Activists are detained by law enforcement outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building during a protest opposing US ICE operations, in Minneapolis.
Image: Kerem Yucel / AFP
Freedom in the United States has fallen to its lowest level in more than half a century, a pro-democracy research group revealed on Wednesday, attributing the decline to a growing concentration of executive power under President Donald Trump.
Washington-based Freedom House said that freedom eroded around the world in 2025 for the 20th straight year, in what it called a "grim milestone."
The United States remained rated free but fell to 81 points out of 100, its lowest score since the report was launched to cover the year 1972.
The score put the United States at the same level as South Africa and below a number of US European allies as well as South Korea and Panama.
Freedom House said the US decline was due to "both legislative dysfunction and executive dominance, growing pressure on people's ability to engage in free expression, and efforts by the new administration to undermine anticorruption safeguards."
Trump has aggressively asserted his power as president, ordering the closure of entire government agencies and deploying armed, masked anti-immigration agents around the country, with the White House promising them impunity.
The United States declined by three points, a drop only experienced by one other "free" country, Bulgaria, where 2024 elections were marred by allegations of fraud.
South Africa is classified as a “Free” country in the Freedom House Freedom in the World index, with an overall score of 81 out of 100. This places it in the upper tier of global democracies, alongside countries such as South Korea, and ahead of many nations in Africa and other regions.
The score is made up of two components: Political Rights (34/40) and Civil Liberties (47/60). Political rights reflect how fairly elections are conducted, how competitive the political system is, and the strength of democratic institutions. South Africa scores relatively strongly here due to regular multiparty elections, an active opposition landscape, and an independent judiciary. However, concerns remain around governance efficiency, corruption, and uneven political accountability, which prevent a higher score.
Civil liberties measure everyday freedoms such as freedom of expression, media independence, association, and the rule of law. South Africa performs well in this category, with a strong constitutional framework and an active civil society. However, persistent issues such as high levels of crime, inequality, and pressures on state institutions contribute to deductions. Overall, the score reflects a stable but challenged democracy rather than a deteriorating one.
Overall, only 21 percent of people live in countries rated as "free," with much of the slip in Africa due to military coups, violence against protesters and the weakening of constitutional protections, Freedom House said.
Over the past two decades worldwide, "many more have fallen into the 'not free' category than have democratized or moved up to that free category," said Cathryn Grothe, a senior research analyst at Freedom House who co-authored the report.
"The world is getting less and less free and that middle area is shrinking, and then the free countries are staying relatively stable" despite the US score decline, she said.
On a positive note, three countries were upgraded to "free" from "partly free" -- Bolivia and Malawi, which both held competitive elections, and Fiji, which strengthened the rule of law.
The only country to receive a perfect 100 score was Finland, while only South Sudan was rated 0.
The biggest decline in score was in Guinea-Bissau, where the military last year seized power and suspended an election process days after voting.
Freedom House, founded in 1941 with bipartisan US support, is independently administered but historically has received US government funding, which was sharply reduced by Trump as he slashes efforts at democracy promotion.
The Freedom House Freedom Index is an annual global assessment that measures the level of political rights and civil liberties in countries around the world. Each country is scored on a scale from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater levels of freedom.
The index evaluates a wide range of indicators, including the fairness of elections, political participation, freedom of expression and assembly, and the strength of the rule of law. These factors are grouped into two main categories: political rights and civil liberties.
Based on the total score, countries are then classified as “Free,” “Partly Free,” or “Not Free.” This allows for comparison between countries as well as tracking changes in democratic freedoms over time.
IOL & AFP
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