Human Freedom Index, Top 10 and Bottom 10 Countries: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” states Principle 1 of the United Nations Charter, emphasizing the critical need to recognize and uphold the autonomy of each person.
Human freedom is essential for social progress and overall development. It significantly affects human well-being and opens up opportunities for exploring how it interacts with political systems, economic growth, and various indicators of well-being.
However, earlier this year, a Cato Institute report revealed a global decline in freedom, with the average human freedom rating falling from 6.79 in 2020 to 6.75 in 2021.
Global Outlook on Human Freedom (Source: Cato Institute)
Globally, there is considerable inequality in freedom worldwide, with only 13.8% of the global population living in the top quartile of jurisdictions, while 37.6% live in the bottom quartile.
Here are the top 10 countries with the highest and lowest Human Freedom Index scores, assessing the personal, civil and economic freedoms of 98.8% of the world’s population in 165 countries.
Top 10 countries with the highest Human Freedom Index scores (2023-24).
According to the report, the highest levels of freedom are found in regions of Western Europe, with countries such as Switzerland and Ireland consistently ranking high on human freedom sub-indices as well as personal and financial freedom.
It also suggests that regions with the highest quartile of freedom have much larger average per capita incomes than other quartiles, demonstrating a strong relationship between human freedom and democracy.
| category | Country/Territory | Personal freedom | Financial freedom | Human freedom |
| 1 | Switzerland | 9.39 | 8.47 | 9.01 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 9.2 | 8.43 | 8.88 |
| 3 | Denmark | 9.35 | 8.1 | 8.83 |
| 4 | Ireland | 9.27 | 8.11 | 8.79 |
| 5 | Estonia | 9.32 | 7.95 | 8.75 |
| 5 | Sweden | 9.43 | 7.81 | 8.75 |
| 7 | Iceland | 9.31 | 7.93 | 8.73 |
| 8 | Luxembourg | 9.29 | 7.91 | 8.71 |
| 9 | Finland | 9.33 | 7.81 | 8.7 |
| 10 | Norway | 9.23 | 7.67 | 8.58 |
Source: Keto Institute
Please note: The concept of liberty has seen many debates, according to the report the concept of liberty is “a social concept defined by the recognition of the dignity of the individual and the absence of coercive restraint.”
Bottom 10 Countries with Lowest Human Freedom Index Scores (2023-24)
Over the past two decades, global freedom has declined significantly, with many jurisdictions experiencing a decline, resulting in an unequal distribution of world freedom, with only 13.8% of the population in the top quartile and 37.6% in the bottom half.
China, with its large population, contributes to this disparity, ranking in the lowest freedom quartile of the index, while countries such as Nicaragua, Syria, Hong Kong, Egypt, Turkey and Hungary have seen the most significant declines.
Rebel fighters sit in a vehicle after capturing Damascus and ousting Bashar al-Assad. (Reuters)
In contrast, the lowest levels of human freedom were in Middle Eastern and North African, sub-Saharan African and South Asian countries, where large-scale ongoing wars or political unrest led to humanitarian crises and severe limitations in the personal and political spheres. freedom, with widespread human rights violations.