Data for 2017

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2017

Name: Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2017
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

2017, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2017 covers 176 countries. Denmark is highest, at 0.985; Eritrea is lowest, at 0.012. The middle country reads 0.765. Against 2016, 162 values changed (61 up, 101 down), the same countries are covered.

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Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index · Data for 2017

HighestDenmark

0.985

LowestEritrea

0.012

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

176countries
1measure
2017the year it describes
150distinct 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, 2017, 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 176 countries · select a heading to sort

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2017: every country, as published by V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg.
derived
1	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	0.985
=2	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	0.978
=2	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	0.978
=2	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	0.978
=5	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	0.974
=5	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	0.974
=7	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	0.972
=7	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	0.972
=7	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.972
10	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	0.971
11	France`FRA`Western Europe	0.970
12	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	0.966
13	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	0.961
14	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.960
15	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	0.957
16	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	0.956
=17	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.948
=17	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.948
19	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.947
20	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.946
21	Chile`CHL`South America	0.945
22	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	0.943
=23	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.939
=23	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	0.939
=23	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.939
=23	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	0.939
=27	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.932
=27	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.932
29	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.921
30	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.919
31	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.918
32	Peru`PER`South America	0.917
33	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.915
34	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.914
35	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	0.913
36	United States`USA`Northern America	0.911
37	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.900
38	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.897
=39	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.894
=39	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.894
41	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.893
42	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.880
43	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.878
=44	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.875
=44	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.875
=44	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.875
47	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.873
48	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	0.869
49	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.867
50	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.864
=51	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.861
=51	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.861
53	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.859
54	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.856
55	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.854
56	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.851
57	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.846
=58	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.845
=58	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.845
60	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.843
61	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.840
62	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.839
63	Colombia`COL`South America	0.836
64	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.833
65	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.832
66	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.831
67	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.825
68	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	0.824
69	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.815
=70	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.813
=70	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.813
72	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.808
=73	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.803
=73	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.803
75	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	0.802
=76	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.798
=76	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.798
78	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	0.797
79	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	0.795
80	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.793
81	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.791
82	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.787
83	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	0.780
84	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.778
85	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.776
86	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.773
87	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	0.771
88	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.770
89	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.759
90	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.750
91	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.735
92	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.733
93	Paraguay`PRY`South America	0.731
94	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.730
95	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	0.729
96	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.723
97	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.719
98	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.716
99	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.692
100	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.688
101	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.687
=102	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.684
=102	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.684
=104	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.682
=104	Somaliland`XSL`Eastern Africa	0.682
=106	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.680
=106	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.680
108	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.675
109	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.670
=110	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.667
=110	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.667
112	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.665
113	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.662
114	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.656
115	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.649
116	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.646
=117	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.637
=117	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.637
119	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.623
120	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.616
121	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.612
122	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.608
123	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.596
124	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.590
125	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.579
126	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.578
127	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.570
128	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.569
129	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.568
130	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.565
131	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.561
132	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.511
133	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.475
134	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.472
135	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.461
136	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.457
137	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.446
138	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.407
139	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.402
140	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.385
141	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	0.380
142	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.331
143	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.317
144	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.306
=145	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.305
=145	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.305
147	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.303
148	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.302
149	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.266
150	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.221
151	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.220
152	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.214
153	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.205
154	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.203
155	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.190
156	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.180
157	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.161
158	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.157
159	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.152
=160	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.134
=160	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.134
=160	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.134
163	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	0.126
164	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.124
165	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.122
166	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.102
167	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.084
168	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.079
169	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.071
170	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.068
171	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.047
172	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.037
173	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.034
174	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.023
175	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.013
176	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.012

02In 2017

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Denmark0.985
2Switzerlandshared0.978
2Germanyshared0.978
2Norwayshared0.978
5Belgiumshared0.974

Lowest

176Eritrea0.012
175North Korea0.013
174Laos0.023
173Turkmenistan0.034
172Syria0.037

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.765. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032016 → 2017

Since 2016

What changed between 2016 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
162values changed, of 176 in both
61 · 101rose · fell
14unchanged

Rose most

Gambia0.196 → 0.813+0.617
South Korea0.760 → 0.948+0.188
North Macedonia0.564 → 0.687+0.123
Uzbekistan0.059 → 0.161+0.102
Sierra Leone0.763 → 0.803+0.040

Fell most

Mauritania0.782 → 0.667−0.115
Romania0.891 → 0.787−0.104
Cambodia0.319 → 0.220−0.099
Libya0.705 → 0.616−0.089
Chad0.587 → 0.511−0.076

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 2017.
150 distinct values among 176
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 4 countries share 0.939. 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 176 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
176 rows · 4.9 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download freedom-of-expression-2017-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 (2017). Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2017 [data set], describing 2017. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/freedom-of-expression/2017

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2016
176 countries
The year after ›
Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2018
176 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, 2017: questions and answers

Which country has the highest freedom of expression in Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2017?

Denmark, at 0.985, of the 176 countries in the file.

What year does Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2017 describe?

2017.

How many countries does Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2017 cover?

176.

Where can I download Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2017?

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, 2017 the newest?

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

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