Freedom of expression - Country rankings
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
Freedom of expression, 2024:
The average for 2024 based on 171 countries was 0.615 index points. The highest value was in Denmark: 0.988 index points and the lowest value was in North Korea: 0.012 index points. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.Measure: index points; Source: Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem)
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* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| Countries | Freedom of expression, 2024 | Global rank | Available data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 0.988 | 1 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Switzerland | 0.981 | 2 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Belgium | 0.976 | 3 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Ireland | 0.976 | 4 | 1960 - 2024 |
| France | 0.967 | 5 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Estonia | 0.966 | 6 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Chile | 0.963 | 7 | 1960 - 2024 |
| New Zealand | 0.961 | 8 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Czechia | 0.959 | 9 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Finland | 0.959 | 10 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Luxembourg | 0.959 | 11 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Sweden | 0.953 | 12 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Norway | 0.949 | 13 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Canada | 0.943 | 14 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Latvia | 0.943 | 15 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Australia | 0.938 | 16 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Jamaica | 0.938 | 17 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Tr.&Tobago | 0.938 | 18 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Germany | 0.937 | 19 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Brazil | 0.935 | 20 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Poland | 0.933 | 21 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Uruguay | 0.929 | 22 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Vanuatu | 0.926 | 23 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Barbados | 0.925 | 24 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Seychelles | 0.921 | 25 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Domin. Rep. | 0.916 | 26 | 1960 - 2024 |
| USA | 0.915 | 27 | 1960 - 2024 |
| UK | 0.911 | 28 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Austria | 0.91 | 29 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Lithuania | 0.908 | 30 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Portugal | 0.9 | 31 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Iceland | 0.897 | 32 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Spain | 0.894 | 33 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Nigeria | 0.885 | 34 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Sri Lanka | 0.885 | 35 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Taiwan | 0.879 | 36 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Suriname | 0.877 | 37 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Italy | 0.876 | 38 | 1960 - 2024 |
| S.T.&Principe | 0.871 | 39 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Cape Verde | 0.87 | 40 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Ghana | 0.87 | 41 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Kenya | 0.866 | 42 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Japan | 0.865 | 43 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Senegal | 0.855 | 44 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Sierra Leone | 0.848 | 45 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Panama | 0.847 | 46 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Liberia | 0.845 | 47 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Namibia | 0.845 | 48 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Netherlands | 0.844 | 49 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Montenegro | 0.843 | 50 | 1998 - 2024 |
| Greece | 0.842 | 51 | 1960 - 2024 |
| South Africa | 0.842 | 52 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Bulgaria | 0.841 | 53 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Honduras | 0.837 | 54 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Romania | 0.835 | 55 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Malta | 0.827 | 56 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Nepal | 0.825 | 57 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Botswana | 0.824 | 58 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Gambia | 0.821 | 59 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Guyana | 0.819 | 60 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Solomon Isl. | 0.818 | 61 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Cyprus | 0.806 | 62 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Moldova | 0.806 | 63 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Zambia | 0.802 | 64 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Croatia | 0.8 | 65 | 1991 - 2024 |
| Slovakia | 0.797 | 66 | 1993 - 2024 |
| Gabon | 0.793 | 67 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Niger | 0.792 | 68 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Papua N.G. | 0.792 | 69 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Malawi | 0.79 | 70 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Israel | 0.783 | 71 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Paraguay | 0.776 | 72 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Colombia | 0.775 | 73 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Argentina | 0.773 | 74 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Ecuador | 0.773 | 75 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Benin | 0.764 | 76 | 1960 - 2024 |
| South Korea | 0.756 | 77 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Guatemala | 0.749 | 78 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Lesotho | 0.744 | 79 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Bolivia | 0.74 | 80 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Slovenia | 0.731 | 81 | 1989 - 2024 |
| North Macedonia | 0.725 | 82 | 1991 - 2024 |
| Fiji | 0.724 | 83 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Peru | 0.716 | 84 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Bhutan | 0.715 | 85 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Maldives | 0.714 | 86 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Ivory Coast | 0.713 | 87 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Albania | 0.709 | 88 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Armenia | 0.706 | 89 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Tanzania | 0.705 | 90 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Mongolia | 0.703 | 91 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Georgia | 0.696 | 92 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Tunisia | 0.696 | 93 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Haiti | 0.686 | 94 | 1960 - 2024 |
| DR Congo | 0.669 | 95 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Lebanon | 0.667 | 96 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Indonesia | 0.637 | 97 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Madagascar | 0.637 | 98 | 1960 - 2024 |
| G.-Bissau | 0.621 | 99 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Bosnia & Herz. | 0.613 | 100 | 1992 - 2024 |
| Mexico | 0.604 | 101 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Malaysia | 0.602 | 102 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Hungary | 0.598 | 103 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Mauritania | 0.597 | 104 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Mali | 0.591 | 105 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Morocco | 0.583 | 106 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Cameroon | 0.555 | 107 | 1961 - 2024 |
| Philippines | 0.55 | 108 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Somalia | 0.547 | 109 | 1960 - 2024 |
| C.A. Republic | 0.546 | 110 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Kuwait | 0.539 | 111 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Angola | 0.531 | 112 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 0.513 | 113 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Comoros | 0.509 | 114 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Jordan | 0.509 | 115 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Serbia | 0.504 | 116 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Mauritius | 0.492 | 117 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Iraq | 0.476 | 118 | 1960 - 2024 |
| India | 0.471 | 119 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Uganda | 0.465 | 120 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Mozambique | 0.455 | 121 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Togo | 0.438 | 122 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Thailand | 0.435 | 123 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Libya | 0.427 | 124 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Pakistan | 0.422 | 125 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Guinea | 0.419 | 126 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Singapore | 0.417 | 127 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Ukraine | 0.413 | 128 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Kazakhstan | 0.412 | 129 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Burkina Faso | 0.376 | 130 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Djibouti | 0.365 | 131 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Algeria | 0.338 | 132 | 1960 - 2024 |
| El Salvador | 0.325 | 133 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Chad | 0.319 | 134 | 1960 - 2024 |
| R. of Congo | 0.311 | 135 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Bangladesh | 0.3 | 136 | 1971 - 2024 |
| Zimbabwe | 0.286 | 137 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Hong Kong | 0.275 | 138 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Sudan | 0.272 | 139 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Uzbekistan | 0.266 | 140 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Yemen | 0.265 | 141 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Ethiopia | 0.24 | 142 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Iran | 0.237 | 143 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Oman | 0.23 | 144 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Azerbaijan | 0.189 | 145 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Vietnam | 0.176 | 146 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Cambodia | 0.17 | 147 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Rwanda | 0.167 | 148 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Burundi | 0.164 | 149 | 1960 - 2024 |
| UA Emirates | 0.148 | 150 | 1971 - 2024 |
| Venezuela | 0.147 | 151 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Egypt | 0.133 | 152 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Turkey | 0.132 | 153 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Bahrain | 0.128 | 154 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Eq. Guinea | 0.121 | 155 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Swaziland | 0.105 | 156 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Cuba | 0.101 | 157 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Russia | 0.101 | 158 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Saudi Arabia | 0.1 | 159 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Tajikistan | 0.082 | 160 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Qatar | 0.078 | 161 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Turkmenistan | 0.068 | 162 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Laos | 0.057 | 163 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Afghanistan | 0.053 | 164 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Syria | 0.052 | 165 | 1960 - 2024 |
| China | 0.048 | 166 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Burma | 0.041 | 167 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Belarus | 0.029 | 168 | 1990 - 2024 |
| Eritrea | 0.029 | 169 | 1960 - 2024 |
| Nicaragua | 0.016 | 170 | 1960 - 2024 |
| North Korea | 0.012 | 171 | 1960 - 2024 |
Definition: Measures the government respect for press and media freedom, political discussion, and academic and cultural expression.
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All articles
0.988
0.981
0.976
0.976
0.967
0.966
0.963
0.961
0.959
0.959
0.959
0.953
0.949
0.943
0.943
0.938
0.938
0.938
0.937
0.935
0.933
0.929
0.926
0.925
0.921
0.916
0.915
0.911
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0.908
0.900
0.897
0.894
0.885
0.885
0.879
0.877
0.876
0.871
0.870
0.870
0.866
0.865
0.855
0.848
0.847
0.845
0.845
0.844
0.843
0.842
0.842
0.841
0.837
0.835
0.827
0.825
0.824
0.821
0.819
0.818
0.806
0.806
0.802
0.800
0.797
0.793
0.792
0.792
0.790
0.783
0.776
0.775
0.773
0.773
0.764
0.756
0.749
0.744
0.740
0.731
0.725
0.724
0.716
0.715
0.714
0.713
0.709
0.706
0.705
0.703
0.696
0.696
0.686
0.669
0.667
0.637
0.637
0.621
0.613
0.604
0.602
0.598
0.597
0.591
0.583
0.555
0.550
0.547
0.546
0.539
0.531
0.513
0.509
0.509
0.504
0.492
0.476
0.471
0.465
0.455
0.438
0.435
0.427
0.422
0.419
0.417
0.413
0.412
0.376
0.365
0.338
0.325
0.319
0.311
0.300
0.286
0.275
0.272
0.266
0.265
0.240
0.237
0.230
0.189
0.176
0.170
0.167
0.164
0.148
0.147
0.133
0.132
0.128
0.121
0.105
0.101
0.101
0.100
0.082
0.078
0.068
0.057
0.053
0.052
0.048
0.041
0.029
0.029
0.016
0.012
0
0.2
0.5
0.7
0.99
Freedom of expression in Europe Freedom of expression in Asia Freedom of expression in Africa Freedom of expression in North America Freedom of expression in South America Freedom of expression in Australia/Oceania Freedom of expression in the European union Freedom of expression in Sub Sahara Africa Freedom of expression in MENA Freedom of expression in South East Asia Freedom of expression in Latin America