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These Are The World's Most & Least Free Countries
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 RankingsEurope 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 CountriesWhile 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.
Tyler Durden Fri, 07/03/2026 - 06:15Lawsuit could give members of Congress millions of your money — along with a five-figure raise
What England Can Teach Us About 'Democratic Socialism'
Authored by Stephen Moore via The Epoch Times,
If you want to see modern-day socialism in action, look no further than to the other side of the pond at not-so-jolly old England. The story of Britain’s decline is a warning signal to those here in the States who are thrilled by the warm embrace of socialism.
Right now, the Brits are having the same debate about the merits of socialism as we are in our major cities and blue states. In England, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labour Party is out. But instead of turning to the right, it appears the UK will swerve further to the collective ownership of the left. Andy Burnham—the former socialist mayor of Manchester—is next in line. God save the queen.
As Greg Ip of The Wall Street Journal reports, “Burnham’s socialism is the real deal. He wants the state to control more of the means of production. ... (H)e advocates public ownership of water, housing, energy and transportation.”
Burnham calls it “business-friendly socialism.”
Sure.
That will make the trains run on time.
What short memories.
After World War II, the Brits experimented with creeping socialism for more than three decades. The Labour Party handed over to public bureaucrats and unions the means of production: the Bank of England, the coal mines, the airlines, iron, steel, and phone service, to name a few. Prices soared, nothing worked, unemployment lines lengthened, and the Brits got a lot poorer.
Britain’s share of world output fell by half, from more than 10 percent to less than 5 percent. About the only thing Britain had going for it was four lads from Liverpool called the Beatles, who singlehandedly brought deep pride back and caused a mini-stimulus. But in the 1970s, the downturn worsened.
We interrupt this story with the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979. She saved the kingdom by slashing taxes and privatizing everything she could get her hands on. It was the precursor to Reaganomics.
That didn’t last long. Now it’s Thatcherism in reverse—just as the left in America wants to reverse the Reagan and Trump legacies of deregulation, lower taxes, and sound money.
What seems to be driving this leap toward “democratic socialism” on both sides of the Atlantic is a middle-class fury over inflation. The idea of free food, housing, child care, and health care is alluring.
But prices have risen not because of a failure of capitalism. It was mostly caused by massive money printing, widespread shutdowns of private industry, retail businesses and schools, and stay-at-home orders during COVID-19. Government became the provider, and the leap forward in state expenditures was never entirely extinguished.
In both the United States and in England, the “affordability crisis” is mostly in government-owned, government-operated, or heavily regulated businesses. In the U.S., that’s health care, education, and college tuition. In Britain, it’s those industries plus energy, housing, and child care.
There is an infestation of socialism in Britain that has sucked the dynamic and wealth-producing spirit out of the UK.
We need a socialism vaccine in America.
Tyler Durden Fri, 07/03/2026 - 05:30