Freedom in the World 2021 Report

Freedom in the World 2021 Report

The US-based non-profit human rights watchdog, Freedom House, has released the Freedom in the World 2021 Report.

About Freedom in the World report?

Freedom in the World is a yearly survey and report by the U.S.-based and partially U.S. government-funded non-governmental organization Freedom House that measures the degree of civil liberties and political rights in every nation and significant related and disputed territories around the world.

First published in early 1973, its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices became widely acclaimed at first as an assessment of conditions of democracy in different nations, but in recent years has been criticized as reflecting U.S. foreign policy interests.

It derives its methodology from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. 

It ranks countries based on political rights indicators such as the electoral process, political pluralism, participation , government functioning, rule of law, civil liberties among others.

About Freedom House

Founded in 1941, Freedom House is a unique institution—a non-governmental organization (NGO) that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights.

It describes itself as a "clear voice for democracy and freedom around the world", although some critics have stated that the organization is biased towards US interests as it is U.S.-funded.

The organization was 66% funded by grants from the U.S. government in 2006, a number which has increased to 86% in 2016.

Key Points of the Freedom in the World 2021 Report

• Decline in global democracy over the last 15 years, the report said that nearly 75% of the world’s population lived in a country that faced deterioration over the last year.
• Of the 195 countries assessed, 83 (43%) were rated Free, 63 (32%) were Partly Free and 49 (25%) were Not Free.
• The share of Free countries has declined by 3% over the last decade, while the percentage of Partly Free and Not Free countries rose by 2% and 1% respectively.
• The most free countries in the world, with a score of 100, are Finland, Norway and Sweden, while the least free with a score of 1 are Tibet and Syria.

India and Freedom in the World 2021 Report

1. The report told that India’s status downgraded from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’.
2. The report kept India in the Free category and ranked it at the 83rd position along with Timor-Leste and Senegal.
3. However, the report has assessed Indian Kashmir as a separate territory which saw its total score drop from 49 to 28 this year moving it from a status of Partly Free to Not Free.