Data for 2023

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2023

Name: Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2023
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

2023, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2023 covers 176 countries. Denmark is highest, at 0.985; North Korea is lowest, at 0.013. The middle country reads 0.731. Against 2022, 155 values changed (53 up, 102 down), the same countries are covered.

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Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index · Data for 2023

HighestDenmark

0.985

LowestNorth Korea

0.013

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

176countries
1measure
2023the year it describes
164distinct 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, 2023, 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, 2023: every country, as published by V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg.
derived
1	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	0.985
2	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	0.974
3	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	0.969
4	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	0.968
5	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	0.966
6	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	0.961
7	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	0.958
=8	France`FRA`Western Europe	0.957
=8	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	0.957
10	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.952
11	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	0.950
12	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	0.949
13	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	0.945
14	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	0.944
15	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	0.943
16	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.940
17	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.938
=18	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.936
=18	United States`USA`Northern America	0.936
20	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.933
21	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	0.930
22	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	0.929
23	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.923
24	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.921
25	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.920
26	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.919
27	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	0.918
28	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.915
29	Chile`CHL`South America	0.914
30	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	0.912
31	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.908
32	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.903
33	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.900
34	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.895
35	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.892
36	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.890
37	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.885
38	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.884
39	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.880
40	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.874
41	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.872
42	Colombia`COL`South America	0.869
43	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.859
44	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.857
45	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	0.854
46	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.851
=47	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.850
=47	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	0.850
49	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.842
50	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.840
51	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.838
52	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.836
53	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.835
54	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.833
55	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.831
56	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	0.827
57	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.822
58	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	0.819
59	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.817
60	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.815
61	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.809
62	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.806
=63	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	0.805
=63	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.805
=63	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.805
66	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.804
67	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.803
68	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.798
69	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.784
=70	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.782
=70	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.782
72	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.777
=73	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.776
=73	Peru`PER`South America	0.776
75	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.775
76	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.768
77	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.766
=78	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.763
=78	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.763
80	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.753
81	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.751
=82	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.745
=82	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.745
84	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.744
85	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.741
86	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.740
87	Paraguay`PRY`South America	0.739
88	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.732
=89	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.730
=89	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.730
91	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.727
92	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.725
93	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.704
94	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.699
95	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.697
96	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.686
97	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.685
98	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.683
99	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.669
100	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.667
101	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.665
102	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.663
103	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.660
104	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.659
105	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	0.658
106	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	0.652
107	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.638
108	Somaliland`XSL`Eastern Africa	0.635
109	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.634
110	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.633
111	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.622
112	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.619
113	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.618
114	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.609
=115	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.597
=115	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.597
117	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.590
118	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.580
119	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.557
120	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.556
121	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.546
122	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.538
123	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.535
124	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.527
125	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.499
126	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.496
127	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.495
128	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.479
129	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.469
130	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.451
131	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.449
132	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.448
133	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.441
134	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.422
135	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.419
136	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.392
137	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.386
138	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.362
139	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	0.360
140	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.343
141	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.336
142	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.311
143	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.286
144	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.244
145	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.231
146	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.222
147	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.217
148	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	0.213
149	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.183
150	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.177
151	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.172
152	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.171
153	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.168
154	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.166
155	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.163
156	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	0.153
157	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.151
158	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.149
159	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.121
160	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.113
161	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.097
162	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.087
163	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.079
=164	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.068
=164	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.068
166	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.062
167	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.051
168	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.048
169	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.047
170	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.040
171	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.035
172	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.033
173	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.031
174	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.030
175	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.022
176	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.013

02In 2023

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Denmark0.985
2Ireland0.974
3Estonia0.969
4Belgium0.968
5Switzerland0.966

Lowest

176North Korea0.013
175Eritrea0.022
174Belarus0.030
173Myanmar0.031
172Nicaragua0.033

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.731. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032022 → 2023

Since 2022

What changed between 2022 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
155values changed, of 176 in both
53 · 102rose · fell
21unchanged

Rose most

Fiji0.518 → 0.730+0.212
Brazil0.704 → 0.903+0.199
Thailand0.477 → 0.557+0.080
South Sudan0.094 → 0.153+0.059
Gabon0.721 → 0.775+0.054

Fell most

Burkina Faso0.753 → 0.580−0.173
South Korea0.898 → 0.782−0.116
Pakistan0.633 → 0.538−0.095
Sudan0.380 → 0.286−0.094
Kyrgyzstan0.566 → 0.479−0.087

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 2023.
164 distinct values among 176
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 3 countries share 0.805. 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-2023-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 (2023). Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2023 [data set], describing 2023. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/freedom-of-expression/2023

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2022
176 countries
The year after ›
Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2024
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, 2023: questions and answers

Which country has the highest freedom of expression in Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2023?

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

What year does Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2023 describe?

2023.

How many countries does Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2023 cover?

176.

Where can I download Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2023?

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, 2023 the newest?

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

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