Freedom House reported that in 2018, global freedom had decreased for the thirteenth consecutive year

Freedom in the world (Freedom in the world), the annual report of the American NGO Freedom House, which measures the degree of democracy and political freedom in all countries of the world, recorded a thirteenth consecutive year of decline in world freedom in 2018. A total of 68 countries experienced a sharp decline in political rights and civil liberties in 2018, while only 50 improvements were registered. The average global score decreased every year from 2005 to 2018, and countries with a lower net score consistently outperformed the improving countries.

The downside affects a variety of countries in all regions, from long-standing democracies such as the United States to consolidated authoritarian regimes such as China and Russia. The challenges of American democracy are testing the stability of its constitutional system and threaten to undermine political rights and civil liberties around the world. In general, the losses are still minimal compared to the conquests of the late twentieth century, but the trend is constant and disturbing. Democracy is failing.

Geographically, most of the problem is concentrated in the countries of Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia which have fallen back in the face of endemic corruption, anti-liberal populist movements and collapse of the rule of law. This trend may also be due to freedom in these areas after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Between 1988 and 2005, the percentage of countries clbadified as non-free in the world decreased by almost 14 percentage points (from 37 to 23%), while the proportion of free countries increased (from 36 to 46%). This wave of progress began to decline. Between 2005 and 2018, the proportion of non-free countries increased to 26%, while the proportion of free countries fell to 44%..

Of the 23 countries that have declined over the last 13 years (from free to partially free or partially free to non-free), almost two-thirds (61%) achieved a positive category change after 1988. For example, Hungary, which became a free country in 1990, became partially free again this year after five consecutive years of decline and 13 years without improvement.

With the post-Cold War transition period already over, another change in the global order is challenging established democracies. Of the 41 countries regularly clbadified as free from 1985 to 2005, 22 recorded a net score reduction in the last five years. Despite the decline in many of the recently democratized countries described above, Two-thirds of the countries whose liberty situation improved between 1988 and 2005 still retain their status.

Of the 50 countries designated as non-free, the next 13 have the worst scores in terms of political rights and civil liberties:

1. Syria (0) – dictatorship
2. Turkmenistan (2)
3. Eritrea (2)
4. South Sudan (2)
5. North Korea (3)
6. Equatorial Guinea (6)
7. Saudi Arabia (7)
8. Sudan (7)
9. Somalia (7)
10. Uzbekistan (9)
11. Libya (9)
12. Tajikistan (9)
13. Central African Republic (9)

1. Norway (100)
2. Sweden (100)
3. Finland (100)
4. Canada (99)
5. The Netherlands (99)
6. Australia (98)
7. Uruguay (98)
8. Luxembourg (98)
9. New Zealand (98)
10. Denmark (97)
11. Ireland (97)
12. Japan (96)
13. Belgium (96)

Despite a continuous downward trajectory in general, there were more countries with net improvements in 2018 than in 2017 and a slightly lower number with net decreases. Incredible improvements in some countries, including Malaysia (+7), Ethiopia (+7), Armenia (+6), Angola (+5) and Ecuador (+5)demonstrate that democracy remains effective in imposing limits and obligations on leaders and creating the conditions for a better life.

This does not mean that the threat to democracy is fading. Hostile forces around the world continue to challenge institutions designed to protect political rights and civil liberties, and the damage accumulated over the past 13 years will not be canceled soon.