This year's Freedom House annual Freedom of the World Report, released on 12 January, offers a somber accounting of a general worldwide decline in freedom of association and expression, and decreased respect for the rule of law. The decline is most pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa and the former Soviet Union.
The report offers telling regional breakdowns of 'free,' 'partly free' and 'not free' countries. In the Americas, for instance, there are 25 free countries, 9 partly free, and 1 not free country. In Central and Eastern Europe there are 13 free countries, 8 partly free and 7 not free countries. In the Middle East and North Africa there is 1 (!) free country, 6 partly free countries and 11 not free countries. In sub-Saharan Africa there are 10 free countries, 23 partly free and 15 not free countries, respectively.
Not surprisingly, North Korea was cited as the least free country on earth, while Finland topped the list as the most free and respectful of individual rights.