Ranking of Countries by Level of Freedom.

The Human Freedom Index is an important tool for assessing the state of freedom in the world based on a wide range of indicators covering personal, civil, and economic freedom. Here, freedom is defined as the absence of coercive restrictions, making it a valuable factor in human progress.

The annual report, jointly published by the Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute, uses 86 different indicators of personal and economic freedom, including the rule of law, security, freedom of movement, religion, association and civil society, freedom of speech and information.

Country Rankings by Human Freedom Level in 2024

The index covers 165 countries, representing 98.8% of the world’s population, and analyzes data over more than two decades, starting from 2000. The ranking has revealed trends of deteriorating levels of human freedom in recent years, especially following the coronavirus pandemic. It shows that many regions of the world have already faced a significant decline in freedom over the past decade.

Rank		Level of human freedom	Quality of citizenship
1	Switzerland	8.94	79.80
2	New Zealand	8.75	54.80
3	Estonia	8.73	77.10
4	Denmark	8.72	81.70
5	Ireland	8.7	80.20
6	Sweden	8.66	81.50
7	Iceland	8.64	81.40
8	Finland	8.62	81.20
9	Netherlands	8.55	82.80
10	Luxembourg	8.53	79.00
11	Norway	8.51	81.50
12	Australia	8.51	55.20
13	Canada	8.47	55.30
14	Taiwan	8.44	46.10
15	Latvia	8.42	30.80
16	Japan	8.39	58.40
17	Lithuania	8.34	77.00
18	Czechia	8.33	79.00
19	Germany Freelance visa Work visa The Blue Card The Chance Card Study visa Career Counseling Career support	8.33	82.80
20	United Kingdom	8.3	80.30
21	Belgium	8.27	79.80
22	Austria	8.26	79.70
23	United States	8.23	70.00
24	Portugal Visa Digital Nomad Financially Independent Residence Permit Freelance visa Study visa Startup visa	8.2	79.00
25	Malta	8.2	77.60
26	Armenia	8.14	31.70
27	Bahamas	8.14	45.50
28	Cyprus	8.13	75.30
29	Cape Verde	8.12	34.20
30	South Korea	8.11	54.20
31	Spain Visa Digital Nomad Startup Visa Study visa Financially Independent Residence Permit	8.08	80.00
32	Chile	8.06	55.20
33	Italy Visa Digital Nomad Study visa	8.02	80.70
34	Hong Kong SAR China	8.01	48.90
35	Costa Rica	7.98	45.50
36	Uruguay	7.97	50.50
37	Slovakia	7.94	77.50
38	Romania	7.89	75.20
39	Slovenia	7.88	78.60
40	Croatia Visa Digital Nomad	7.86	73.80
41	Bulgaria Business Residence Permit	7.81	75.00
42	France	7.8	83.50
43	Georgia	7.71	37.50
44	Seychelles	7.7	46.20
45	Singapore	7.7	55.10
46	Barbados	7.69	46.30
47	North Macedonia	7.67	39.30
48	Albania	7.67	38.70
49	Poland	7.66	77.00
50	Mauritius	7.63	45.20
51	Mongolia	7.62	29.30
52	Dominican Republic	7.61	30.20
53	Trinidad & Tobago	7.53	43.30
54	Jamaica	7.53	32.00
55	Panama	7.52	41.70
56	Peru	7.51	45.60
57	Greece	7.5	77.30
58	Namibia	7.49	30.00
59	Moldova	7.46	38.60
60	Montenegro Visa Digital Nomad Business Residence Permit	7.45	40.90
61	Botswana	7.44	33.00
62	Israel	7.36	31.00
63	Bosnia & Herzegovina	7.35	38.80
64	Fiji	7.28	33.20
65	Timor-Leste	7.27	33.10
66	Ghana	7.26	33.90
67	Hungary Visa Digital Nomad Business Residence Permit	7.21	77.50
68	Suriname	7.2	33.10
69	Serbia Business Residence Permit	7.16	42.10
70	Ecuador	7.12	39.10
71	Guatemala	7.08	39.10
72	Paraguay	7.03	46.80
73	Belize	7.02	34.10
74	Argentina	6.99	54.50
75	Papua New Guinea	6.98	28.70
76	Benin	6.95	31.80
77	South Africa	6.93	35.00
78	Guyana	6.9	33.60
79	Malawi	6.89	26.40
80	Brazil	6.86	54.30
81	Lesotho	6.8	26.60
82	Malaysia	6.78	51.00
83	Haiti	6.78	23.60
84	Nepal	6.77	23.00
85	Indonesia	6.74	31.80
86	Bhutan	6.71	27.50
87	Senegal	6.7	31.30
88	Kyrgyzstan	6.7	30.60
89	Ukraine	6.68	38.20
90	Honduras	6.67	39.20
91	Colombia	6.65	43.30
92	El Salvador	6.65	39.70
93	Burkina Faso	6.63	29.80
94	Mozambique	6.62	23.30
95	Gabon	6.62	26.80
96	Liberia	6.62	28.60
97	Gambia	6.61	32.20
98	Mexico	6.6	45.70
99	Bolivia	6.6	35.80
100	Kenya	6.58	26.90
101	Guinea-Bissau	6.54	28.80
102	Sierra Leone	6.53	31.30
103	Philippines	6.52	27.90
104	Thailand	6.49	32.40
105	Madagascar	6.47	24.50
106	Côte d’Ivoire	6.47	30.00
107	Kazakhstan	6.46	35.70
108	Jordan	6.39	26.80
109	Zambia	6.38	27.60
110	Niger	6.33	27.40
111	Sri Lanka	6.33	26.20
112	India	6.3	32.20
113	Togo	6.25	30.30
114	Kuwait	6.25	39.00
115	Tunisia	6.25	29.90
116	Cambodia	6.24	24.60
117	Tanzania	6.24	27.00
118	Uganda	6.13	25.10
119	Mali	6.01	27.80
120	Russia	6.01	42.00
121	Lebanon	5.98	25.10
122	Angola	5.97	24.20
123	Nicaragua	5.96	38.50
124	Rwanda	5.93	23.30
125	Nigeria	5.93	28.10
126	Belarus	5.78	34.80
127	United Arab Emirates	5.76	50.30
128	Comoros	5.75	24.20
129	Qatar	5.73	37.10
130	Turkey Visa Digital Nomad	5.71	37.70
131	Azerbaijan	5.7	30.10
132	Vietnam	5.64	26.80
133	Brunei	5.62	49.20
134	Oman	5.57	37.10
135	Myanmar (Burma}	5.56	23.10
136	Morocco	5.55	28.10
137	Mauritania	5.54	24.10
138	Bangladesh	5.51	23.60
139	Djibouti	5.51	21.70
140	Bahrain	5.49	36.10
141	Tajikistan	5.49	27.90
142	Central African Republic	5.47	17.60
143	Guinea	5.45	29.90
144	Eswatini	5.45	27.80
145	Pakistan	5.44	19.00
146	Laos	5.44	25.30
147	Ethiopia	5.42	19.90
148	Congo - Kinshasa	5.39	18.00
149	Cameroon	5.34	22.40
150	Zimbabwe	5.25	24.90
151	China	5.22	44.30
152	Chad	5.2	20.70
153	Algeria	5.13	27.40
154	Libya	4.95	21.70
155	Burundi	4.82	20.00
156	Iraq	4.77	19.40
157	Somalia	4.67	13.80
158	Saudi Arabia	4.56	36.20
159	Sudan	4.31	18.90
160	Egypt	4.28	25.70
161	Iran	4.26	26.20
162	Venezuela	4.09	44.30
163	Yemen	3.94	17.20
164	Syria	3.3	16.80
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Top 10 most free countries

The freest country in the world today is Switzerland. She scored 8.94 points out of 10 on the freedom rating scale. Switzerland ranks first thanks to a strong democracy, a high level of individual rights and protective measures for freedom of speech taken by the State. The system of direct democracy allows citizens to actively participate in the political process through referendums.

New Zealand is in second place in the ranking (8.75 points). This faraway country is known for its openness and transparency of governance. Human rights are valued here, as well as active public participation in politics. The absence of corruption and free media contribute to a high level of freedom.

And finally, Estonia solemnly takes the third place (8, 73), which stands out for its progressive approach even to digital rights and freedoms. Citizens have access to electronic documentation and voting, which facilitates participation in the democratic process.

Further in the top ten are Denmark (8.72), Ireland (8.7), Sweden (8.66), Iceland (8.64), Finland (8.62) and the Netherlands (8.55) — the permanent leaders of the ratings assessing the standard of living, the level of happiness and the level of social development of states.

And Luxembourg closes the top ten (8.53) — a country with effective and transparent institutions and a high standard of living.

Top 10 most unfree countries

The most unfree country in the world today is Syria, which scored only 3.3 points according to the assessment method. Syria is suffering from years of civil conflict and an authoritarian regime. Citizens' rights are systematically violated, including harassment of the opposition and suppression of media freedom.

But this does not mean that there is no country worse than Syria, since the rating does not cover all countries of the world, but only those for which researchers managed to collect data. In some countries, this is impossible or too dangerous to do.

Yemen is in second place in the anti-rating (3.94 points). The conflict continues in Yemen, which has exacerbated humanitarian problems and a complete lack of civil liberties. The Government and armed groups restrict human rights, including freedom of speech and assembly.

And Venezuela ranks third among the anti-leaders (4.09 points): In Venezuela, civil rights have been severely curtailed under pressure from an authoritarian government. Political repression and media control create an atmosphere of fear among the population.

Iran (4.26), Egypt (4.28), Sudan (4.31), Saudi Arabia (4.56), Somalia (4.67), Iraq (4.77) and Burundi (4.82) are on the fourth line and further. In all these countries, human rights are severely restricted, and free thinking is severely punished.

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