The international organization Freedom House indicates that the freedom index in the USA has fallen to its lowest level since Donald Trump's second presidency began in 1972 - and is now equal to the indicators of South Africa.
The freedom index in the USA has decreased to its lowest level in the last 50 years since the beginning of Donald Trump's second presidential term. This was reported on Thursday, March 19, by the international non-governmental organization Freedom House, citing its own annual research.
The freedom index score in the USA has dropped by three points and now stands at 81 out of 100, the worst value since observations began in 1972. Freedom House still classifies the USA as a free country, but as of 2026, the country's score is below that of Western European countries and South Korea - and is now equal to the freedom index in South Africa.
According to Freedom House, the decline in the score for the USA is related to the "dysfunctionality" of the legislative power against the backdrop of the "dominance" of the executive, pressure on freedom of speech, and "attempts by the government to undermine anti-corruption mechanisms."
Freedom House: Less than a quarter of the world's population lives in free countries
As noted by Freedom House, only 21% of the world's population lives in countries that can be classified as free. According to one of the authors of the study, Catherine Groth, over the past 20 years, more countries have transitioned from the "free" category to the status of "not free."
In the past year, only three countries significantly improved their scores and moved from the "partially free" category to "free": Bolivia, Malawi, and Fiji. The only country to receive a score of 100 out of 100 was Finland.
Russia remains classified as a "not free" state
Russia remains classified as a "not free" state - 12 out of 100 points. The territories of Ukraine occupied by the Russian Federation received an even negative freedom rating - minus 1 point. Freedom House believes that in the "authoritarian political system of Russia, power is concentrated in the hands of President Vladimir Putin," who "relies on loyal security forces, a controlled judiciary, a media environment, and parliament," and also "suppresses dissent."
Leave a comment