NEW REPORT: Freedom in Europe Declined in 2023 as Corruption, Dysfunction, and Worsening Transparency Marred Democratic Institutions

WASHINGTON—Freedom declined in Europe in 2023, as 14 countries received score declines and only 6 countries saw score improvements, according to a new report released today by Freedom House. Despite the decline, more than 80 percent of European residents still live in Free countries.

The new report, Freedom in the World 2024: The Mounting Damage of Flawed Elections and Armed Conflict, found that global freedom declined for an 18th consecutive year in 2023 as political rights and civil liberties deteriorated in 52 countries, representing a fifth of the world’s population. The declines were both widespread and severe, eclipsing the improvements observed in 21 other countries.

The region’s decline was largely a result of worsening government dysfunction, including growing concerns about official corruption and a lack of transparency. Despite these challenges, European states remained global leaders in the protection of LGBT+ people’s rights, and several countries passed measures to improve their legal equality. Poland’s newly elected government included similar changes in its ambitious reform agenda, raising hopes that the country will reverse its nearly decade-long democratic deterioration.

Freedom in the World includes scores and detailed country reports on political rights and civil liberties for 195 countries and 15 territories around the globe. Scores are based on a 100-point scale, with 0 representing the lowest level of freedom. This report, the 51st annual edition, covers developments in 2023 and provides a brief analysis of long-term trends.

Key regional findings include the following:

• Freedom in the region declined as 14 countries received score declines and only 6 countries saw score improvements.
• Serbia experienced the largest score decline (−3 points) in the region.
• Czechia and Montenegro saw the largest score improvements (+2 points) in the region.
• Finland (100), Sweden (99), and Norway (98) have the highest aggregate scores in the region.
• Turkey (33), Bosnia and Herzegovina (51), and Serbia (57) have the worst aggregate scores in the region.
• Some 82 percent of people in the region live in Free countries, while 14 percent live in Not Free countries.

The report identifies a number of steps that democratic governments can take to protect and expand political rights and civil liberties around the globe. The recommendations include:

• Provide steady support and flexible funding to those on the front lines of the struggle against tyranny. Democratic governments and donors must increase and sustain support for those working to defend and promote fundamental freedoms around the world. Failure to do so emboldens autocrats and can result in the loss of hard-won progress.
• Uphold the rights of people living in disputed territories. The events of the past year in places such as Nagorno-Karabakh and the Gaza Strip provided stark evidence that populations without self-determination are at greater risk of extreme human rights abuses or atrocities.
• Protect free and fair elections in 2024. At least 40 countries—representing more than two-fifths of the world’s population—are holding national-level elections in 2024, with many more conducting other types of balloting. Free and fair elections are a cornerstone of any democracy, and independent and transparent electoral processes are necessary to foster genuine competition and public trust.

View the report’s complete recommendations here.

Click here to read the global and other regionally focused press releases: Global, Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific, Eurasia, Middle East.

To schedule an interview with Freedom House experts, please contact Maryam Iftikhar at [email protected].

Freedom House is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to create a world where all are free. We inform the world about threats to freedom, mobilize global action, and support democracy’s defenders.