

Acknowledgements
Published annually since 1972, Freedom in the World reports on 195 countries and 15 related and disputed territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders.
This edition of Freedom in the World is dedicated to Arch Puddington, a lifelong champion of democracy who retired in 2020 after serving for 26 years as a mainstay of Freedom House's research and analysis division.
Donors
This report was made possible by the generous support of the National Endowment for Democracy, the Merrill Family Foundation, and the Lilly Endowment.
Research and Editorial Team
Elisha Aaron, Editorial Research Assistant
Ever Bussey, Research Associate
Noah Buyon, Research Analyst
Cathryn Grothe, Research Associate
David Meijer, Associate Editor
Shannon O’Toole, Managing Editor
Sarah Repucci, Vice President for Research and Analysis
Tyler Roylance, Staff Editor
Amy Slipowitz, Research Manager
Mai Truong, Director of Research Operations
Tessa Weal, Research Assistant
Analysts
Aalaa Abuzaakouk, Youth program manager for the Middle East and North Africa region
Elen Aghekyan, Yale University
Tiago Aguiar, Independent researcher
Ibrahim Al-bakri Nyei, PhD candidate, School of Oriental and African Studies
Aurora Almada e Santos, NOVA University of Lisbon
Ibrahima Amadou Niang, Independent researcher
Ignacio Arana Araya, Assistant Teaching Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
Bojan Baća, Re:constitution Research Fellow, Max Weber Institute of Sociology, Heidelberg University
Slava (Veaceslav) Balan, PhD candidate, University of Ottawa
Gerald Bareebe, Assistant Professor, York University
Chantal Berman, Georgetown University
Bruno Binetti, Inter-American Dialogue
Mamadou Bodian, West Africa Research Center
Gustavo Bonifaz Moreno, Independent researcher
Brett L. Carter, University of Southern California
Annie Barbara Chikwanha, University of Johannesburg
Peter Clegg, University of the West of England
Jack Corbett, Professor of politics, University of Southampton.
Olga de Obaldia, Fundación Libertad Ciudadana - Capítulo Transparencia Internacional Panamá
Karin Deutsch Karlekar, Director, Free Expression at Risk Programs, PEN America
Neil DeVotta, Wake Forest University
Jake Dizard, Independent researcher
Juan Carlos Donoso, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
Boniface Dulani, University of Malawi
Howard Eissenstat, Department of History, St. Lawrence University
Anthony Elghossain, lawyer, writer, and non-resident scholar, Middle East Institute
Donika Emini, Executive Director, Balkan Research Institute
Golnaz Esfandiari, Senior correspondent, Radio Free Europe
Jon Fraenkel, Professor of Comparative Politics, Victoria University of Wellington
Michael Freedman, University of Haifa
Michael Fusi Ligaliga, Te Tumu, School of Maori, Pacific & Indigenous Studies, University of Otago
Dustin Gilbreath, Caucasus Research Resource Centers Georgia
Katya Gorchinskaya, Independent consultant
Liutauras Gudžinskas, Vilnius University
Ted A. Henken, Baruch College, CUNY
Hannah Hills, The Governance Group
Jonathan Hulland, American Jewish World Service
Niklas Hultin, George Mason University
Harry Hummel, Independent researcher
Salomé Ietter, PhD candidate, Queen Mary University of London
Rico Isaacs, University of Lincoln
Faysal Itani, Center for Global Policy
Valery Kavaleuski, Independent researcher
Jane Kinninmont, European Leadership Network
Marko Kmezić, University of Graz
Niklas Kossow, Independent researcher
Ágnes Kovács, Assistant professor, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
Josh Kurlantzick, Council on Foreign Relations
Lone Lindholt, Independent researcher
Alyssa Maraj Grahame, Bates College
Richard R. Marcus, Professor and Director, The Global Studies Institute and the International Studies Program, California State University, Long Beach
David McGrane, St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan
Rachael McLellan, London School of Economics
Mushfiq Mohamed, Maldivian Democracy Network
Kacey Mordecai, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Jasmin Mujanovic, Political scientist, cohost of "Sarajevo Calling"
Harris Mylonas, Associate professor of political science and international affairs, George Washington University; Editor-in-chief, Nationalities Papers
Joachim Nahem, The Governance Group
Kuniaki Nemoto, Musashi University
Lucas Olo Fernandes, Independent researcher
Robert Orttung, George Washington University
Susan L. Ostermann, University of Notre Dame
Ana Pastor, Independent researcher
Aljaž Pengov Bitenc, Radio KAOS
Nicole Phillips, UC Hastings College of the Law
Enrica Picco, international lawyer and researcher
Elizabeth M. Ramey, Independent researcher
Adrien Ratsimbaharison, Benedict College
Corina Rebegea, Center for European Policy Analysis
Elizabeth Rhoads, Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Tyson Roberts, University of California, Los Angeles
Michael Runey, Enact Sustainable Strategies
Marek Rybar, Masaryk University, Brno
Debbie Sharnak, Rowan University
Elton Skendaj, Manchester University, USA
Olga Skrypnyk, human rights defender, head of the board of the Crimean Human Rights Group
Ruzha Smilova, Sofia University and Centre for Liberal Strategies
Jared Thompson, Master of Arts candidate, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
Jenny Town, Fellow, Stimson Center
Elizabeth Tsurkov, Princeton University
Noah Tucker, Central Asia Program, George Washington University
Olesya Vartanyan, Senior analyst, International Crisis Group
Wouter Veenendaal, Leiden University
Diego Velazquez, Journalist
David Vivar, Academic coordinator, FLACSO-Honduras, Professor, National Autonomous University of Honduras
Franz von Bergen, Journalist
Nikolaus von Twickel, Center for Liberal Modernity, Berlin
Gregory White, Smith College
Tricia Yeoh, Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs
Faiz Zaidi, Research Officer, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs
Advisers
Alejandro Anaya-Muñoz, ITESO, Jesuit University of Guadalajara
Florian Bieber, University of Graz
Julio F. Carrión, University of Delaware
Licia Cianetti, Royal Holloway, University of London
Javier Corrales, Amherst College
Mai El-Sadany, Managing Director and Legal and Judicial Director, Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy
Sumit Ganguly, Indiana University, Bloomington
Julie A. George, Queens College and The Graduate Center, CUNY
Yana Gorokhovskaia, Independent Researcher
Lane Greene, the Economist
Idayat Hassan, Centre for Democracy and Development
Steven Heydemann, Smith College
Peter Lewis, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
Peter Mandaville, Professor of International Affairs, Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University
Yael Mizrahi-Arnaud, The Forum for Regional Thinking
Sana Ali Mustafa, Associate Director, Partnerships, Asylum Access
Houda Mzioudet, University of Toronto
Catherine Putz, Managing editor, The Diplomat
Samer Shehata, University of Oklahoma
Dan Slater, University of Michigan
Bridget Welsh, University of Nottingham Malaysia
Susanna D. Wing, Haverford College
Report Materials

Report Map
Explore the interactive Freedom in the World 2021 map here, where you can view country scores, Freedom Status, and also view by trend.

Countries & Regions
Freedom in the World rates people’s access to political rights and civil liberties in 195 countries and 15 territories, providing both numerical ratings and supporting descriptive texts.