Data for 2025

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2025

Name: Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2025
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

2025, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2025 covers 176 countries. Denmark is highest, at 0.980; North Korea is lowest, at 0.013. The middle country reads 0.693. Against 2024, 150 values changed (58 up, 92 down), the same countries are covered.

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Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index · Data for 2025

HighestDenmark

0.980

LowestNorth Korea

0.013

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

176countries
1measure
2025the year it describes
154distinct 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, 2025, 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, 2025: every country, as published by V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg.
derived
1	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	0.980
2	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	0.970
=3	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	0.969
=3	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	0.969
5	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	0.967
6	France`FRA`Western Europe	0.959
7	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	0.957
8	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	0.953
9	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	0.947
=10	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	0.946
=10	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	0.946
=12	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.933
=12	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.933
14	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.932
15	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.931
16	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	0.927
17	Chile`CHL`South America	0.926
18	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.919
19	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	0.918
=20	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.917
=20	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.917
=22	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	0.915
=22	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.915
24	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	0.914
25	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.911
=26	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.910
=26	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	0.910
28	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.901
29	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.900
30	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	0.899
31	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.896
32	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.891
33	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.888
34	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.887
35	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.874
36	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.871
37	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.861
38	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.859
39	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.857
40	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	0.853
41	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.849
42	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.848
43	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	0.847
44	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	0.846
45	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.843
46	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.840
=47	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.839
=47	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.839
=49	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.838
=49	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.838
51	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.837
52	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.836
53	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.833
54	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	0.829
55	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.823
56	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.822
57	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.820
58	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.814
59	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.813
=60	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.812
=60	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.812
=62	Colombia`COL`South America	0.810
=62	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.810
64	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.799
65	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.798
66	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	0.793
67	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.778
68	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.777
=69	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.771
=69	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.771
71	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	0.766
72	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.765
73	Peru`PER`South America	0.763
=74	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.756
=74	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.756
=76	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.754
=76	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.754
78	Paraguay`PRY`South America	0.751
79	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.748
80	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.744
81	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.743
82	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.736
83	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.732
84	United States`USA`Northern America	0.729
85	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.728
86	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.724
87	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.706
88	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.695
89	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.691
90	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.688
=91	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.687
=91	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.687
93	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.682
94	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.681
95	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.680
=96	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.676
=96	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.676
98	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.673
99	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.664
=100	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	0.653
=100	Somaliland`XSL`Eastern Africa	0.653
102	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.652
103	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	0.635
104	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.628
=105	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.619
=105	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.619
107	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.613
108	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.599
109	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.587
110	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.586
=111	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.579
=111	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.579
113	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.571
114	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.560
115	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.559
116	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.556
=117	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.552
=117	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.552
119	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.536
=120	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.532
=120	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.532
122	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.527
123	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.518
124	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.498
125	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.497
126	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.493
127	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.490
128	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.469
129	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.458
130	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.432
131	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.427
132	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.424
133	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.418
134	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.414
135	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	0.400
136	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.373
137	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.367
138	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.358
139	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.356
140	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.336
141	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.329
142	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.289
143	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.285
144	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.261
145	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.234
146	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	0.227
147	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.219
=148	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.179
=148	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.179
150	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.172
151	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.170
152	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.166
153	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.164
154	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	0.155
155	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.153
156	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.151
157	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.148
158	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.113
159	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.112
160	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.102
=161	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.092
=161	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.092
163	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.080
164	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.074
165	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.063
166	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.055
167	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.045
168	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.043
169	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.038
170	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.032
171	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.026
172	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.025
173	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.024
174	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.022
175	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.018
176	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.013

02In 2025

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Denmark0.980
2Ireland0.970
3Belgiumshared0.969
3Estoniashared0.969
5Switzerland0.967

Lowest

176North Korea0.013
175Nicaragua0.018
174Afghanistan0.022
173Eritrea0.024
172Belarus0.025

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.693. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032024 → 2025

Since 2024

What changed between 2024 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
150values changed, of 176 in both
58 · 92rose · fell
26unchanged

Rose most

Syria0.070 → 0.358+0.288
Mauritius0.621 → 0.887+0.266
South Korea0.782 → 0.933+0.151
Bangladesh0.444 → 0.527+0.083
Mongolia0.694 → 0.771+0.077

Fell most

United States0.904 → 0.729−0.175
Tanzania0.683 → 0.552−0.131
Mali0.589 → 0.490−0.099
Burkina Faso0.348 → 0.261−0.087
United Kingdom0.915 → 0.833−0.082

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 2025.
154 distinct values among 176
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 2 countries share 0.969. 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-2025-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 (2025). Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2025 [data set], describing 2025. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/freedom-of-expression/2025

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2024
176 countries
The year after ›
This is the newest year. A newer one will get its own page at its own address; this one is never rewritten.
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, 2025: questions and answers

Which country has the highest freedom of expression in Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2025?

Denmark, at 0.980, of the 176 countries in the file.

What year does Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2025 describe?

2025.

How many countries does Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2025 cover?

176.

Where can I download Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information Index, 2025?

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, 2025 the newest?

Yes, as of 2026-09-26, when it was read from the publisher.

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