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Publication Archives

Freedom House has analyzed challenges to freedom and advocated for greater political rights and civil liberties in a variety of publications over the years. Below, please find past publications and special reports produced in service of Freedom House’s mission of advancing freedom globally. For more information about narratives and data, or to obtain report editions older than those found here, please contact us at [email protected].

Freedom in the World

Freedom in the World, Freedom House's flagship publication, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. Published annually since 1972, the survey ratings and narrative reports on 195 countries and 15 related and disputed territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders.

Comparative and Historical Data:

All Data, FIW 2013-2021 (Excel Download)
Country and Territory Ratings and Statuses, 1973-2021(Excel Download)
Aggregate Category and Subcategory Scores, 2003-2021 (Excel Download)

Past Editions: Full Books (Overview Essay + Country Narratives)

For data files, historic maps, or other archival information regarding Freedom in the World, please email [email protected].

Nations in Transit

Nations in Transit is the only comprehensive, comparative, and multidimensional study of reform in the former Communist states of Europe and Eurasia. Nations in Transit tracks the reform record of 29 countries and administrative areas and provides Freedom House's most in-depth data about this vast and important region.

Countries at the Crossroads

Countries at the Crossroads, published from 2004 to 2012, was an annual analysis of government performance in 70 strategically important countries that were at a critical crossroads in determining their political futures. The in-depth comparative assessments and quantitative ratings—examining government accountability, civil liberties, rule of law, and anticorruption and transparency efforts—were intended to help international policymakers identify areas of progress, as well as to highlight areas of concern that could be addressed through diplomatic efforts and reform assistance.

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Freedom of the Press

Freedom of the Press, an annual report on media independence around the world, was published between 1980 and 2017, and assessed the degree of print, broadcast, and digital media freedom in 199 countries and territories. It provided numerical scores and country narratives evaluating the legal environment for the media, political pressures that influenced reporting, and economic factors that affected access to news and information.

The first edition of Freedom of the Press covered the year 1979. The historical data are available in Excel format here:

Download Freedom of the Press Excel Data

Supporting Democracy Abroad

Supporting Democracy Abroad, covering the period from June 2012 through May 2014, assessed how well 10 leading democratic countries and the European Union promoted democracy and human rights in their foreign policies. Countries selected were regional or global powers on five continents, ranging from long-established democracies to states that became democratic in the last 25 years.

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Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa

Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa was a comparative assessment of women's rights in those regions, using a methodology encompassing the spectrum of rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The inaugural edition, released in 2005, found that despite some progress toward equality in a number of countries, there was a pervasive gender-based gap in rights and freedoms in every facet of society: the legal framework, the criminal justice system, the economy, education, health care, and the media. An expanded edition of the study was published in 2010.

Download PDF:

Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa Complete Book - Download PDF

Selected Special Reports

Beyond its annual publications, Freedom House also frequently releases policy briefs, white papers, recommendations to policymakers, and other expert research addressing challenges to global freedom.

Leaping Over the Firewall: A Review of Censorship Circumvention Tools (March 2010) — Download PDF
Policing Belief: The Impact of Blasphemy Laws on Human Rights (October 2010) — Download PDF
Speak No Evil: Mass Media Control in Contemporary China (February 2006) — Download PDF
Women's Freedom in Focus: Morocco (January 2004) — Download PDF
Sliding Back: An Analysis of Hong Kong's Proposed National Security Legislation (December 2002) — Download PDF
Enhancing US Leadership at the United Nations, Report of an Independent Task Force Sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations and Freedom House (2002) — Download PDF

For more information about or data, narratives, or to obtain editions older than those found here, please contact us at [email protected].

Additional information on Freedom House and its history can be found at the Freedom House Archives of the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library at Princeton University.

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