There is a respected report that is released every year about the level of freedom in countries around the world, and this year it could deliver a very surprising result for the United States.
Normally, most Americans would not pay much attention to something like this. Every year, an organization called Freedom House publishes a detailed report that measures how free countries are across the globe. The organization has existed since 1941 and is widely respected for its research on democracy, political rights, and civil liberties.
The report usually includes a long written analysis explaining the global situation, along with a very popular interactive map that shows the freedom score of every country. Each nation is given a score based on different factors, including political rights, civil liberties, elections, freedom of speech, and the rule of law. Countries are then placed into three groups. A country is considered “free” if it scores between 70 and 100. Nations that score between 40 and 69 are labeled “partly free.” Any country that scores between 0 and 39 is classified as “not free.”
This report has been published since 1972, and for decades the United States has always been placed firmly in the “free” category. In the most recent report released in 2025, which looked at events from the year 2024, the United States received a score of 84. That is not the very top of the rankings, but it is still considered strong. Some countries scored higher, including Sweden with 99 points, Canada with 97, and the United Kingdom with 92.
Even though the United States remained in the “free” category, its score has slowly declined over time. In 2006, when Freedom House first introduced the current 100-point scoring system, the United States received a score of 93. Since then, the number has gradually dropped as political tensions and other issues have increased.
Now the new report is about to be released, and it will examine what happened during 2025. Anyone paying attention to the political situation over the past year knows that a lot has changed. There have been major controversies involving the use of federal law enforcement, concerns about how the justice system is being used, and accusations that government power is being applied in ways that critics believe threaten democratic norms.
Some critics argue that federal authorities have taken aggressive actions that they believe target ordinary people unfairly. Others say the Justice Department has become too closely tied to the president and is no longer acting as an independent institution. There are also accusations that political leaders are using their positions to enrich themselves financially in ways that critics say resemble the behavior of corrupt leaders in other parts of the world.
Because of these developments, some observers are now asking a question that would have seemed almost impossible a few years ago. Could the United States actually lose its status as a fully “free” country in this year’s report and instead be classified as “partly free”?
No one knows yet what the final score will be. But the fact that this question is even being discussed is unsettling for many people. The United States is often described as the world’s oldest modern democracy, and the country is preparing to celebrate its 250th anniversary this July. For a nation with such a long democratic tradition, even the possibility of slipping down the rankings is deeply concerning.
To get a better sense of what might happen, it helps to look at how Freedom House described the United States in last year’s report. The report said that the country is a federal republic where citizens benefit from a lively political system, strong legal traditions, freedom of expression and religion, and a wide range of civil liberties. However, it also warned that democratic institutions have been weakening in recent years.
The report pointed to growing political polarization, increasing extremism, pressure on election processes, problems within the criminal justice and immigration systems, and widening gaps in wealth and political influence. All of these factors, the report suggested, were putting stress on the country’s democratic foundations.
What makes the upcoming report particularly interesting is how the United States might compare with countries that are currently labeled “partly free.” Some of those countries scored just below the “free” threshold, often receiving scores in the mid-60s.
For example, the Dominican Republic received a score of 68. Its report noted that the country holds elections that are generally free, but corruption within state institutions remains widespread. There are also concerns about police using excessive force and ongoing discrimination against certain minority groups.
Bolivia received a score of 65. In that country, problems such as violence against women, child labor, harassment of investigative journalists, and a politicized judicial system have raised serious concerns about democratic standards.
Hungary, which also scored 65, has faced criticism because its government has gradually changed laws and institutions in ways that critics say strengthen the ruling party’s control over the country. Independent institutions, including parts of the media and the judiciary, have been weakened.
Further down the scale is Serbia, which scored 56. It still holds competitive elections, but its government has been accused of pressuring the media, weakening civil society groups, and eroding political freedoms.
When you read the descriptions of these “partly free” countries, some analysts say the concerns listed there—such as corruption, pressure on institutions, attacks on the media, and political polarization—are issues that critics increasingly see inside the United States as well.
The final outcome of the new report is still unknown. It is possible that the United States will remain in the “free” category but with a lower score, perhaps somewhere in the 70s. Some of the criteria used in the report might still work in America’s favor. For example, two of the most important questions in the evaluation ask whether the head of government and national legislators were chosen through free and fair elections. At this point, the answer to both questions appears to be yes.
However, other questions used in the scoring system may raise concerns. These include whether strong protections exist against government corruption, whether the government operates transparently, whether people are protected from the misuse of force by authorities, and whether laws ensure equal treatment for all groups within society.
Another democracy ranking released earlier this year by The Century Foundation showed how quickly perceptions can change. Its “Democracy Meter” gave the United States a score of 79 out of 100 for 2024. But when the organization released its assessment for 2025 in January, the score had fallen dramatically to 57.
Whether the new Freedom House score ends up being 77, 71, or even lower, many observers say the larger issue is already clear. Over the past several years, many Americans have felt that the country’s democratic system is under increasing pressure.
For decades, supporters of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team used to say the hopeful phrase “wait till next year,” believing that better times were coming. Today, some supporters of American democracy say the same words, but with a very different feeling. Instead of hope, many now say it with anxiety about what the future might hold.
