Skip to main content
Accessibility
Freedom House Logo - Torch next to words Freedom House

Primary Navigation

  • Countries
  • Freedom Map
  • Issues
  • Perspectives
  • Policy Recommendations
Expanding Freedom and Democracy

Quicklinks

  • Events
  • Perspectives Blog
  • Find A Country
  • Explore The Map
  • Careers

Mega Menu

  • Our Issues
    • Countering Authoritarianism
    • Promoting a Global Democratic Landscape
    • Supporting Defenders for Democratic Change
  • Programs
    • Emergency Assistance and Thematic Programs
    • Regional Programs
    • Free Them All: The Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners
    • Afghanistan Human Rights Coordination Mechanism
  • Policy Recommendations
    • Testimony and Advocacy Letters
    • Strengthening US Democracy
  • Countries
  • Reports
    • Freedom in the World
    • Transnational Repression
    • Freedom on the Net
    • Nations in Transit
    • Election Watch for the Digital Age
    • Beijing’s Global Media Influence
    • China Media Bulletin
    • China Dissent Monitor
    • Archives
  • Events
  • Perspectives Blog
  • News Releases & Statements
    • Media Center
  • About Us
    • History
    • Board and Leadership
    • Our Experts
    • Ways to Give
    • Financials
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Sign Up for Updates
Polish voters gather for the ''March of a Million Hearts,” a pro-democratic rally in Warsaw that gathered up to 1 million participants on October 1, 2023. (Piotr Lapinski/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Nations in Transit

Latest Edition: Nations in Transit 2024

"Polish voters join the March of a Million Hearts, a prodemocracy rally in Warsaw that drew hundreds of thousands of participants on October 1, 2023. (Photo credit: Piotr Lapinski/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Facebook Twitter Email

Nations in Transit evaluates the state of democracy in the region stretching from Central Europe to Central Asia.

About the Report

Nations in Transit evaluates the state of democracy in the region stretching from Central Europe to Central Asia. For all 29 countries in Nations in Transit, Freedom House—in consultation with the report authors, a panel of expert advisers, and a group of regional reviewers—provides numerical ratings in seven categories that broadly represent the institutional underpinnings of liberal democracy. These include elected state institutions (local and national governments), unelected state institutions (the judiciary and anticorruption authorities), and unelected nonstate institutions (the media and civil society). The ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 representing the lowest and 7 the highest level of democracy. The Democracy Score is a straight average of the seven indicators. In 2020, Freedom House introduced the Democracy Percentage, which is a translation of the Democracy Score to the 0—100 scale, with 0 representing the lowest and 100 the highest level of democracy. The detailed methodology is available here.

Nations in Transit does not rate governments per se, nor does it rate countries based on governmental intentions or legislation alone. Rather, a country’s ratings focus on the health of its institutions in the broadest sense and are determined by considering the practical effect of actions by the state as well as nongovernmental actors.

The Nations in Transit ratings, which should not be taken as absolute indicators of the situation in a given country, are valuable for making general assessments of how democratic or authoritarian a country is. They also allow for comparative analysis of reforms among the countries examined and for analysis of long-term developments in a particular country.

The Data

Freedom House contracts independent researchers from academia, journalism, and civil society for each country to draft the country reports and make the initial scoring decisions. These draft country reports and score proposals are sent to between three and six reviewers per country per year for comments. After researchers have a chance to respond to the comments, the Nations in Transit and its advisors meet to finalize scores for each country. Where possible, scores reflect the consensus of researchers, reviewers, advisors, and Freedom House, but Freedom House has the final vote on all score changes.

  • All Data Nations in Transit NIT 2005-2024

 

Resources

A woman walks near a roadblock, in the northern part part of the ethnically-divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo

Methodology

Nations in Transit measures progress and setbacks in democratization in 29 countries from Central Europe to Central Asia.

NIT 2020 data and country narratives promotional image

Country Data & Narratives

The Nations in Transit report produces 29 country narrative reports for each survey year. View data country by country, or select a country to read the full narrative report. 

Statute of liberty torch and flame freedom house

Report Archive

Find reports from 2009 to the present, including full PDF reports downloads and historical data in Excel format.

Central Europe to Central Asia NIT Map

Explore the Map

Explore trends in democracy status across the region spanning from Central Europe to Central Asia via the Nations in Transit 2022 interactive map. 

Explore Now

Recent Editions

Polish voters gather for the ''March of a Million Hearts,” a pro-democratic rally in Warsaw that gathered up to 1 million participants on October 1, 2023. (Piotr Lapinski/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

A Region Reordered by Autocracy and Democracy

Nations in Transit

Volunteers clean up the rubbles from a destroyed residential building in Borodyanka. Following the recapture of Borodyanka by the Ukrainian forces, the city was heavily devastated and turned into ruins under intense fighting and shelling.

War Deepens a Regional Divide

Nations in Transit

Irpin, Ukraine – March 4, 2022 – Civilians rush to board a train as the sounds of battle draw closer to the city of Irpin. Image credit: Marcus Yam / Contributor, Getty Images

From Democratic Decline to Authoritarian Aggression

Nations in Transit

April 20, 2022

People in Budapest protest for the independence of Hungary's University of Theatre and Film Arts (SZFE) following changes that threaten the university's autonomy. (Image credit: Marton Monus/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

The Antidemocratic Turn

Nations in Transit

Protest Serbia

Dropping the Democratic Facade

Nations in Transit

Serbians protest against Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić’s presidential win in Belgrade in April 2017. MILOS MISKOV/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Confronting Illiberalism

Nations in Transit

Featured Experts

Mike Smeltzer Senior Research Analyst, Europe and Eurasia

Mike Smeltzer

Senior Research Analyst, Europe and Eurasia

smeltzermj

Alexandra Karppi Research Analyst, Nations in Transit

Alexandra Karppi

Research Analyst, Nations in Transit

AlexandraKarppi

Mary Hopkins

Mary Hopkins

Research Associate, Europe and Eurasia

Post Election celebration in Guatemala
Know what's happening around the world.

Sign up to receive the Freedom House weekly newsletter.

Be the first to know what's happening.

Join the Freedom House weekly newsletter

Subscribe

Footer Main Menu

  • Our Issues
  • Countries
  • Policy Recommendations
  • Explore the Map
  • Donate
  • News & Perspectives
  • Reports
  • Events
  • About
  • Careers

Address

1850 M St. NW Floor 11
Washington, DC 20036

(202) 296-5101

General Inquiries

[email protected]

Press & Media

[email protected]

Footer Social Menu

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Threads

Footer

  • Manage Subscriptions
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Content Permissions
  • Site Map
@2024 FreedomHouse