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, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, shows the state of freedom by country, based on data from Freedom House.

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/ TerritoryStatusScore???????? FinlandF100???????? New ZealandF99???????? NorwayF99???????? SwedenF99???????? CanadaF97???????? DenmarkF97???????? IrelandF97???????? LuxembourgF97???????? NetherlandsF97???????? San MarinoF97???????? BelgiumF96???????? EstoniaF96???????? JapanF96???????? PortugalF96???????? SloveniaF96???????? SwitzerlandF96???????? UruguayF96???????? AustraliaF95???????? ChileF95???????? Czech RepublicF95???????? GermanyF95???????? IcelandF95???????? BarbadosF94???????? TaiwanF94???????? AndorraF93???????? AustriaF93???????? Marshall IslandsF93???????? TuvaluF93???????? Cabo VerdeF92???????? DominicaF92???????? MicronesiaF92???????? PalauF92???????? United KingdomF92???????? Costa RicaF91???????? CyprusF91???? St. LuciaF91???????? BahamasF90???????? LiechtensteinF90???????? SpainF90???? St. Vincent and the GrenadinesF90???????? FranceF89???????? GrenadaF89???????? ItalyF89???????? KiribatiF89???????? LatviaF89???????? LithuaniaF89???????? SlovakiaF89???? St. Kitts and NevisF89???????? BelizeF88???????? MaltaF87???????? MauritiusF86???????? ArgentinaF85???????? GreeceF85???????? MongoliaF84???????? SamoaF84???????? Sao Tome and PrincipeF84???????? United StatesF84???????? Antigua and BarbudaF83???????? PanamaF83???????? CroatiaF82???????? MonacoF82???????? PolandF82???????? RomaniaF82???????? Trinidad and TobagoF82???????? VanuatuF82???????? South AfricaF81???? South KoreaF81???????? GhanaF80???????? JamaicaF80???????? SeychellesF80???????? SurinameF80???????? TongaF80???????? BulgariaF77???? Northern CyprusF76???????? BotswanaF75???????? NauruF75???????? Solomon IslandsF75???????? GuyanaF74???????? IsraelF73???????? NamibiaF73???????? BrazilF72???????? Timor-LesteF72???????? ColombiaF70???????? FijiPF69???????? MontenegroPF69???????? SenegalF69???????? AlbaniaPF68???????? BhutanF68???????? Dominican RepublicPF68???????? North MacedoniaPF67???????? PeruPF67???????? LesothoF66???????? BoliviaPF65???????? EcuadorPF65???????? HungaryPF65???????? MalawiPF65???????? LiberiaPF64???????? IndiaPF63???????? ParaguayPF63???????? NepalPF62???????? Papua New GuineaPF61???????? BeninPF60???????? KosovoPF60???????? MoldovaPF60???????? MexicoPF59???????? Sierra LeonePF59???????? PhilippinesPF58???????? Sri LankaPF58???????? IndonesiaPF56???????? SerbiaPF56???????? GeorgiaPF55???????? MadagascarPF55???????? ArmeniaPF54???????? MalaysiaPF53???????? ZambiaPF53???????? Bosnia and HerzegovinaPF52???????? KenyaPF51???????? UkrainePF51???????? The GambiaPF50???????? Cote d'IvoirePF49???????? GuatemalaPF48???????? HondurasPF48???????? SingaporePF48???????? El SalvadorPF47???? SomalilandPF47???????? BangladeshPF45???????? NigeriaPF44???????? TunisiaPF44???????? MaldivesPF43???????? ComorosPF42???????? Guinea-BissauPF41???????? MozambiquePF41???????? TogoPF41???????? Hong KongPF40???? AbkhaziaPF39???????? LebanonPF39???????? MauritaniaPF39???? Indian KashmirPF38???????? MoroccoPF37???????? TanzaniaNF35???????? JordanPF34???????? ThailandNF34???????? UgandaNF34???????? TurkeyNF33???????? PakistanPF32???????? AlgeriaNF31???????? IraqNF31???????? KuwaitNF31???????? GuineaNF30???????? NigerNF30???? Pakistani KashmirNF30???????? AngolaNF28???????? BruneiNF27???????? KyrgyzstanNF26???????? ZimbabweNF26???????? Burkina FasoNF25???????? QatarNF25???????? DjiboutiNF24???????? HaitiNF24???????? MaliNF24???????? OmanNF24???????? CambodiaNF23???????? KazakhstanNF23???? West BankNF22???????? GabonNF21???????? RwandaNF21???????? VietnamNF20???? Congo (Kinshasa)NF18???????? EgyptNF18???????? EthiopiaNF18???????? United Arab EmiratesNF18???? Congo (Brazzaville)NF17???????? EswatiniNF17???? TransnistriaNF17???????? BurundiNF15???????? CameroonNF15???????? ChadNF15???????? NicaraguaNF14???? LaosNF13???????? VenezuelaNF13???????? BahrainNF12???????? RussiaNF12???? South OssetiaNF12???????? UzbekistanNF12???????? IranNF11???????? CubaNF10???????? LibyaNF10???????? YemenNF10???????? ChinaNF9???????? Saudi ArabiaNF9???????? SomaliaNF8???????? AzerbaijanNF7???????? BelarusNF7???????? MyanmarNF7???????? AfghanistanNF6???????? Central African RepublicNF5???????? Equatorial GuineaNF5???????? SyriaNF5???????? TajikistanNF5???? Western SaharaNF4???????? EritreaNF3???? North KoreaNF3???? Gaza StripNF2???????? SudanNF2???????? South SudanNF1???????? TurkmenistanNF1???? TibetNF0???? Russian-Occupied Territories of UkraineNF-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.

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