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Around the World

Egypt
Three top leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s most powerful opposition group, were arrested as a part of the government’s ongoing crackdown against the group following their appointment of new leadership. Read more on Egypt at Freedom in the World 2009: Egypt

Ukraine
Opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich defeated Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko by nearly three percentage points in Ukraine’s runoff election, bringing to power the man who attempted to steal the 2004 presidential election. Read more on Ukraine at Freedom in the World 2009: Ukraine

Iran
Ignoring calls for more severe sanctions against it, Iran announced that it would begin enriching uranium to a higher level of purity for use in a medical reactor, increasing tensions with the US and other countries. Read more on Iran at Freedom in the World 2009: Iran

Nigeria
The Nigerian Parliament voted to install Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as acting president, filling a dangerous power vacuum created by the medically-related absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua since November. Read more on Nigeria at Freedom in the World 2009: Nigeria

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Freedom in the World 2008: Subscores

2008 Edition

Key                                      
PR: Political Rights                                        
CL: Civil Liberties                                        
Status: F-Free; PF-Partly Free; NF-Not Free                                        
Sub-Categories: Political Rights                                        
A: Electoral Process                                        
B: Political Pluralism and Participation                                        
C: Functioning of Government                                        
Sub-Categories: Civil Liberties                                        
D: Freedom of Expression and Belief                                        
E: Associational and Organizational Rights                                        
F: Rule of Law                                        
G: Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights

Countries

Country PR CL Status A B C D E F G
Afghanistan 5 5 PF 6 7 4 5 4 3 5
Albania 3 3 PF 8 11 7 12 8 10 9
Algeria 6 5 NF 4 4 3 7 6 5 7
Andorra 1 1 F 12 15 12 16 11 15 15
Angola 6 5 NF 2 5 1 8 6 4 3
Antigua & Barbuda 2 2 F 11 12 7 13 9 12 13
Argentina 2 2 F 11 15 6 14 11 10 13
Armenia 5 4 PF 5 5 4 8 5 6 9
Australia 1 1 F 12 15 12 16 12 14 15
Austria 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 15 15
Azerbaijan 6 5 NF 3 4 3 6 3 4 8
Bahamas 1 1 F 12 16 10 16 12 15 15
Bahrain 5 5 PF 3 8 4 9 3 3 7
Bangladesh 5 4 PF 3 5 4 7 6 6 9
Barbados 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 16 15
Belarus 7 6 NF 0 2 1 3 0 2 5
Belgium 1 1 F 12 16 11 16 12 15 15
Belize 1 2 F 12 14 10 15 11 12 13
Benin 2 2 F 10 15 8 15 12 12 10
Bhutan 6 5 NF 3 4 5 7 3 5 8
Bolivia 3 3 PF 11 13 5 15 10 7 9
Bosnia-Herzegovina 4 3 PF 8 10 5 11 8 10 10
Botswana 2 2 F 11 11 9 14 10 13 11
Brazil 2 2 F 11 14 6 15 10 8 12
Brunei 6 5 NF 0 3 3 6 3 6 8
Bulgaria 1 2 F 12 15 9 14 11 12 12
Burkina Faso 5 3 PF 5 8 4 13 9 6 8
Burma 7 7 NF 0 1 0 2 0 0 3
Burundi 4 5 PF 9 9 4 8 5 4 6
Cambodia 6 5 NF 3 5 3 10 6 2 6
Cameroon 6 6 NF 2 4 3 7 3 2 4
Canada 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 15 16
Cape Verde 1 1 F 12 15 10 15 11 14 13
Central African Republic 5 5 PF 7 7 3 10 6 3 4
Chad 7 6 NF 3 1 1 7 4 1 3
Chile 1 1 F 12 15 12 16 12 15 15
China (PRC) 7 6 NF 0 1 1 4 2 2 8
Colombia 3 3 PF 10 9 7 12 6 7 10
Comoros 4 4 PF 8 11 4 10 6 8 6
Congo (Brazzaville) 6 5 NF 1 4 3 9 7 2 6
Congo (Kinshasa) 5 6 NF 6 5 2 6 5 0 1
Costa Rica 1 1 F 12 15 11 16 11 13 13
Cote d’Ivoire 7 5 NF 1 2 2 5 4 5 5
Croatia 2 2 F 12 14 9 14 12 11 13
Cuba 7 7 NF 0 0 1 2 1 1 2
Cyprus 1 1 F 11 16 11 15 12 15 15
Czech Republic 1 1 F 12 15 11 16 12 14 15
Denmark 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 15 15
Djibouti 5 5 PF 4 5 3 6 5 5 6
Dominica 1 1 F 12 16 11 16 12 15 15
Dominican Republic 2 2 F 11 13 9 15 11 10 11
East Timor 3 4 PF 11 11 6 12 7 6 9
Ecuador 3 3 PF 9 14 4 15 11 6 10
Egypt 6 5 NF 1 4 2 5 2 4 7
El Salvador 2 3 F 12 13 8 15 8 7 10
Equatorial Guinea 7 6 NF 0 1 0 5 0 1 3
Eritrea 7 6 NF 0 1 2 2 0 2 6
Estonia 1 1 F 12 14 12 16 12 14 14
Ethiopia 5 5 PF 5 4 4 7 3 4 6
Fiji 6 4 PF 0 5 2 11 4 7 10
Finland 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 16 16
France 1 1 F 12 15 11 15 12 13 15
Gabon 6 4 PF 2 5 3 10 6 6 5
Georgia 4 4 PF 8 6 6 11 7 6 10
Germany 1 1 F 12 15 12 15 12 15 15
Ghana 1 2 F 12 15 10 14 11 12 10
Greece 1 2 F 12 15 10 15 11 13 13
Grenada 1 2 F 12 16 9 15 9 12 15
Guatemala 3 4 PF 9 10 5 12 8 5 8
Guinea 6 5 NF 2 5 3 8 5 4 6
Guinea-Bissau 4 4 PF 9 9 3 10 8 6 6
Guyana 2 3 F 11 13 7 15 10 8 9
Haiti 4 5 PF 7 10 5 10 6 4 5
Honduras 3 3 PF 9 10 6 12 8 7 9
Hungary 1 1 F 12 15 10 16 12 13 14
Iceland 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 16 16
India 2 3 F 11 14 9 13 10 9 10
Indonesia 2 3 F 11 13 6 12 9 7 9
Iran 6 6 NF 3 4 3 5 2 3 4
Iraq 6 6 NF 7 6 1 5 3 0 4
Ireland 1 1 F 12 16 11 16 12 15 15
Israel 1 2 F 12 15 10 14 12 10 11
Italy 1 1 F 12 15 11 15 12 12 15
Jamaica 2 3 F 12 14 8 15 9 8 11
Japan 1 2 F 12 15 10 13 10 15 13
Jordan 5 4 PF 2 6 5 9 5 6 8
Kazakhstan 6 5 NF 3 3 2 7 4 4 7
Kenya 4 3 PF 6 9 5 14 9 7 8
Kiribati 1 1 F 12 16 8 15 12 15 13
Kuwait 4 4 PF 4 9 6 9 6 7 5
Kyrgyzstan 5 4 PF 5 7 4 10 7 5 7
Laos 7 6 NF 0 1 0 4 1 2 5
Latvia 2 1 F 12 15 8 16 12 12 13
Lebanon 5 4 PF 4 7 4 12 8 5 9
Lesotho 2 3 F 9 12 9 14 7 11 9
Liberia 3 4 PF 9 10 6 11 8 7 8
Libya 7 7 NF 0 1 0 1 0 0 6
Liechtenstein 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 16 16
Lithuania 1 1 F 12 15 9 16 11 14 13
Luxembourg 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 16 16
Macedonia 3 3 PF 7 10 7 11 7 8 10
Madagascar 4 3 PF 7 8 7 10 8 9 9
Malawi 4 4 PF 7 10 6 11 8 8 7
Malaysia 4 4 PF 6 7 6 8 5 6 8
Maldives 6 5 NF 3 4 4 7 4 7 7
Mali 2 3 F 9 12 9 15 9 9 9
Malta 1 1 F 12 16 11 16 12 15 15
Marshall Islands 1 1 F 12 15 10 16 11 15 13
Mauritania 4 4 PF 9 7 6 10 8 6 6
Mauritius 1 2 F 12 15 11 15 12 13 12
Mexico 2 3 F 10 14 8 14 9 7 11
Micronesia 1 1 F 12 15 10 16 11 15 14
Moldova 3 4 PF 9 8 7 10 6 8 9
Monaco 2 1 F 10 11 10 15 12 15 14
Mongolia 2 2 F 8 15 10 15 10 12 12
Montenegro 3 3 PF 9 9 6 12 10 8 11
Morocco 5 4 PF 4 7 5 8 6 6 8
Mozambique 3 3 PF 7 11 7 12 7 7 9
Namibia 2 2 F 10 12 9 15 12 10 9
Nauru 1 1 F 12 16 10 15 11 15 14
Nepal 5 4 PF 4 9 4 10 6 6 7
Netherlands 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 15 16
New Zealand 1 1 F 12 15 12 16 11 15 15
Nicaragua 3 3 PF 11 12 4 14 7 7 9
Niger 3 4 PF 11 9 8 10 8 8 6
Nigeria 4 4 PF 3 9 6 11 8 5 7
North Korea 7 7 NF 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Norway 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 16 16
Oman 6 5 NF 2 2 2 6 3 4 5
Pakistan 6 5 NF 2 4 2 5 4 3 6
Palau 1 1 F 12 15 10 16 11 15 13
Panama 1 2 F 12 15 9 15 11 9 12
Papua New Guinea 3 3 PF 9 11 4 12 9 7 8
Paraguay 3 3 PF 11 11 4 12 8 6 10
Peru 2 3 F 11 14 7 15 8 8 10
Philippines 4 3 PF 6 10 7 14 8 6 10
Poland 1 1 F 12 16 10 16 12 13 14
Portugal 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 15 15
Qatar 6 5 NF 2 2 3 8 2 4 4
Romania 2 2 F 11 14 7 14 11 12 12
Russia 6 5 NF 3 3 3 8 4 4 7
Rwanda 6 5 NF 3 4 4 7 3 6 7
Samoa 2 2 F 9 13 10 14 10 13 12
San Marino 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 16 16
Sao Tome & Principe 2 2 F 11 14 8 15 10 12 10
Saudi Arabia 7 6 NF 0 0 1 4 0 3 2
Senegal 2 3 F 9 12 9 14 10 10 9
Serbia 3 2 F 9 13 7 14 11 9 13
Seychelles 3 3 PF 8 10 7 9 9 11 11
Sierra Leone 3 3 PF 10 12 4 12 8 8 9
Singapore 5 4 PF 4 6 7 9 3 8 12
Slovakia 1 1 F 12 15 10 16 12 12 14
Slovenia 1 1 F 12 15 11 15 12 14 12
Solomon Islands 4 3 PF 6 10 5 13 9 8 12
Somalia 7 7 NF 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
South Africa 2 2 F 12 14 9 15 12 12 12
South Korea 1 2 F 11 15 10 14 11 13 12
Spain 1 1 F 12 15 12 16 12 14 15
Sri Lanka 4 4 PF 8 7 6 8 8 6 9
St. Kitts & Nevis 1 1 F 12 16 11 15 12 12 14
St. Lucia 1 1 F 12 16 11 15 12 12 14
St. Vincent & Grenadines 2 1 F 11 15 9 15 11 13 14
Sudan 7 7 NF 0 4 3 4 3 0 0
Suriname 2 2 F 12 13 8 15 11 9 10
Swaziland 7 5 NF 0 1 1 8 3 4 5
Sweden 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 16 16
Switzerland 1 1 F 12 15 12 16 12 15 15
Syria 7 6 NF 0 0 1 2 0 1 5
Taiwan (ROC) 2 1 F 10 15 9 16 11 15 13
Tajikistan 6 5 NF 2 4 3 6 4 4 5
Tanzania 4 3 PF 6 10 6 11 7 10 8
Thailand 6 4 PF 1 4 3 9 5 6 11
The Gambia 5 4 PF 6 7 4 10 6 7 8
Togo 5 5 PF 4 7 3 8 6 4 6
Tonga 5 3 PF 3 9 3 12 5 11 12
Trinidad & Tobago 2 2 F 11 12 9 15 11 10 13
Tunisia 7 5 NF 1 3 1 4 2 4 8
Turkey 3 3 PF 10 12 7 12 7 8 10
Turkmenistan 7 7 NF 0 0 0 2 0 1 2
Tuvalu 1 1 F 12 15 10 16 12 15 14
Uganda 5 4 PF 4 7 4 11 6 6 7
Ukraine 3 2 F 10 13 6 13 10 10 11
United Arab Emirates 6 5 NF 1 2 2 7 3 3 4
United Kingdom 1 1 F 12 16 12 16 12 14 15
United States of America 1 1 F 11 16 11 16 11 14 15
Uruguay 1 1 F 12 16 11 16 12 15 15
Uzbekistan 7 7 NF 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
Vanuatu 2 2 F 9 15 8 16 11 10 11
Venezuela 4 4 PF 8 8 3 9 6 5 8
Vietnam 7 5 NF 0 1 1 5 2 4 8
Yemen 5 5 PF 4 7 3 7 4 4 5
Zambia 3 4 PF 8 12 6 11 8 8 7
Zimbabwe 7 6 NF 1 4 0 5 2 1 1

*As a result of Discretionary Question A, the following countries’ aggregate political rights scores (on a 0-40 scale) increased by one point: Brunei, Swaziland; by three points: Qatar, Saudi Arabia; by four points: Oman, United Arab Emirates. As a result of Discretionary Question B, the following countries’ aggregate political rights scores (on a 0-40 scale) decreased by one point: Bhutan, Tajikistan; by two points: Burma; by three points: Iraq; by four points: Sudan. For more information on the content of the discretionary questions, see the Freedom in the World methodology.

Territories

Related Territory PR CL Status A B C D E F G
Hong Kong (China) 5 2 PF 3 7 6 14 10 14 13
Puerto Rico (United States) 1 1 F 12 15 10 16 11 14 14
Disputed Territory PR CL Status A B C D E F G
Abkhazia (Georgia) 5 5 PF 5 6 4 8 4 4 5
Chechnya (Russia) 7 7 NF 0 0 0 4 0 0 3
Israeli Occupied Territories 6 6 NF 3 2 3 6 5 1 4
Kashmir (India) 5 4 PF 6 6 3 8 6 4 8
Kashmir (Pakistan) 7 5 NF 1 3 1 6 4 4 6
Kosovo 6 5 NF 6 5 3 7 6 4 6
Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenia/Azerbaijan) 5 5 PF 6 5 3 7 3 5 5
Northern (Turkish) Cyprus 2 2 F 11 14 9 13 9 12 12
Palestinian Authority Administered Territories 5 6 NF 4 7 2 5 4 1 4
Tibet (China) 7 7 NF 0 0 1 0 0 0 4
Transnistria (Moldova) 6 6 NF 2 4 1 6 2 2 5
Western Sahara (Morocco) 7 6 NF 0 0 0 3 3 0 5
Somaliland 4 4 PF 6 7 5 8 6 7 6

*As a result of Discretionary Question B, the following territories' aggregate political rights scores (on a 0-40 scale) decreased by one point: Israeli Occupied Territories; by two points: Kashmir (Pakistan), Western Sahara; by three points: Tibet, Kosovo. For more information on the content of the discretionary questions, see the Freedom in the World methodology.