Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Creeping authoritarianism is leading to a gradual erosion of liberty around the world, as Freedom House has catalogued year after year.
The flipside: Another annual study, from Gallup, indicates that people are actually becoming more satisfied with the freedom they feel in their own lives.
Here's how the world's biggest economic powers rank, from most to least satisfied with levels of freedom :
- Canada: 94% ("Free," per Freedom House)
- USA: 87% ("Free")
- India: 86% ("Free")
- China: 85% ("Not Free")
- Germany: 83% ("Free")
- France: 83% ("Free")
- U.K.: 81% ("Free")
- Japan: 77% ("Free")
- Brazil: 76% ("Free")
- Russia: 69% ("Not Free")
- Italy: 63% ("Free")
The least satisfied countries were Afghanistan ("Not Free"), Greece ( "Free"), Algeria ("Not Free"), and South Sudan ("Not Free").
Worth noting: Gallup notes that "social desirability to answer this question positively" and "fear about how a negative answer might be interpreted" could influence responses (hence why Uzbekistan and Cambodia join the likes of Denmark and Canada among the most satisfied countries).