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Freest Countries 2026
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5 Countries with the Highest Freedom Score
- The RSF Freedom Press Index changed its scale in 2013. Before 2013, a lower score indicated a greater level of Press Freedom, with a negative score being possible. From 2013, a higher rating indicated a greater level of press freedom, with 100 being the maximum score.
- A joint study between the Fraser Institute and the CATO Institute, the annual Human Freedom Index works on a two year cycle - so the 2025 HFI report contains the data for 2023 and so on.
- The CATO Human Freedom Index includes three metrics. The overall metric is Human Freedom, which is determined by combining the other two metrics, Personal Freedom and Economic Freedom.
- Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World report also includes three metrics. First is Freedom in the World, an overall measure. Many countries are also ranked in two secondary categories, “Freedom on the Net” and “Nations in Transit”, which was formerly titled “Democracy Score”. In all three metrics, higher scores indicate greater freedom
- 2025 Freedom House data are incomplete and will likely be expanded at a later date.
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.
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.
