TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan was ranked the eighth-freest country in the world and the second-freest in Asia, in Freedom House’s latest report on global freedom.
In the Freedom in the World 2026 report released on Thursday, Taiwan is in a four-way tie for the eighth freest in the world with Andorra, the Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu. Taiwan dropped one spot from last year to receive a score of 93 out of 100, making it the second-freest country in Asia, trailing only Japan at 96.
In Freedom House's evaluation of Taiwan, the country again scored 38 out of 40 for political rights. However, it declined one point to 55 out of 60 for civil liberties.
Finland was ranked first, Norway, New Zealand, and Sweden tied for second, and Ireland came in third. On the other end of the spectrum, China ranked as the 9th least free country with a score of 9 and a minus 2 for political rights, 11 for civil liberties, and a "not free" classification.
Taiwan scored 79 out of 100 for internet freedom, holding steady with its score last year, putting it in seventh, behind the Netherlands and ahead of Japan. Estonia was second, and Iceland took the top spot with a score of 94.
Freedom House rated Taiwan's protection of civil liberties as "generally robust." However, it noted that ongoing concerns include inadequate measures to protect migrant workers from exploitation, as well as insufficient efforts to counter the Chinese government's attempts to influence policymaking, media, and democratic infrastructure.
The report mentions that global freedom declined for the 20th consecutive year in 2025. People in 54 countries faced reductions in political rights and civil liberties, while only 35 countries showed improvements.
It said that overall, only 21% of the population lives in countries rated “free.” Africa experienced the most significant decline in scores due to military coups, violence against protesters, and attempts to undermine constitutional guarantees.
The report evaluates 195 countries and 13 territories and uses local people's access to political rights and civil liberties as the key indicators. The sources for the report include on-the-ground research, local contacts, news articles, nongovernmental organizations, and governments, among others.
