Global freedom declined for the 20th consecutive year in 2025, according to Freedom House. More than 50 countries saw political rights and civil liberties deteriorate, including the United States.
This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Gabriel Cohen, ranks the world’s most and least free countries using Freedom House’s 2026 Freedom in the World report, which evaluates political rights and civil liberties across 195 countries and territories.
Finland topped the rankings with a perfect score of 100, followed by New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden at 99. Meanwhile, South Sudan scored 0, the lowest possible rating, highlighting the widening divide between the world’s strongest democracies and most repressive regimes.
Why Europe Dominates the Freedom Rankings
Europe accounts for most of the world’s highest-scoring countries, led by the Nordics and Western Europe. Strong electoral systems, independent courts, press freedom, and protections for civil liberties helped countries like Finland, Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands rank near the top globally.
There are two European outliers with low scores out of 100: Belarus (7) and Russia (12). Both are run by repressive autocratic regimes that have been in power for over two decades. The two Eastern European countries feature neither press independence nor free and fair elections, and rank among the least free countries worldwide.
The below data table shows the countries with the highest freedom scores in 2025:
Outside of Europe, the world’s freest countries include New Zealand (99), Canada and Uruguay (97), and Japan (96).
Within each of these countries, robust civil society and independent journalism help keep elected officials accountable, while political transitions are handled without fear of violence.
The Decline of the U.S.
Alongside Bulgaria and Italy, the United States had one of the steepest declines in its score in 2025 among countries classified as Free. The world’s leading superpower fell to a score of 81, its lowest on record, tying South Africa and falling behind Panama (82).
Over the past two decades, the U.S. score has slipped by 12 points, driven by rising polarization and political violence. The 2025 decline was caused in part by government efforts to crack down on nonviolent expression by citizens and noncitizens alike.
The weakening of anticorruption safeguards and enforcement practices by the new U.S. presidential administration was also cited as contributing to the lower score compared to previous years.
The World’s Least Free Countries
While the U.S. remains firmly classified as “Free,” the gap between democratic and authoritarian countries remains stark. The lowest-ranked countries were concentrated across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, where elections are restricted, opposition movements are suppressed, and civil liberties remain severely limited.
South Sudan, one of the world’s youngest countries, obtained the worst possible score of 0, followed by a tie between Sudan and Turkmenistan (both 1). In each of these countries, minority rights are under assault and political freedoms are nonexistent.
Larger countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East also rank poorly. Vietnam scored 20, while Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates tied at 18.
Three regimes in the Americas also appear within this bottom tier of Not Free countries: Cuba (9), Nicaragua (14), and Venezuela (13).
Curious to see how other countries have changed their fortunes since last year? Check out The State of Freedom Around the World on Voronoi.