Data for 1998

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1998

Name: Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1998
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

1998, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1998 covers 174 countries. Denmark is highest, at 0.988; North Korea is lowest, at 0.011. The middle country reads 0.716. Against 1997, 60 values changed (34 up, 26 down), 1 country joined.

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Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index · Data for 1998

HighestDenmark

0.988

LowestNorth Korea

0.011

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the better end.

174countries
1measure
1998the year it describes
155distinct values3 decimals, as published
Sep 26, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY-SA 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1998, as published. V-Dem Institute ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 174 countries · select a heading to sort

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1998: every country, as published by V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg.
derived
1	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	0.988
2	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	0.984
3	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	0.978
4	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	0.977
5	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	0.976
6	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	0.975
7	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	0.973
8	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	0.970
=9	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	0.966
=9	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	0.966
=11	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	0.964
=11	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.964
=13	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.962
=13	France`FRA`Western Europe	0.962
=13	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	0.962
=16	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.960
=16	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.960
=16	United States`USA`Northern America	0.960
19	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	0.958
20	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	0.957
21	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	0.955
22	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	0.953
23	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	0.950
24	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.949
25	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.948
26	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.941
27	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.939
28	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.938
29	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.935
30	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.932
31	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.930
=32	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.926
=32	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.926
34	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.924
35	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	0.923
36	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.915
37	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.907
38	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.899
39	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.898
=40	Chile`CHL`South America	0.897
=40	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.897
=42	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.888
=42	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.888
=44	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.884
=44	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.884
46	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.883
47	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	0.876
48	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.867
49	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.865
50	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.863
51	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.861
52	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.858
=53	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.855
=53	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.855
55	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.849
=56	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.847
=56	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	0.847
58	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.846
59	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.835
60	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.828
61	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.826
62	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.821
63	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.820
64	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.816
65	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.812
=66	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.811
=66	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.811
68	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	0.807
69	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.802
70	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.795
71	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.774
72	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.772
73	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.771
74	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	0.756
75	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.749
76	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.748
77	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.742
=78	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.741
=78	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.741
80	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.736
81	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.732
82	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.731
83	Somaliland`XSL`Eastern Africa	0.729
84	Colombia`COL`South America	0.728
85	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	0.724
86	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.719
87	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.717
88	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.714
89	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.701
90	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.699
91	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.698
92	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.697
93	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.693
=94	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.684
=94	Paraguay`PRY`South America	0.684
96	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.682
97	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.678
98	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.673
99	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.669
100	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.668
101	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.665
102	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.663
103	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.661
104	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.658
=105	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	0.654
=105	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.654
107	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.653
108	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.650
109	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.642
110	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.635
111	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.628
112	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.612
113	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.604
114	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.603
115	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.600
116	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.567
117	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.566
118	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.562
119	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.554
120	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.541
121	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.538
122	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.521
123	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.503
124	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.479
125	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.466
126	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.457
127	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.445
128	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.425
129	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.424
130	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.409
131	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.403
132	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.397
133	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.392
134	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.380
135	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.376
136	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.371
137	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.367
138	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.362
=139	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.361
=139	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.361
141	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.339
142	Peru`PER`South America	0.333
143	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.308
144	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	0.293
145	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.271
146	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.270
147	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.241
148	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.240
149	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.236
150	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.226
151	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.174
=152	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.172
=152	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.172
154	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.159
155	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.153
156	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.152
157	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.142
158	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.129
159	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.118
160	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.110
161	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.098
162	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.092
163	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.091
164	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.069
165	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.059
=166	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.049
=166	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.049
168	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.046
169	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.037
170	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.029
171	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.024
172	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.021
173	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.017
174	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.011

02In 1998

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Denmark0.988
2Germany0.984
3Switzerland0.978
4Finland0.977
5Czechia0.976

Lowest

174North Korea0.011
173Laos0.017
172Turkmenistan0.021
171Syria0.024
170Libya0.029

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.716. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031997 → 1998

Since 1997

What changed between 1997 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+1 / −0countries joined / left
60values changed, of 173 in both
34 · 26rose · fell
113unchanged

Rose most

Indonesia0.229 → 0.538+0.309
DR Congo0.357 → 0.567+0.210
Guyana0.571 → 0.682+0.111
Tajikistan0.085 → 0.172+0.087
Nigeria0.582 → 0.654+0.072

Fell most

Belarus0.458 → 0.362−0.096
Ukraine0.771 → 0.697−0.074
Peru0.386 → 0.333−0.053
Sri Lanka0.709 → 0.658−0.051
Burundi0.536 → 0.503−0.033

+ Montenegro

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

How values are stored

One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 1998.
155 distinct values among 174
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 3 countries share 0.962. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The position is ours
V-Dem Institute publishes values only; the order is this site’s.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 174 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
174 rows · 4.8 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download freedom-of-expression-1998-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
V-Dem Institute’s own file, on its own site.
V-Dem-CY-Core-v16_csv.zip

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg (1998). Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1998 [data set], describing 1998. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/freedom-of-expression/1998

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1997
173 countries
The year after ›
Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1999
175 countries
All of them
Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index: every year
36 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1998: questions and answers

Which country has the highest freedom of expression in Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1998?

Denmark, at 0.988, of the 174 countries in the file.

What year does Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1998 describe?

1998.

How many countries does Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1998 cover?

174.

Where can I download Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1998?

On this page, as a CSV file holding every value exactly as published, or from the publisher’s own site, linked below.

Is Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 1998 the newest?

No. The newest held here is Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2025.

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