FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2023 Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy The policy blunders committed by Moscow and Beijing demonstrate that the fallibility of authoritarian governments, and not just their malice, can take an incredibly large toll on human life. Corruption, criminality, and feckless leadership have made the Russian army far more deadly to soldiers and civilians on both sides of the front line, despite the force’s failure to achieve stated war aims. Similarly, the Chinese government’s botched reversal of its procrustean COVID-19 policies may prove even more destructive than the years of brutal lockdowns themselves. Authoritarian shortcomings must be assessed with clear eyes. These regimes are unlikely to govern more effectively than democracies, but their errors are part of what makes them so dangerous. LARGEST 10-YEAR DECLINES Dramatic declines in freedom have been observed in every region of the world. Libya Nicaragua South Sudan Tanzania Turkey Central African Republic Venezuela Benin Burkina Faso Egypt Thailand Hungary El Salvador Burundi Afghanistan Serbia Myanmar Tajikistan Bangladesh Nauru Yemen Azerbaijan Gabon Mozambique Comoros Congo (Brazzaville) Haiti Kyrgyzstan Poland Russia Bosnia and Herzegovina India United States -33 -32 -30 -30 -29 -28 -24 -23 -23 -23 -23 -22 -21 -20 -19 -18 -17 -17 -16 -16 -16 -14 -14 -14 -13 -12 -12 -12 -12 -11 -10 -10 -10 FREE PARTLY FREE NOT FREE -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 Decline in Aggregate Score 12 @ FreedomHouse #FreedomInTheWorld