TheIndex of Freedom in the World is an index ofcivil liberties published in late 2012 by Canada'sFraser Institute, Germany's Liberales Institut, and the U.S.Cato Institute.[1] The index is the predecessor of theHuman Freedom Index, which has been published annually since 2015. The coauthors of both indexes are Ian Vásquez and Tanja Porčnik (née Štumberger).
The index is based on measures offreedom of speech,freedom of religion,individual economic choice,freedom of association,freedom of assembly,violence andcrimes,freedom of movement, andwomen's rights. Other components of the Freedom Index includehuman trafficking,sexual violence,female genital mutilation, andhomicide.[2]
The index rates countries on a scale from 10 (freest) to 0 (least free). In 2012, the freest countries/regions wereNew Zealand (8.88),Switzerland (8.82), andHong Kong SAR, (8.81). Least free wereSyria (3.79),Venezuela (3.80), andYemen (4.30).[3] The components on which the index is based can be divided into economic freedoms and other personal freedoms. Highest ranking ineconomic freedoms wereHong Kong (8.91) andSingapore (8.71). Highest ranking inpersonal freedoms were U.S.A. (9.45) and theNetherlands (9.28).[3]
The Freedom Index does not measuredemocracy, but it does measure freedom of speech and media, press killings, political imprisonment, etc. According to the report, democracy may be the form of government that best protects freedom, but democracy may both increase and reduce freedom. Nevertheless, democracy strongly correlates with freedom (7.9), as measured by the Economist Intelligence Unit'sDemocracy Index and the Freedom Index.[3]
The Freedom Index is included as part of the bookTowards a Worldwide Index of Human Freedom, written by 13 academics and economists from Canada (Fraser Institute), the United States (Cato Institute,Emory University), Germany (Liberales Institut,Goethe University Frankfurt), and Russia (Institute of Economic Analysis). Among other claims, the report argues that the criminalization of and the war on drugs have restricted many components of freedom.[2]
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