According to a new report by the international human rights organization Freedom House, the level of global freedom in the world is decreasing for the 20th year in a row. Against the background of the general decline of democratic indicators in the South Caucasus and neighboring regions, Armenia has maintained its previous positions, remaining among the “partially free” countries.

In the report “Freedom in the World 2026: The Growing Shadow of Autocracy” published by the organization on March 19, it is noted that during the past year, political rights and civil liberties have deteriorated in 54 countries, and only 35 countries have registered a positive shift. Armenia earned 54 points out of 100 possible, repeating last year’s result. In addition, from the point of view of Internet freedom, the experts ranked the country among the free states, evaluating it with 72 points.

Neighboring Georgia also kept its place in the group of “partially free” countries, but its ranking decreased by 4 points compared to last year, reaching 51. The authors of the report attribute this decline to the harsh response of the authorities to the anti-government demonstrations that started in 2024 and continued throughout 2025. Human rights activists highlight the disproportionate use of force by the police, as well as the repression of opponents and civil society by the ruling Georgian Dream party, through physical attacks and new restrictive laws.

Other countries of the region appeared in the list of “not free” states. Azerbaijan’s index decreased from 7 to 6 points within a year. According to Freedom House analysts, the country’s index has fallen from 33 to 6 over the past two decades, following President Ilham Aliyev’s consolidation of authoritarian rule since 2003, and the elimination of an independent judiciary and media. The report notes that the country’s leadership is actively using state resources, including the oil sector, to maintain patronage and corruption networks and fund pro-government media, while deploying a heavy-handed crackdown by security forces to silence any dissent.

Traditionally, Turkey and Iran have also been included in the rating table of “not free” countries, receiving 32 and 10 points, respectively, from the experts.

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