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Human Freedom Score 2023

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Freest Countries 2024

Freedom is one of the most important factors influencing a person's everyday quality of life. In addition to making it easier to live one's life, human freedom recognizes individuals' dignity and is inherently valuable, playing a vital role in human progress. Despite this importance, determining which countries' citizens have the most freedom can be challenging to do so objectively. Fortunately, individual indices can be used to determine which countries have the highest level of human freedom.

Introducing the Human Freedom Index

The Cato Institute in Washington D.C. and the Fraser Institute in Vancouver, Canada co-published the annual Human Freedom Index Report, which helps observe relationships between freedom and other social and economic phenomena. The Human Freedom Index Report ranks 165 countries/territories, representing 98.8% of the world’s population, across a broad range of indicators (86 distinct indicators in 2023). These values are compiled into in two distinct scores: Personal Freedom and Economic Freedom, which are then combined to form the final Human Freedom score. This score is then compared to that of other nations to determine which countries are the freest in the world.

Top 10 Freest Countries and Territories in the World - Human Freedom Index

Country
Human Freedom Score 2023
Switzerland9.01
New Zealand8.88
Denmark8.83
Ireland8.79
Sweden8.75
Estonia8.75
Iceland8.73
Luxembourg8.71
Finland8.7
Norway8.58

Types of Freedom

Personal freedom is defined as an individual's freedom of opinion and expression, equality before the courts, security of private property, and freedom to come and go. For example, the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution lists several personal freedoms that are guaranteed to all U.S. citizens.

Economic freedom, also known as economic liberty, consists of personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete in markets, and protection of person and property. Economic freedom enables people to prosper in a country without intervention from the government or economic authority. Economic freedom can be seen in capitalism or "laissez-faire" economies, where the means of production (manufacturers or suppliers) are privately owned and the government has little to no control over businesses.

Top 10 Least Free Countries in the World - Human Freedom Index

Country
Human Freedom Score 2023
Syria2.96
Yemen3.43
Sudan3.81
Myanmar3.88
Iran4.03
Venezuela4.22
Egypt4.24
Somalia4.49
Saudi Arabia4.53
Iraq4.73

Download Table Data

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Country
Human Freedom Score 2023
Personal Freedom Score 2023
Economic Freedom Score 2023
Switzerland9.019.398.47
New Zealand8.889.28.43
Denmark8.839.358.1
Ireland8.799.278.11
Sweden8.759.437.81
Estonia8.759.327.95
Iceland8.739.317.93
Luxembourg8.719.297.91
Finland8.79.337.81
Norway8.589.237.67
Netherlands8.579.147.76
Taiwan8.568.987.97
Canada8.558.967.98
Australia8.528.868.05
Latvia8.458.987.71
Japan8.48.837.79
United States8.398.578.14
United Kingdom8.398.668.01
Lithuania8.398.717.95
Czech Republic8.388.787.81
Germany8.378.827.73
Belgium8.338.977.43
Portugal8.278.797.54
Austria8.248.647.69
Malta8.28.537.73
Chile8.168.527.66
Cyprus8.158.567.57
South Korea8.128.587.47
Slovakia8.048.447.49
Costa Rica8.048.257.76
Spain8.038.387.52
Cape Verde88.457.38
Armenia7.998.297.58
Croatia7.968.477.25
Uruguay7.968.67.06
Italy7.958.457.25
Romania7.98.057.7
Slovenia7.98.387.23
France7.868.187.4
Seychelles7.858.377.12
Bahamas7.828.736.55
Georgia7.87.877.71
Montenegro7.87.957.59
Singapore7.757.178.56
Barbados7.728.276.94
Hong Kong7.77.18.55
Poland7.698.097.12
Bulgaria7.687.847.46
Albania7.677.727.6
Moldova7.668.017.18
North Macedonia7.648.067.06
Mauritius7.617.467.82
Panama7.577.627.51
Peru7.567.67.52
Dominican Republic7.567.747.3
Jamaica7.567.627.46
Greece7.497.896.94
Trinidad and Tobago7.458.046.63
Israel7.437.327.57
Mongolia7.437.717.04
Bosnia and Herzegovina7.337.816.66
Botswana7.317.646.84
Namibia7.318.136.16
Hungary7.247.157.36
Ghana7.197.756.41
Fiji7.167.766.32
Serbia7.147.356.85
Guatemala7.096.797.5
Suriname7.078.175.52
Paraguay7.067.097.02
Ecuador7.037.436.46
Brazil6.927.166.58
South Africa6.927.196.53
Papua New Guinea6.887.486.05
Benin6.867.176.41
Argentina6.858.344.77
El Salvador6.856.677.11
Malawi6.837.525.87
Bolivia6.837.366.08
Belize6.827.475.91
Guyana6.747.675.43
Ukraine6.727.126.17
Honduras6.726.556.97
Nepal6.717.016.3
Senegal6.717.076.2
Bhutan6.696.746.62
Thailand6.676.397.07
Malaysia6.666.287.19
Kyrgyzstan6.646.486.88
Gambia6.646.37.11
Indonesia6.626.396.93
Kenya6.576.386.82
Burkina Faso6.576.886.14
Mexico6.556.227.02
Colombia6.546.56.6
Mozambique6.516.866.03
Sierra Leone6.516.945.91
Gabon6.57.285.41
Lesotho6.496.875.95
Ivory Coast6.486.796.04
Philippines6.466.077.01
Kazakhstan6.45.887.13
Liberia6.396.795.82
Haiti6.376.536.15
Madagascar6.366.685.92
Jordan6.325.637.3
India6.296.066.62
Niger6.296.645.8
Kuwait6.255.986.63
Tunisia6.226.366.02
Zambia6.216.475.84
Togo6.26.176.24
Tanzania6.166.086.27
Sri Lanka6.136.136.13
Cambodia6.085.546.82
Nigeria5.965.456.67
Mali5.95.975.8
Rwanda5.895.276.77
Russia5.815.486.28
Angola5.766.035.38
Uganda5.755.116.64
Lebanon5.746.165.15
United Arab Emirates5.734.577.35
Azerbaijan5.655.415.99
Brunei5.654.617.12
Turkey5.635.146.32
Oman5.564.836.58
Bangladesh5.515.35.81
Vietnam5.514.976.26
Pakistan5.495.135.98
DR Congo5.485.595.33
Morocco5.484.86.42
Belarus5.484.946.23
Nicaragua5.484.736.52
Bahrain5.474.057.44
Comoros5.455.325.63
Tajikistan5.444.776.38
Republic of the Congo5.415.84.85
Qatar5.394.546.58
Laos5.344.76.24
Central African Republic5.345.585.01
Mauritania5.345.025.78
Djibouti5.324.995.79
Cameroon5.355.72
Guinea5.214.915.62
Ethiopia5.25.035.44
China5.154.426.18
Eswatini5.074.895.33
Chad4.994.775.31
Libya4.945.154.65
Zimbabwe4.865.613.81
Burundi4.854.465.4
Algeria4.824.824.82
Iraq4.734.195.49
Saudi Arabia4.533.026.64
Somalia4.493.655.66
Egypt4.243.365.47
Venezuela4.225.093.01
Iran4.033.674.53
Myanmar3.882.845.33
Sudan3.813.683.98
Yemen3.432.894.18
Syria2.962.293.9
Total6.74828220858895566.8238036809815966.642331288343558
showing: 163 rows

Which is the freest country in the world?

Using the Human Freedom Index, which factors economic and personal freedoms together, Switzerland is the world's freest country.

Which is the least free country in the world?

The world's least free country is Syria, which ranks at the bottom of the list based on the Human Freedom Index.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources