about a third of people in the world do not have access to civil liberties

The international human rights organization CIVICUS has published an annual ranking of the availability of civil liberties for residents of different countries of the world. According to the study, civil space is fully open only to 2.1% of the Earth’s population. Approximately 31% of all earthlings live in countries where the opportunity to safely express one’s political and civil position is completely closed. At the same time, indicators of the openness of society are deteriorating compared to previous years.

The People Power Under Attack rating divides countries into five categories – from fully open to those in which there is no possibility of population influence on power. Intermediate positions – countries in which civil activity to one degree or another is limited or unsafe.

When compiling the rating, CIVICUS takes into account such factors as the observance of the rights to freedom of speech, assembly and self-expression, the possibility of political repression, attacks on journalists and activists, restrictions on the right to protest.

In Europe, all Scandinavian and Baltic countries, as well as Portugal, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland, received the highest rating of openness. Russia and Belarus are recognized as completely closed to democracy. Compared to previous years, Germany (due to the pressure on environmental activists) and Bosnia and Herzegovina have fallen somewhat in the rating. A noticeable decrease was shown by Kyrgyzstan, where the arrests of “unpleasant” journalists and bloggers were noted, and the parliament is discussing the adoption of a law on “foreign agents” similar to the Russian one.

In the New World, Canada, Uruguay and six small island states – such as Costa Rica and Grenada – are recognized as completely free. In the USA, a low level of restrictions on civil liberties was recorded: this refers to police crackdowns on demonstrations and risks to the work of journalists. Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are recognized as completely unfree.

CIVICUS is concerned that the indicators of civil liberties in the world in 2023 have noticeably decreased. The downward trend has been observed for several years. If in 2018, according to researchers, 26% of people on Earth were completely deprived of civil liberties, now this figure has reached 30.6%.

• CIVICUS is a non-governmental organization for monitoring civil rights and freedoms, founded in 1993 and having more than 8,500 members in 175 countries. The CIVICUS Monitor rating “People Power Under Attack” has been published since 2018.