Freedom and Rights

An important aspect of responsible and ethical travel is an awareness of your destination country's record on political and economic freedoms, civil and political rights, and corruption and press censorship. Here we have amalgamated data from a range of indices produced by different worldwide organisations - Freedom in the World by Freedom House, the Democracy Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the Index of Economic Freedom by the Heritage Foundation, the Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, ILGA LGBT rights by the International Lesbian Gay Association and the Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International (see more details). The range of indices by organisations with different philosophies and perspectives allows us to provide a broad overview of the status of a country and its governing regime - however this is just a snapshot and not a thorough analysis of freedom and rights. This is not intended to deter you from travelling to any specific country, rather a resource to help inform your decision.

Data Sources

	Freedom in the World Freedom in the World, Freedom House’s flagship publication, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. Published annually since 1972, the survey ratings and narrative reports on 195 countries and 14 related and disputed territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. Year of Report: 2015     Countries and Territories Profiled: 200 Classifications: Free (1 to 3), Partly Free (3 to 5), Not Free (5 to 7)
	Democracy Index The Democracy Index is produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit and is intended to provide a snapshot of democracy worldwide across 165 states. It is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Countries are placed within one of four types of regimes: full democracies; flawed democracies; hybrid regimes; and authoritarian regimes. Year of Report: 2014     Countries and Territories Profiled: 167 Classifications: Full democracy (8 to 10), Flawed democracy (6 to 8), Hybrid regime (4 to 6), Authoritarian regime (<4)
	Index of Economic Freedom For over a decade, The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation, Washington's preeminent think tank, have tracked the march of economic freedom around the world with the influential Index of Economic Freedom. Since 1995, the Index has brought Adam Smith's theories about liberty, prosperity and economic freedom to life by creating 10 benchmarks that gauge the economic success of 185 countries around the world, covering 10 freedoms from property rights to entrepreneurship. Year of Report: 2015     Countries and Territories Profiled: 178 Classifications: Free (80 to 100), Mostly Free (70 to 80), Moderately Free (60 to 70), Mostly Unfree (50 to 60), Repressed (<50)
	Press Freedom Index The Reporters Without Borders index, which is published each year, measures the state of media freedom throughout the world. It reflects the degree of freedom that journalists, news media and netizens enjoy in each country, and the efforts made by the authorities to respect and ensure respect for this freedom. It asks questions about every kind of violation directly affecting journalists, netizens and news media and the degree of impunity enjoyed by those responsible for these violations. Year of Report: 2015     Countries and Territories Profiled: 178 Classifications: Good situation (1 to 10), Satisfactory situation (10 to 25), Noticeable problems (25 to 35), Difficult situation (35 to 50), Very serious situation (>50)
	ILGA LGBT rights The ILGA Report on State-Sponsored Homophobia is a comprehensive outline of the legal status of same-sex sexual activity in countries across the world. In addition to core legal issues, it addresses issues around same-sex marriage and adoption, the prohibition of discrimination in employment and constitutionally and issues around hate crimes and incitement to hatred. Year of Report: 2015     Countries and Territories Profiled: 200 Classifications: Broad rights (7 to 10), Some rights (4 to 7), Limited rights (0 to 4), No rights (0 to -2), Extreme discrimination (-2 to -5)
	Corruption Perceptions Index The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) from Transparency International ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. It is a composite index – a combination of polls – drawing on corruption-related data collected by a variety of reputable institutions. The CPI reflects the views of observers from around the world, including experts living and working in the countries and territories evaluated. Year of Report: 2014     Countries and Territories Profiled: 175 Classifications: Low corruption (50 to 100), Medium corruption (30 to 50), High corruption (<30)