Which countries protect private civil liberties best?

Every country ranked by the V-Dem private civil liberties index for 2024 (179 countries, 0–1 scale).

Rank	Country	Score	1y change	10y change
1	Spain	0.948	+0.002	−0.009
2	Sweden	0.947	±0.000	−0.023
3	Estonia	0.944	−0.010	−0.006
4	New Zealand	0.944	−0.004	−0.004
5	Czechia	0.942	±0.000	+0.008
6	Denmark	0.939	±0.000	−0.005
7	Germany	0.936	−0.015	−0.028
8	Iceland	0.935	−0.008	−0.001
9	Luxembourg	0.935	±0.000	−0.006
10	Ireland	0.934	±0.000	−0.003
11	Belgium	0.933	±0.000	−0.023
12	Taiwan	0.931	±0.000	−0.013
13	Chile	0.931	±0.000	−0.024
14	Finland	0.931	±0.000	−0.027
15	Croatia	0.929	−0.001	−0.004
16	Latvia	0.927	±0.000	−0.018
17	Malta	0.926	+0.006	+0.030
18	Japan	0.920	±0.000	−0.012
19	Benin	0.918	+0.004	+0.019
20	Switzerland	0.917	±0.000	−0.005
21	Slovakia	0.917	−0.010	−0.022
22	Italy	0.916	±0.000	−0.020
23	Albania	0.915	+0.005	+0.005
24	Cape Verde	0.915	±0.000	+0.007
25	Costa Rica	0.914	±0.000	−0.025
26	Barbados	0.912	±0.000	+0.001
27	Sao Tome and Principe	0.910	±0.000	±0.000
28	Uruguay	0.907	−0.016	−0.017
29	Poland	0.905	+0.008	−0.024
30	Slovenia	0.905	±0.000	−0.023
31	South Korea	0.904	+0.001	+0.002
32	Ghana	0.903	±0.000	−0.016
33	Suriname	0.902	+0.006	+0.024
34	Jamaica	0.902	±0.000	−0.008
35	Lithuania	0.902	−0.003	−0.038
36	Moldova	0.900	+0.004	+0.049
37	Seychelles	0.899	±0.000	+0.106
38	Australia	0.896	±0.000	−0.019
39	Norway	0.896	±0.000	−0.068
40	The Gambia	0.895	±0.000	+0.320
41	Austria	0.894	+0.010	−0.045
42	Hungary	0.890	−0.004	−0.025
43	Namibia	0.886	+0.045	+0.045
44	Netherlands	0.883	±0.000	−0.032
45	United States of America	0.882	−0.009	−0.048
46	Panama	0.872	+0.011	−0.026
47	Honduras	0.871	±0.000	+0.020
48	Argentina	0.870	−0.040	−0.057
49	Georgia	0.869	−0.010	+0.003
50	Greece	0.867	−0.031	−0.061
51	France	0.866	±0.000	−0.063
52	Montenegro	0.865	±0.000	−0.045
53	Sierra Leone	0.864	+0.030	+0.005
54	Brazil	0.862	−0.004	−0.059
55	South Africa	0.861	+0.014	−0.014
56	Bulgaria	0.852	−0.056	−0.043
57	Canada	0.850	±0.000	−0.075
58	Trinidad and Tobago	0.849	±0.000	−0.012
59	Portugal	0.848	−0.051	−0.110
60	Gabon	0.846	+0.016	+0.002
61	Cyprus	0.844	+0.016	−0.006
62	Romania	0.844	−0.018	−0.072
63	Liberia	0.843	±0.000	−0.027
64	Zambia	0.842	−0.026	+0.108
65	United Kingdom	0.841	−0.003	−0.015
66	Ecuador	0.837	−0.006	−0.052
67	Peru	0.832	−0.023	−0.030
68	Senegal	0.832	−0.037	+0.005
69	Serbia	0.832	−0.013	−0.072
70	Nigeria	0.831	−0.028	+0.024
71	Lesotho	0.831	−0.002	−0.017
72	Armenia	0.826	−0.024	−0.050
73	Dominican Republic	0.825	−0.037	−0.023
74	Guinea-Bissau	0.825	−0.004	+0.018
75	Botswana	0.818	+0.013	−0.061
76	Timor-Leste	0.818	+0.034	−0.019
77	Guyana	0.815	±0.000	−0.063
78	North Macedonia	0.815	±0.000	+0.016
79	Vanuatu	0.811	±0.000	+0.005
80	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.810	−0.019	−0.083
81	Solomon Islands	0.810	±0.000	+0.071
82	Israel	0.806	±0.000	+0.006
83	Mongolia	0.801	−0.008	−0.087
84	Niger	0.799	+0.044	+0.065
85	Malawi	0.795	−0.011	−0.046
86	Papua New Guinea	0.791	±0.000	−0.023
87	Bolivia	0.789	−0.040	−0.023
88	Mauritius	0.780	±0.000	−0.091
89	Tanzania	0.778	±0.000	+0.070
90	Sri Lanka	0.766	−0.044	+0.034
91	Colombia	0.765	−0.071	−0.050
92	Paraguay	0.761	−0.011	−0.092
93	Togo	0.757	−0.022	−0.082
94	Philippines	0.753	+0.039	−0.048
95	Guatemala	0.748	−0.010	+0.007
96	Madagascar	0.745	±0.000	+0.015
97	Ivory Coast	0.729	+0.001	−0.091
98	Kenya	0.728	+0.002	+0.037
99	Cameroon	0.727	+0.002	−0.114
100	Mexico	0.726	−0.093	−0.046
101	Hong Kong	0.716	−0.008	−0.184
102	Kyrgyzstan	0.714	+0.011	+0.015
103	Fiji	0.714	+0.019	−0.039
104	Tunisia	0.694	−0.043	−0.081
105	Jordan	0.690	±0.000	+0.009
106	Burkina Faso	0.679	−0.018	−0.165
107	Kosovo	0.676	−0.026	+0.002
108	Mali	0.672	−0.018	−0.090
109	Indonesia	0.666	−0.065	−0.089
110	India	0.664	+0.045	−0.072
111	Lebanon	0.662	−0.002	−0.035
112	Nepal	0.661	−0.031	−0.067
113	Zanzibar	0.660	+0.007	−0.054
114	Malaysia	0.659	−0.020	+0.060
115	Singapore	0.657	±0.000	−0.044
116	Bhutan	0.639	−0.011	−0.060
117	Bangladesh	0.638	−0.032	−0.043
118	Kazakhstan	0.635	+0.006	+0.036
119	El Salvador	0.634	+0.076	−0.201
120	Zimbabwe	0.626	−0.015	−0.131
121	Mozambique	0.612	−0.043	−0.185
122	Maldives	0.603	+0.062	+0.088
123	Venezuela	0.601	+0.010	−0.142
124	Angola	0.587	−0.003	+0.006
125	Iraq	0.579	+0.002	+0.030
126	Somaliland	0.576	±0.000	−0.058
127	Vietnam	0.575	+0.150	+0.063
128	Morocco	0.557	±0.000	+0.022
129	Thailand	0.553	+0.014	−0.158
130	Comoros	0.541	±0.000	−0.025
131	Ukraine	0.536	−0.095	−0.241
132	Haiti	0.528	±0.000	−0.141
133	Pakistan	0.499	+0.071	±0.000
134	Kuwait	0.498	−0.060	−0.027
135	Uganda	0.494	+0.037	−0.205
136	Burundi	0.488	+0.006	+0.097
137	Republic of the Congo	0.488	+0.004	+0.053
138	Chad	0.486	−0.029	−0.069
139	Türkiye	0.465	+0.016	−0.119
140	Russia	0.455	−0.048	−0.231
141	Belarus	0.455	+0.010	−0.274
142	Palestine/West Bank	0.455	−0.064	−0.035
143	Oman	0.439	±0.000	−0.032
144	Algeria	0.433	−0.016	−0.126
145	Cambodia	0.432	−0.018	−0.098
146	Democratic Republic of the Congo	0.411	−0.008	−0.007
147	Central African Republic	0.408	−0.028	+0.070
148	Mauritania	0.402	−0.070	−0.065
149	Eswatini	0.399	+0.012	+0.120
150	Egypt	0.388	+0.035	+0.113
151	Djibouti	0.387	±0.000	−0.066
152	Azerbaijan	0.367	−0.089	−0.227
153	Bahrain	0.366	±0.000	+0.094
154	Uzbekistan	0.360	±0.000	+0.220
155	Iran	0.352	+0.050	+0.008
156	Tajikistan	0.345	+0.047	−0.085
157	Cuba	0.308	±0.000	−0.015
158	Guinea	0.305	+0.014	−0.249
159	Libya	0.291	+0.020	−0.057
160	Ethiopia	0.287	−0.106	−0.205
161	Somalia	0.287	±0.000	+0.073
162	United Arab Emirates	0.283	−0.007	−0.003
163	Equatorial Guinea	0.278	±0.000	−0.022
164	Laos	0.222	+0.024	+0.072
165	Saudi Arabia	0.205	+0.013	+0.074
166	South Sudan	0.203	±0.000	+0.009
167	Yemen	0.193	+0.006	−0.004
168	Syria	0.188	+0.035	+0.060
169	Nicaragua	0.181	−0.006	−0.630
170	Qatar	0.168	±0.000	−0.142
171	Rwanda	0.161	−0.003	−0.450
172	China	0.147	+0.038	−0.048
173	Sudan	0.141	−0.115	+0.071
174	Burma/Myanmar	0.137	−0.003	−0.119
175	Palestine/Gaza	0.078	−0.129	−0.241
176	Turkmenistan	0.069	−0.002	+0.006
177	Afghanistan	0.029	−0.014	−0.470
178	Eritrea	0.006	−0.006	−0.004
179	North Korea	0.001	±0.000	±0.000

Frequently asked questions

Spain ranks #1 of 179 countries on the V-Dem private civil liberties index in 2024, with the highest score of 0.948 on a 0–1 scale.

What are the top 3 countries for private civil liberties in 2024?

In 2024, the top three of 179 ranked countries are Spain (0.948), Sweden (0.947), and Estonia (0.944).

Which country ranks last on private civil liberties in 2024?

North Korea ranks #179 of 179 with a score of 0.001.

Which country changed most on private civil liberties over the last decade?

Nicaragua shows the largest 10-year shift: its score declined by 0.630 points over the past decade, standing at 0.181 (rank #169) in 2024.

How is the private civil liberties index measured?

The index comes from the V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) project and runs from 0 to 1. Higher scores are better. The 2024 edition covers 179 countries.