Globally, democracy is increasingly being undermined. Fundamental pillars such as independent media, free elections, the rule of law, and political diversity are essential to ensuring citizen participation, accountability, and the protection of civil liberties. In many places, these foundations are under threat.
Authoritarian regimes have tightened their grip on power by manipulating constitutions, thwarting dissent, and dismantling independent institutions. Press freedoms are vanishing, opposition voices are silenced, and civic liberties continue to shrink.
Freedom House tracks these events through its annual reports, offering detailed analysis and Freedom Index scores that reflect each country’s level of political rights and civil liberties. A Freedom Index score is on a scale from 0 to 100, with higher numbers reflecting a greater level of freedom. The different criteria include candidate control; changing election rules; abuse of state resources; administrative fraud; violence against candidates, election workers, or elected officials; protest crackdowns; and attacks on voting places.
This gallery highlights some of the most significant declines in global freedom based on the changes to each country's Freedom Index score over the past decade. Want to see which countries made the list? Click to find out.