvaro Uribe, who has dominated the political scene refrained from the boycotts and incitement of ethnic violence
since the early 2000s. The country had been making gains that had disrupted some previous elections.
8 @ FreedomHouse #FreedomInTheWorldFreedom House
LARGEST ONE-YEAR GAINS AND DECLINES IN 2022
Gains in aggregate score reflect improvements in conditions for political rights and civil liberties.
-23 Burkina Faso
-11 Ukraine
-8 Tunisia
-4 Guinea
-4 Nicaragua
-3 El Salvador
-3 Hungary
-3 Mali
-3 Russia
Lesotho +3
Malaysia +3
FREE Philippines +3
PARTLY FREE Zambia +3
NOT FREE Kenya +4
Note: This chart shows aggregate +4
Kosovo
score changes of 3 or more points
in countries with a population of Slovenia +5
1 million or more.
Colombia +6
-25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 +5 +10
Gain or Decline in Aggregate Score
Checks on autocrats’ However, authoritarian cooperation is motivated by narrow
international influence self-interest and centers on low-cost actions, meaning it can
fracture when regimes’ priorities diverge or they encounter
Authoritarian powers have made an effort to reshape the determined democratic pressure. The CSTO’s response to the
international system by exercising their influence at the crisis in Kazakhstan, for instance, stood in stark contrast to
United Nations. They have embraced UN participation and the organization’s failure to assist Armenia, the only member
multilateralism primarily as a means of defending themselves state that is rated Partly Free, as it suffered repeated attacks
against international mechanisms aimed at transparency and on its sovereign territory by fellow member state Azerbaijan.
accountability. Elected five times to the UN Human Rights
Council, the Chinese government has repeatedly blocked Few of Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian allies have openly
resolutions addressing its own policies. It has also joined with supported his war of aggression against Ukraine. CCP leader
its counterparts from Iran, Belarus, North Korea, Cuba, and Xi Jinping has not endorsed the invasion or provided military
other member states in the so-called Group of Friends in support despite describing the bilateral partnership as having
Defense of the Charter of the United Nations to criticize the “no limits” early in 2022. The countries of the Caucasus
use of sanctions. and Central Asia are often seen as lying within Moscow’s
geopolitical orbit, but Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan,
Regional organizations too have been used to prop up Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have declined to recognize
autocrats. The Russian-controlled Collective Security Treaty Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory, and they have all
Organization (CSTO), for example, deployed troops in complied with sanctions against Russian banks. The Kremlin’s
January 2022 to protect Kazakhstan’s President Kasym- most steadfast ally in the region continues to be President
Zhomart Tokayev from large-scale antigovernment protests Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus, who is dependent on
sparked by a sharp rise in fuel prices. Russian support to maintain his own tenuous grip on power.
FreedomHouse.org 9FREEDOM IN Marking 50 Years in the
THE WORLD 2023 Struggle for Democracy
Valentyna Buhaiova
embraces Ukrainian
marines in her
home village of
Kyselivka, outside of
Kherson, Ukraine,
in November 2022.
Ukrainian forces
had recently retaken
Kyselivka, liberating
it from Russian
occupation. (Image
credit: Reuters/
Valentyn Ogirenko)
Meanwhile, democracies are standing up for human rights Control over competence
at international organizations. After years of being shielded
by diplomats from Russia and China, Myanmar’s junta was Autocrats’ behavior at the international level is a reflection
condemned by the UN Security Council in December for of their governing methods at home, where in the absence
using violent tactics against prodemocracy activists. Similarly, of a genuine popular mandate, they rely on a crude
despite the presence of authoritarian member states, the combination of corruption and force to maintain control.
UN Human Rights Council voted to suspend Russia in April. The democratic institutions that might moderate graft and
In October, the council went further, appointing a special state violence—such as opposition parties, independent
rapporteur to monitor the human rights situation in Russia by courts, a free press, and civil society groups—are
a vote of 17 to 6. suppressed as potential threats to the leader’s power. When
such corrosive problems are allowed to go unchecked, they
Venezuela was denied a seat on the UN Human Rights Council can undermine the regime’s own goals and threaten the lives
in October elections by the General Assembly. While most of ordinary people.
regional groups did not nominate more candidate countries
than available seats, democratic Costa Rica and Chile both Corruption comes at a high cost to both public services
ran to block Venezuela’s bid for a seat from the Latin America and government revenue. In Venezuela, endemic corruption
and Caribbean group. In December, Iran was removed from orchestrated by the regime of Nicolás Maduro has stripped
the UN Commission on the Status of Women and prevented the land of natural resources and undermined crucial
from serving the rest of its four-year term as a result of a infrastructure, impoverishing the population and impeding
resolution introduced by the United States and supported the government’s ability to address health and economic
by 28 other countries. The measure noted that the Iranian emergencies. The country consequently faces an ongoing
government’s campaign to suppress the rights of women and humanitarian crisis, with shortages of electricity, medicine,
girls by using force against protesters flew in the face of the and food. Over seven million people have fled abroad.
UN body’s mission to promote gender equality.
In Russia, Putin’s long history of enabling corruption at the
The contest between democratic and authoritarian norms at highest levels has left him unable to fulfill the goals of his
international organizations is far from over. But the positive war of aggression. Despite the fact that the Kremlin spent
developments of the past year should encourage even more hundreds of billions of dollars on modernizing the Russian
active democratic engagement in multilateral forums. military over the last two decades, it remains a poorly
10 @ FreedomHouse #FreedomInTheWorldFreedom House
equipped force, with soldiers who lack food and basic medical the use of surveillance technologies, and imposed mass
supplies and use Soviet-era maps and weapons. Many in the quarantines on whole cities that disproportionately restricted
United States and elsewhere believed Putin’s boasts that freedom of movement and often threatened access to
Russian military capabilities matched those of the North food and medical care. In December 2022, the CCP abruptly
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and far outmatched abandoned zero-COVID restrictions without adequate
those of Ukraine, but the progress of the war quickly preparation. At the end of the month, reports emerged
disproved those claims. The families of Russian conscripts are of overwhelmed hospitals and as many as 1 million new
now being asked to provide them with everything from body infections per day.
armor to gauze for bandages. None of this has stopped the
Kremlin from sending such soldiers to their deaths as the war The about-face was triggered in part by nationwide
grinds on, since admitting defeat would threaten the illusion protests that followed a deadly residential fire in Urumqi
of strength and shrewdness on which Putin’s illegitimate in late November, in which both victims and rescuers were
authority partly depends. reportedly hampered by COVID-related restrictions on
movement. As Freedom House’s China Dissent Monitor
As with corruption, the need to maintain control through has shown, protests in China on a variety of issues are not
overwhelming force—and the lack of mechanisms to uncommon. Despite the likelihood of grave punishments,
moderate it—can interfere with an autocrat’s ability to adjust citizens participated in 638 demonstrations and similar
policy in response to public frustrations. China’s disastrous dissent events between June and September 2022. The
experience with the CCP’s “zero COVID” policy illustrated zero-COVID protests in the wake of the Urumqi blaze were
what can happen to people caught in an authoritarian system preceded by other acts of defiance, including the “bridge
that is more focused on compelling their obedience than man” protest against the central government in Beijing in
ensuring their well-being. October. But even in the face of clear public outrage on a
national scale, the CCP remains unable to address people’s
President Xi, who has been in power since 2012 and secured underlying grievances. It failed to make health restrictions
a third term as CCP leader in October 2022, has repeatedly more tailored or humane, or to lift them with appropriate
claimed that China’s political system is superior to democracy caution. Indeed the party provoked further anger by
in providing stability, prosperity, and even protection from promoting officials who were responsible for some of the
the spread of COVID-19. In dealing with the health threat, greatest suffering, including Li Qiang, who had overseen harsh
CCP officials leaned on existing tools of repression, expanded lockdowns as party chief in Shanghai.
People hold white
sheets of paper in
protest over COVID-
19 restrictions in
Beijing on Nov. 27,
2022. Crowds had
gathered for a vigil
honoring the victims
of a fire in Urumqi,
which took place
during COVID-19-
related lockdowns
in China. (Image
credit: REUTERS/
Thomas Peter)
FreedomHouse.org 11FREEDOM IN Marking 50 Years in the
THE WORLD 2023 Struggle for Democracy
The policy blunders committed by Moscow and aims. Similarly, the Chinese government’s botched reversal
Beijing demonstrate that the fallibility of authoritarian of its procrustean COVID-19 policies may prove even more
governments, and not just their malice, can take an destructive than the years of brutal lockdowns themselves.
incredibly large toll on human life. Corruption, criminality, Authoritarian shortcomings must be assessed with clear
and feckless leadership have made the Russian army far eyes. These regimes are unlikely to govern more effectively
more deadly to soldiers and civilians on both sides of the than democracies, but their errors are part of what makes
front line, despite the force’s failure to achieve stated war them so dangerous.
LARGEST 10-YEAR DECLINES
Dramatic declines in freedom have been observed in every region of the world.
-33 Libya
-32 Nicaragua
-30 South Sudan
-30 Tanzania
-29 Turkey
-28 Central African Republic
-24 Venezuela
-23 Benin
-23 Burkina Faso
-23 Egypt
-23 Thailand
-22 Hungary
-21 El Salvador
-20 Burundi
-19 Afghanistan
-18 Serbia
-17 Myanmar
-17 Tajikistan
-16 Bangladesh
-16 Nauru
-16 Yemen
-14 Azerbaijan
-14 Gabon
-14 Mozambique
-13 Comoros
-12 Congo (Brazzaville)
-12 Haiti
-12 Kyrgyzstan
-12 Poland
-11 Russia
FREE
-10 Bosnia and Herzegovina
PARTLY FREE
-10 India
NOT FREE -10 United States
-35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0
Decline in Aggregate Score
12 @ FreedomHouse #FreedomInTheWorldFreedom House
Free expression: A leading indicator
of democratic decline
F reedom of expression, a fundamental component of
democracy, has been under sustained attack around the
world for the last 17 years. Of all the indicators that Freedom
intimidation and violence even in some democracies. The
past year brought more of the same, with media freedom
coming under pressure in at least 157 countries and territories
in the World uses to assess political rights and civil liberties, assessed by Freedom in the World.
freedom of the media and freedom of personal expression
have declined the most precipitously since 2005. This In Russia, a multiyear media crackdown went into overdrive
assault coincided with the rapid uptake of information and as the government sought to eliminate domestic opposition
communication technologies that have effectively broken to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian independent
many states’ media monopolies. In too many places, however, journalists and outlets had long contended with laws that
authorities responded to new forms of online expression labeled them as foreign agents, extremists, or “undesirable.”
with harsh offline punishments and technological innovations In 2022, the expansion of criminal laws targeting the
of their own. spread of false information related to the war empowered
Roskomnadzor, the federal media and telecommunications
regulator, to block websites more aggressively without a
court order. Authorities blocked access to most of the
Press freedom in retreat independent media outlets that were still available in the
Freedom for independent journalism has plummeted. The country, including Ekho Moskvy, Dozhd, Voice of America, the
number of countries and territories that have a score of 0 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and Meduza. Some
out of 4 on the media freedom indicator has ballooned from foreign journalists were also denied entry to Russia.
14 to 33 during the 17 years of global democratic decline,
as journalists faced persistent attacks from autocrats and Moscow’s tactics have spread to Central Asia, where
their supporters while receiving inadequate protection from Kyrgyzstan has adopted many similar laws targeting the
A protester holds
a placard during
a demonstration
at the Hong Kong
Economic and Trade
Office in London.
The demonstration
was held in response
to the closure of
several media outlets
in Hong Kong and
concerns about
media freedom.
(Image credit:
Hesther Ng/SOPA
Images/LightRocket
via Getty Images)
FreedomHouse.org 13FREEDOM IN Marking 50 Years in the
THE WORLD 2023 Struggle for Democracy
media. Kyrgyz authorities recently tried and failed to convict a informants and physical searches. The result is a pervasive
prominent investigative journalist, Bolot Temirov, on dubious sense of fear among civic activists, members of marginalized
charges of forgery. In an outrageous violation of the rule of communities, and average citizens when discussing sensitive
law, Temirov was summarily stripped of his citizenship and topics in public, semipublic, or private settings.
transported to Russia in late November 2022, despite the fact
that he had been born in Kyrgyzstan. From 2005 to 2022, the number of countries and territories
that scored a 0 out of 4 on this indicator rose from six to
15, signaling a nearly complete lack of freedom to voice
The number of countries and antigovernment opinions even in private. In Nicaragua, years
of worsening crackdowns on opposition to the regime of
territories that have a score of 0 out of President Daniel Ortega culminated in show trials of dozens of
4 on the media freedom indicator has people—accused of crimes ranging from treason to spreading
false news and undermining national integrity—based almost
ballooned from 14 to 33 during the 17 solely on evidence that they made critical remarks about
years of global democratic decline. the government. Such cases clearly discourage others from
speaking out. Conditions are at least as grim in Afghanistan,
Belarus, Russian-occupied eastern Donbas, and Eritrea, where
authorities have deployed networks of informants and checked
Journalists routinely face harassment and threats in reprisal people’s phones to suppress the sharing of dissenting opinions.
for their efforts to expose corruption. Two reporters, including
a Cable News Network (CNN) correspondent, fled Guatemala The penalties for nonviolent criticism can be extreme.
last year after they received explicit threats, while another Myanmar’s military junta executed prodemocracy activist
was arrested by the government in July. José Rubén Zamora, Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy, for speaking out
director of the newspaper El Periódico, which has faced severe against the 2021 military coup that displaced an elected
harassment in the past, was charged with financial crimes in civilian government. In August 2022, a terrorism court in
what many observers describe as a bid to censor an outlet Saudi Arabia sentenced Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani to
that has reported critically on the government of President 45 years in prison merely for social media posts, just weeks
Alejandro Giammattei. Zamora remained in pretrial detention after handing a 34-year sentence to another woman, Salma
through the end of the year, with the trial reportedly not al-Shehab, for sharing posts by Saudi dissidents. In Hong
scheduled to start until May 2023. Kong, following Beijing’s imposition of the draconian National
Security Law in 2020, authorities began pursuing national
Authorities in a variety of countries failed to offer effective security and sedition charges against both political activists
protections to media professionals who were at risk of and ordinary residents for expressing dissent, for example by
extralegal violence from nonstate actors. Journalists playing protest songs, clapping in court, or putting up posters.
reporting on the security situation in Haiti, which had
worsened since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel There are fewer and fewer spaces where people can express
Moïse, experienced an extraordinary amount of physical themselves without fear of surveillance. At a time when the
violence in 2022. Members of the media were executed by internet has become fundamental to people’s daily lives, virtually
gangs, killed while in police custody, and shot at while on their all online activities generate data that are subject to monitoring
way to work. by authorities, whether directly or through commercial systems
and advertising technology that can be exploited to reveal
sensitive information. Many countries employ police units to
The risks of personal expression search social media posts for banned forms of political, artistic,
Beyond the news media, ordinary people are less free to express religious, or sexual expression. Networks of street cameras
their views to others, whether online or off. Many governments equipped with artificial intelligence can identify protesters and
have been quick to reapply existing repressive laws to the online track their whereabouts. And the proliferation of spyware has
sphere and adopt invasive technologies to monitor digital made electronic surveillance potentially ubiquitous; even the
communication. Others continue to resort to old-fashioned presence of an internet-connected device can be enough to
methods of control over speech, like the use of human deter uninhibited discussion.
14 @ FreedomHouse #FreedomInTheWorldFreedom House
TO STIFLE DEMOCRACY, SILENCE
To StifleFREE SPEECH
Democracy, Silence Free Speech
Of all the indicators tracked by Freedom in the World, media freedom and freedom of
Of all the indicators tracked by Freedom
personal expressionin thedeclined
have media
World, the mostfreedom and over
precipitously freedom of personal
the past 17 years. expression have declined
the most precipitously over the past 17 years.
The number of countries
and territories receiving the
RESTRICTING lowest score for freedom of
PERSONAL personal expression more
than doubled between 2005
The number of countries and EXPRESSION and 2022.*
ATTACKS territories receiving the lowest
score for media freedom has
In 2022, authorities or
ON MEDIA ballooned from 14 in 2005 to 33
powerful figures in 109
countries and territories
FREEDOM in 2022.* took steps to restrict free
In 2022, free and independent speech and discussion
media came under attack in among ordinary citizens.
157 countries and territories
worldwide.
Types of restrictions on
personal expression
Types of attacks on media include:
freedom include: • Criminal penalties for offline or
online speech that is protected
• Criminal prosecution of journalists under international human rights
• Extrajudicial violence against journalists standards
• Adoption of laws that limit media • Violent reprisals for such
independence protected speech
• Censorship and blocking of critical • Use of surveillance to monitor
outlets protected private speech
* These countries and territories received a score* These
of 0countries
on a 0–4 scale,received
and territories witha 0 representing
score of 0 on a 0–4 scale,the
with 0least degree
representing ofdegree
the least freedom.
of freedom.
This infographic is from the Freedom in the World 2023 report by freedomhouse.org
No country can match the scale and sophistication of China’s infrastructure, spyware targets a victim’s smartphone or
surveillance state, in which residents’ activities are invasively other electronic device regardless of its location, and allows
monitored by public security cameras, urban grid managers, the capture of phone records, contact lists, geolocation data,
and automated systems that detect suspicious and banned keyboard strokes, and even camera and microphone inputs.
behavior, including innocuous expressions of ethnic and The Pegasus spyware product has been found on devices in
religious identity. Workers at private digital platforms in China France, Hungary, India, Israel, Mexico, and Poland. Victims
are required to censor an ever-changing list of prohibited included journalists and politicians, while the perpetrators
terms and to notify authorities about users who dare to remained unknown and unaccountable for their abuses.
criticize the CCP. Those identified as dissidents can face
consequences including forced disappearance and torture. These pernicious encroachments on freedom of expression
pose an obvious threat to democracy. While professional
But surveillance has also chilled freedom of expression in journalists and media outlets disseminate information, ensure
countries rated Free and Partly Free. Technology companies transparency, and hold the powerful to account, the freedom
are generally required to maintain a log of their users’ online of personal expression reinforces individual autonomy and
activities, and in many countries, they must share it with facilitates discussion of differing opinions. It is also crucial
authorities through a process that lacks judicial oversight and to fostering associations and communities within a larger
guardrails against abuse. The growing and unregulated global society, including those based on ethnic, cultural, sexual,
market for commercial spyware has enabled infringements gender, and religious identities. The denial of press freedom
on the right to private expression that often stretch across and freedom of personal expression bolsters authoritarian
international borders. Rather than collecting data or control by cutting citizens off from accurate information and,
intercepting traffic at fixed points in the telecommunications just as importantly, from one another.
FreedomHouse.org 15FREEDOM IN Marking 50 Years in the
THE WORLD 2023 Struggle for Democracy
Lessons from 50 years of
Freedom in the World
O ver the past five decades, people in every region of the
world have demanded and built democracies even under
extremely difficult circumstances. Once fully established,
many military dictatorships were giving way to elected civilian
leaders. A military junta in Greece collapsed in 1974 amid
a confrontation with Turkey over control of Cyprus. Greek
most democratic systems have stood strong against a wide democracy was restored through general elections that were
array of challenges. held just 142 days after the beginning of the crisis.
In 1973, when Freedom House published its first comprehensive After right-wing dictator Francisco Franco died in 1975, Spain
assessment of political rights and civil liberties, only 44 of 148 began its own transition to democracy, which took years and
countries were classified as Free. Today, 84 of 195 countries required overcoming the commitment of the armed forces
are Free. The varied paths that these countries followed show to the old regime. The transition was confirmed through
there is no single method for improving or protecting political a free general election in 1977 and the adoption of a new
rights and civil liberties. However, popular self-government constitution the following year. Spain’s democracy proved
through credible, competitive, free, and fair elections continues resilient in the early 1980s, when the government survived
to be the hallmark of democracy and a guarantee of its a coup attempt and a second general election resulted in a
associated benefits. peaceful transfer of power to the socialist opposition.
Positive change followed in Latin America. After a
A record of progress disastrous invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982, the
The first editions of Freedom in the World coincided with military leaders who had presided over Argentina’s “dirty
the beginning of the “third wave” of democratization, when war”—a bloody campaign of state terrorism against political
The Ebb and Flow of Democratization
THE EBB AND FLOW OFThe share of countries rated Free has generally increased over the past
DEMOCRATIZATION
50 years, but progress faltered beginning in the early 2000s.
The share of countries rated Free has generally increased over the past 50 years, but progress faltered beginning
in the early 2000s.
100%
NOT FREE
80%
2011
1991 Despite the initial promise of
60% 1988–89 In the 1990s, the fall of the Soviet
Union and a wave of democratization
the Arab Spring, few
countries in the region
PARTLY
1978–79 While efforts to roll back
communism, such as
in Africa enabled several countries to experienced sustained FREE
South America joined move out of the Not Free category. democratic change.
a global wave of Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution,
democratization, made gains across Europe, there
driving the transition was a spike in transitions to Not
40% of countries from Not Free in regions like Central America
Free to Partly Free. and the Middle East.
FREE
20%
0%
1972 1982 1992 2002 2012 2022
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