Data for 2022

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2022

Name: Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2022
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

2022, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2022 covers 176 countries. Denmark is highest, at 0.985; North Korea is lowest, at 0.013. The middle country reads 0.728. Against 2021, 159 values changed (69 up, 90 down), the same countries are covered.

Download CSV Cite this year

Share this page

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index · Data for 2022

HighestDenmark

0.985

LowestNorth Korea

0.013

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

176countries
1measure
2022the year it describes
157distinct 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, 2022, 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, 2022: every country, as published by V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg.
derived
1	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	0.985
2	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	0.972
3	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	0.971
4	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	0.969
5	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	0.968
6	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	0.966
7	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	0.964
8	France`FRA`Western Europe	0.963
9	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	0.957
=10	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.951
=10	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	0.951
12	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	0.949
13	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	0.945
14	United States`USA`Northern America	0.944
15	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.940
=16	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.938
=16	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	0.938
18	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	0.937
=19	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.930
=19	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.930
=21	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.928
=21	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	0.928
23	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.924
=24	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	0.922
=24	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	0.922
=26	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.921
=26	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.921
28	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.920
=29	Chile`CHL`South America	0.919
=29	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.919
31	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	0.918
32	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.912
33	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.910
34	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.901
35	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.900
36	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.898
37	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.891
38	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.890
39	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.887
40	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.877
=41	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.876
=41	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.876
43	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.868
44	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.866
45	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.864
46	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.855
=47	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.853
=47	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.853
49	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.851
=50	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	0.848
=50	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.848
52	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.845
53	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.841
=54	Colombia`COL`South America	0.840
=54	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	0.840
56	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.837
57	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.836
58	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.835
59	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	0.827
60	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.825
61	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.821
62	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.820
63	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.818
64	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	0.813
65	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	0.811
66	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.807
67	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.806
=68	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.805
=68	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.805
70	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.802
71	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.801
72	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.799
73	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.794
74	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.793
=75	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.792
=75	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.792
77	Peru`PER`South America	0.787
78	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.784
79	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.780
80	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.779
81	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.773
82	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.772
83	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.768
84	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.765
85	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.754
86	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.753
87	Paraguay`PRY`South America	0.739
88	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.731
89	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.725
90	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.722
91	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.721
92	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.716
93	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.705
=94	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.704
=94	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.704
96	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.703
97	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.701
98	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.685
=99	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.677
=99	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.677
101	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	0.673
=102	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.669
=102	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.669
104	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	0.662
105	Somaliland`XSL`Eastern Africa	0.661
=106	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.657
=106	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.657
108	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.648
109	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.647
110	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.638
111	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.636
112	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.633
113	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.621
114	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.615
115	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.606
116	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.599
=117	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.597
=117	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.597
119	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.569
120	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.566
121	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.563
122	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.561
123	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.548
124	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.541
125	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.518
126	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.507
127	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.501
128	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.484
129	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.477
130	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.471
131	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.469
132	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.461
133	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.442
134	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.437
135	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.412
136	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.404
137	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.389
138	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.383
139	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.380
140	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.352
141	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.351
142	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.336
143	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	0.335
144	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.248
145	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	0.227
146	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.222
147	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.209
148	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.205
149	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.204
150	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.194
151	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.180
152	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.163
153	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.159
154	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.156
=155	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.154
=155	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.154
157	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.147
158	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.132
159	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.125
160	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.108
161	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	0.094
162	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.087
163	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.084
164	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.067
165	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.066
166	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.063
167	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.052
168	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.050
169	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.049
170	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.047
171	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.043
172	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.040
173	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.033
174	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.031
175	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.028
176	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.013

02In 2022

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Denmark0.985
2Switzerland0.972
3Ireland0.971
4Estonia0.969
5Belgium0.968

Lowest

176North Korea0.013
175Laos0.028
174Myanmar0.031
173Syria0.033
172Turkmenistan0.040

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.728. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032021 → 2022

Since 2021

What changed between 2021 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
159values changed, of 176 in both
69 · 90rose · fell
17unchanged

Rose most

Honduras0.718 → 0.887+0.169
Zambia0.704 → 0.841+0.137
Slovenia0.751 → 0.866+0.115
Tanzania0.603 → 0.703+0.100
Colombia0.764 → 0.840+0.076

Fell most

Ukraine0.757 → 0.471−0.286
Romania0.914 → 0.765−0.149
Nicaragua0.177 → 0.043−0.134
Russia0.271 → 0.156−0.115
Mali0.766 → 0.677−0.089

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 2022.
157 distinct values among 176
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 2 countries share 0.951. 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-2022-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 (2022). Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2022 [data set], describing 2022. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/freedom-of-expression/2022

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2021
176 countries
The year after ›
Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2023
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, 2022: questions and answers

Which country has the highest freedom of expression in Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2022?

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

What year does Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2022 describe?

2022.

How many countries does Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2022 cover?

176.

Where can I download Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2022?

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, 2022 the newest?

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

This edition

The same ranking, cut differently

Behind the number

Browse

By continent

Much-read profiles

Every subject

The numbers

Reading the data