Academic freedom reflects the ability of universities and scholars to research, teach, publish, and exchange ideas without political interference. Over the past decade, however, institutional autonomy has faced mounting ideological and state-backed pressure globally. Using data from the V-Dem Institute via Our World in Data, this gallery ranks countries by the percentage change in their Academic Freedom Index scores between 2015 and 2025.
Click on to explore which 30 nations saw the steepest declines in academic freedom.