Data for 2019

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2019

Name: Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2019
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

2019, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2019 covers 176 countries. Denmark is highest, at 0.984; North Korea is lowest, at 0.013. The middle country reads 0.736. Against 2018, 165 values changed (77 up, 88 down), the same countries are covered.

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Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index · Data for 2019

HighestDenmark

0.984

LowestNorth Korea

0.013

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

176countries
1measure
2019the year it describes
160distinct 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, 2019, 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, 2019: every country, as published by V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg.
derived
1	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	0.984
2	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	0.978
3	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	0.975
4	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	0.974
5	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.970
6	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	0.969
7	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	0.968
=8	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	0.966
=8	France`FRA`Western Europe	0.966
=8	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	0.966
11	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	0.962
12	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	0.960
13	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.958
14	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	0.957
15	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.953
16	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.952
17	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	0.950
18	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.948
19	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	0.943
20	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.941
21	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.940
22	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.938
=23	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.937
=23	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.937
=25	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	0.936
=25	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.936
27	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	0.932
28	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.925
29	Peru`PER`South America	0.924
30	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.923
31	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.908
32	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.905
33	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.901
34	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	0.900
35	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.898
36	United States`USA`Northern America	0.891
37	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	0.887
38	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.886
=39	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.874
=39	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.874
41	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.873
42	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.872
43	Chile`CHL`South America	0.870
44	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.869
45	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.866
46	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.863
47	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	0.861
=48	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.860
=48	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.860
50	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.859
51	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.858
=52	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.851
=52	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.851
54	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.849
55	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.846
56	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.844
57	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.837
=58	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	0.836
=58	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.836
=60	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.835
=60	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.835
62	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.828
63	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.827
64	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.822
65	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.821
66	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	0.820
67	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.818
=68	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.816
=68	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.816
70	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	0.813
71	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.811
72	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.805
73	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.803
74	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.802
75	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.800
76	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.795
77	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.793
78	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.792
79	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.790
80	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	0.784
81	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.778
82	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.775
83	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.773
84	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.762
85	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.752
86	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.740
87	Paraguay`PRY`South America	0.739
88	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.738
89	Colombia`COL`South America	0.733
90	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.729
91	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.728
92	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.725
93	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.724
94	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.723
95	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.720
96	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.712
=97	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.703
=97	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.703
99	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.702
100	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.699
101	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.693
=102	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.682
=102	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.682
104	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	0.681
=105	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	0.680
=105	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	0.680
=105	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.680
108	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.676
109	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.674
=110	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.662
=110	Somaliland`XSL`Eastern Africa	0.662
112	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.659
113	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.656
114	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.650
115	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.649
116	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.643
117	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.641
118	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.638
119	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.630
120	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.619
121	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.601
122	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.600
123	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.597
124	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.589
125	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.579
126	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.578
127	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.576
128	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.572
129	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.570
130	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.561
131	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.546
=132	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.540
=132	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.540
134	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.527
135	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.504
136	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.500
137	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.498
138	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.478
139	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.455
140	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.432
141	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.384
142	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.377
143	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.357
144	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	0.350
145	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.344
146	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.315
147	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.303
148	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.302
149	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.241
150	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.237
151	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.225
152	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.214
153	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.195
154	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.191
155	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.189
156	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.186
157	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.182
158	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.170
159	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.147
160	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.143
161	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.142
162	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.136
163	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.128
164	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	0.121
165	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.108
166	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.101
167	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.098
168	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.093
169	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.087
170	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.066
171	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.051
172	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.042
173	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.037
174	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.026
175	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.023
176	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.013

02In 2019

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Denmark0.984
2Switzerland0.978
3Finland0.975
4Belgium0.974
5Uruguay0.970

Lowest

176North Korea0.013
175Laos0.023
174Eritrea0.026
173Syria0.037
172Turkmenistan0.042

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.736. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032018 → 2019

Since 2018

What changed between 2018 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
165values changed, of 176 in both
77 · 88rose · fell
11unchanged

Rose most

Maldives0.536 → 0.773+0.237
Sudan0.196 → 0.384+0.188
Ethiopia0.443 → 0.619+0.176
Armenia0.776 → 0.863+0.087
Myanmar0.620 → 0.699+0.079

Fell most

Bolivia0.742 → 0.597−0.145
Sri Lanka0.820 → 0.702−0.118
Madagascar0.796 → 0.680−0.116
Benin0.749 → 0.641−0.108
Algeria0.580 → 0.504−0.076

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 2019.
160 distinct values among 176
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 3 countries share 0.966. 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 · 4.8 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download freedom-of-expression-2019-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 (2019). Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2019 [data set], describing 2019. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/freedom-of-expression/2019

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2018
176 countries
The year after ›
Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2020
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, 2019: questions and answers

Which country has the highest freedom of expression in Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2019?

Denmark, at 0.984, of the 176 countries in the file.

What year does Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2019 describe?

2019.

How many countries does Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2019 cover?

176.

Where can I download Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2019?

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, 2019 the newest?

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

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