Ranked: The World’s Most and Least Free Countries

[Hamartia Antidote]

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-where-people-have-the-most-and-least-freedom/

Which Countries Have the Most and Least Freedom?​

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Key Takeaways​

• Denmark ranks as the world’s freest country, scoring 93.7 out of 100.
• Nine of the world’s 10 freest countries are in Europe, with Australia the only exception.
• The U.S. fell 15 places to 37th globally, recording one of the world’s largest annual declines in freedom.

Political freedom has been declining globally for more than a decade, raising questions about the strength of democratic institutions and individual rights, even in advanced economies.

This visualization ranks 171 countries using the Atlantic Council’s 2026 Freedom Index, which measures the freedom to participate in politics, own property, and live under fair and predictable laws. Scores reflect conditions in 2025.

Where Freedom Is Strongest​

Luxembourg (91.8) and Sweden (91.5) follow Denmark at the top of the index. Just 3.6 points separate the world’s 10 freest countries, highlighting how closely clustered the leading nations are.

Several Asian economies have also moved up the rankings. South Korea climbed from 33rd to 25th, recovering some of the ground lost during its recent political crisis. Japan advanced from 18th to 14th.

Freedom also carries economic implications. According to Atlantic Council research, countries undergoing democratization see GDP per capita rise by 8.8% over 20 years, on average, relative to autocratic peers.

Where Freedom Is Most Restricted​

Afghanistan ranks last with a score of 19.0, followed by Turkmenistan (24.3). Many of the lowest-ranked countries face longstanding authoritarian rule, conflict, or fragile institutions.
China ranks 147th globally, alongside Guinea and DR Congo, despite having the world’s second-largest economy. Its freedom score fell from 42.9 in 2024 to 41.7 in 2025, highlighting the contrast between its economic influence and restrictions on individual freedoms.

Russia ranks 154th, with its freedom score falling from 47.3 in 2019 to 39.2 in 2025. The 8.1-point decline reflects growing restrictions on political opposition, independent media, and public dissent, particularly since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

America’s Eroding Freedoms​

The United States has a freedom score of 79.9, ranking behind Canada (19th), the UK (20th), and Japan (14th). Its decline from 22nd to 37th represents one of the largest annual drops in the index.

Other measures point to a longer-term trend. In 2025, America’s democracy score fell to its lowest level since 1965.

The U.S. decline illustrates how even established democracies can experience setbacks in political rights and institutional safeguards.

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[Maira La]

It's very very subjective though.. in Denmark you'd get arrested for possessing a firearm, whereas in Yemen you could sport a gun anywhere on the street and no one's gonna bat an eyelid.

In Sweden you MUST pay taxes that are almost half your income.. in Eritrea no one cares if you paid your taxes.

One could argue that these developed countries have stronger laws, better regulations and higher taxes to keep people safe and provide better life, but then again the ranking is about freedom and not about better governance.

 

[Vikramaditya1]

In Sweden you MUST pay taxes that are almost half your income.. in Eritrea no one cares if you paid your taxes.

But you can study from elementary school to achieve PhD at 0 Tuition fee.

in Denmark you'd get arrested for possessing a firearm,

What's the point of being armed in a country that's the safest in the world?

whereas in Yemen you could sport a gun anywhere on the street and no one's gonna bat an eyelid.

Obviously one of the most unsafe place in the world.

One could argue that these developed countries have stronger laws, better regulations and higher taxes to keep people safe and provide better life, but then again the ranking is about freedom and not about better governance

I don't think freedom means snort cocaine, chew khat and grab a gun. Ask that Yemeni if he wants to live in Denmark or Yemen for its "freedom".

 

[Viet]

But you can study from elementary school to achieve PhD at 0 Tuition fee.


What's the point of being armed in a country that's the safest in the world?

Obviously one of the most unsafe place in the world.

I don't think freedom means snort cocaine, chew khat and grab a gun. Ask that Yemeni if he wants to live in Denmark or Yemen for its "freedom".

I hope those freedom loving gun people in Yemen or elsewhere don’t come to Denmark. They will burn Copenhagen to the ground like we seeing now in France.
Freedom means nothing without laws and order. Uncontrolled immigration destroys countries. Marcon is helpless. Europe now pays the price. That’s a big warning for Japan, Korea, China and other.

 

[Vapnope]

You cannot contest holocaust in luxembourg as its illegal. So much for being free

 

[Maira La]

What's the point of being armed in a country that's the safest in the world?

Obviously one of the most unsafe place in the world.

I don't think freedom means snort cocaine, chew khat and grab a gun. Ask that Yemeni if he wants to live in Denmark or Yemen for its "freedom".

But the ranking is not about safety, better QoL (quality of life) or better government regulations & social services.

Technically you are more free in the streets of Delhi than you are in a highly regulated European capital where just about anything could lead to a traffic ticket.

Whether that much freedom is better or not is an entirely different topic altogether.

Regardless I stick to my point that such rankings on freedom have inherent biases and are highly subjective.

 

[ety]

I hope those freedom loving gun people in Yemen or elsewhere don’t come to Denmark. They will burn Copenhagen to the ground like we seeing now in France.
Freedom means nothing without laws and order. Uncontrolled immigration destroys countries. Marcon is helpless. Europe now pays the price. That’s a big warning for Japan, Korea, China and other.

There are always riots in the streets of France, what's wrong with the country ? Isn't France is supposed to be a more fair and inclusive society in the West ?

 

[Panda_Hi]

America is actually the freest country in the world, especially when it comes to the freedom to own guns....

Do the criteria in this freedom ranking include the freedom to own guns?
If not, then it’s incomplete.....

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If more than 40,000 people die from gun violence in a year, that means over 110 people are killed by guns every day....

▼▼▼ Does the US military lose that many personnel in a year while serving overseas?...


https://abcnews.com/US/116-people-died-gun-violence-day-us-year/story?id=97382759


As of Dec. 7, at least 40,167 people have died from gun violence in the U.S. this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive – which is an average of almost 118 deaths each day.

Of those who died, 1,306 were teens and 276 were children.

Deaths by suicide have made up the vast majority of gun violence deaths this year. There's been 22,506 deaths by gun suicide this year, an average of about 66 deaths by suicide per day in 2023.

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https://www.kff.org/mental-health/child-and-teen-firearm-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-peer-countries/

In 2020 and 2021, firearms contributed to the deaths of more children ages 1-17 years in the U.S. than any other type of injury or illness. The child firearm mortality rate has doubled in the U.S. from a recent low of 1.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2013 to 3.7 in 2021.

The United States has by far the highest rate of child and teen firearm mortality among peer nations. In no other similarly large, wealthy country are firearms in the top four causes of death for children and teens, let alone the number one cause. U.S. states with the most gun laws have lower rates of child and teen firearm deaths than states with few gun laws. But, even states with the lowest child and teen firearm deaths have rates much higher than what peer countries experience.

In 2020 and 2021, firearms were involved in the deaths of more children ages 1-17 than any other type of injury or illness, surpassing deaths due to motor vehicles, which had long been the number one factor in child deaths. In 2021, there were 2,571 child deaths due to firearms—a rate of 3.7 deaths per 100,000 children, which is an increase of 68% in the number of deaths since 2000 and 107% since a recent low of 2013.













https://apnews.com/article/gun-violence-shootings-july-fourth-90bd7b9473e280e14429489decafd552


Shootings and other violence during the extended Fourth of July weekend have left at least 33 people dead, including 11 in Chicago, and injured dozens more nationwide, authorities said.

The Fourth of July historically is one of the nation’s deadliest days of the year. A flurry of shootings around the holiday a year ago left more than a dozen people dead and over 60 wounded. And a year before that, seven people died in a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade near Chicago.










6-Year-Old Boldly Curses Out Cops After Shooting Teacher in Virginia Classroom









https://lawandcrime.com/crime/see-i...nother-child-but-his-dad-remains-behind-bars/

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[ustaad]

Listing China with the failed states of Africa is typical Western Sinophobia

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Listing China with the failed states of Africa is typical Western Sinophobia

Well...in the OP picture Taiwan is way up at #21 and that is ahead of lots of Western countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland, Portugal, etc)....including the US at #37. So if you are saying they are redlining China they certainly aren't redlining Taiwan.

BTW Singapore is down at #30.

Freedom and Prosperity Indexes – Atlantic Council

Explore global rankings on Freedom and Prosperity. Track data on economic freedom, political freedom, rule of law, democracy & authoritarianism in 164 countries.

freedom-and-prosperity-indexes.atlanticcouncil.org

 

[Viet]

There are always riots in the streets of France, what's wrong with the country ? Isn't France is supposed to be a more fair and inclusive society in the West ?

No, it’s of some sorts between ignorance and arrogance. France lives on debt. It spends more money than it earns. The French cannot sustain forever. It’s always the case be France or Greece: overspending, economic weakness, incompetence, misunderstanding of liberty to freedom of looting.
Denmark raises retirement age to 70y, France wants to lower to 60y. How it can work?

 

[BHAN85]

all countries are free if you have money enough.

and all countries are a dictatorship if you have no money.

about public political speech, it's useless everywhere, so who cares freedom about it, even if it's allowed it's useless, so better dont waste time.