freedomhouse.org: Freedom in the World 2009 Survey Release

On January 12, Freedom House released the findings from the latest edition of Freedom in the World, the annual survey of global political rights and civil liberties. According to the survey’s findings, 2008 marked the third consecutive year in which global freedom suffered a decline. This setback was most pronounced in Sub-Saharan Africa and the non-Baltic former Soviet Union, although it affected most other regions of the world. Furthermore, the decline in freedom coincided with the onset of a forceful reaction against democracy by a number of powerful authoritarian regimes, including Russia and China.

Freedom in the World 2009 reflects developments that took place in the calendar year 2008. The full survey, including the individual country reports, will be available in late spring 2009.

Press Release – Highlights the principal findings from Freedom in the World 2009.
Overview Essay – “Freedom in the World 2009: Setbacks and Resilience” details the trends identified in Freedom in the World 2009, including global and regional gains and setbacks for freedom.
Tables and Graphs – Features graphical representations of global and regional breakdowns for freedom, charts tracking the number and percentage of electoral democracies over the last two decades, tables of political rights and civil liberties ratings for each country and territory, and a table listing the total number of Free, Partly Free, and Not Free countries for each year since the survey began in 1972.
Methodology Summary – Provides an abbreviated description of the methodology used to determine each country and territory’s political rights and civil liberties ratings.
Checklist Questions – Lists the questions used to determine each country’s political rights and civil liberties ratings.
Audio Files
(Right-click and select "Save Target As" or "Save Link As" to download the file)
- Arch Puddington's opening remarks
- Questions & Answers
Map of Freedom 2009 – This map of the world provides a color-coded graphical representation of the Free, Partly Free, and Not Free countries in 2008.
Regional Maps of Freedom 2009 – These maps, which are based on the global Map of Freedom, provide color-coded graphical representations of the Free, Partly Free, and Not Free countries in 2008 in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe/Former Soviet Union.