Over 94% of the world’s population live in jurisdictions that witnessed a decrease in human freedom in 2020 compared to 2019, the recently published Human Freedom Index 2022 has highlighted. It also noted that freedom was not equally distributed around the world. Switzerland tops the list of countries with the highest level of freedom, while the country with the lowest level was the Syrian Arab Republic.
The annual Human Freedom Index (HFI) measures the state of freedom in 165 countries against a wide range of factors such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, property rights, rule of law, and regulations that affect economic activity. It uses a scoring system to rank countries based on their overall freedom score, with 0 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.
Global overview
The HFI 2022 reveals a stark disparity in freedom across the globe, with only 13.4% of the world’s population living in the top 25% of the HFI rankings and a staggering 39.9% living in the bottom quartile. Shockingly, over 75% of the world’s population resides in countries that rank in the bottom half of the HFI.
The average human freedom score for the 165 jurisdictions included in the HFI fell from 7.03 in 2019 to 6.81 in 2020. This decrease was widespread, affecting most areas of freedom, including a significant drop in the rule of law and freedom of movement, expression, association and assembly, and trade. The data shows that 94.3% of the world’s population lives in jurisdictions that experienced a decrease in human freedom from 2019 to 2020, with 148 witnessing a decline and only 16 improving.
The 2022 edition of the HFI also reveals a disturbing trend in global freedom over the past two decades. According to data collected from 2000 to 2019, there was a significant high point in terms of freedom in 2007 which was then followed by a steady decline. By 2019, nearly 79% of the world’s population had experienced a reduction in freedom.
Fig.1.Human freedom score (2000–2020)
Source: Human Freedom Index 2022
According to the HFI, the regions that recorded the highest levels of freedom are Western Europe, North America, and Oceania. In stark contrast, the lowest levels of freedom are found in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East, and North Africa.
Fig.2.The Human Freedom Index 2022
Source: Cato Institute
Top Performers of the Human Freedom Index 2022
The 2022 edition of the HFI ranked Switzerland as the country with the highest level of freedom, with a score of 9.35, 8.37, and 8.94 for personal, economic, and human freedom, respectively. It was followed by New Zealand, which had a score of 9.09, 8.27, and 8.75, and Estonia, which had a score of 9.27, 7.95, and 8.73.
Fig.3.Top 10 countries with highest HFI scores
Source: Human Freedom Index 2022
Countries with the Lowest Levels of Freedom
At the other end of the spectrum, the countries with the lowest levels of freedom in 2022 were the Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen and Venezuela, scoring 3.30, 3.94 and 4.09 for human freedom, respectively. These countries have been plagued by conflict, political instability, and human rights abuses which have severely impacted the freedom of their citizens.
Fig.4. 10 countries with the least HFI scores
Source: Human Freedom Index 2022