The State of World Liberty Index was a combination of indices compiled originally in 2006. Since then, I've periodically updated the index. My methodology is similar to the original with the following exceptions: I use only the civil liberties portion of the Freedom House, economic liberty (Fraser/Heritage) is weighted evenly with social liberty, and the Reporters without Borders Press Freedom Scores are of equal weight to each of the Freedom House Civil Liberties sub-components. All changes are done with the purpose of creating the most accurate relative ranking of countries by the degree of liberty (economic and social) enjoyed by the average individual within the polity. Where data is available, territories or colonies (e.g. Hong Kong) are included.
2014 Freedom by Quintile. Colors represent countries grouped by quintiles in order of Blue (top 20%), Green (20-40%), Yellow (40-60%), Orange (60-80%), and Red (80-100%).
2014 Most Free Countries:
1. Liechtenstein
2. New Zealand
3. Switzerland
3. Hong Kong
5. Canada
5. Finland
7. Australia
8. Denmark
8. Luxembourg
10. Netherlands
10. Ireland
10. Norway
10. Sweden
10. Estonia
2014 Most Tyrannical States:
1. North Korea
2. Somalia
3. Syria
4. Eritrea
5. Cuba
6. Turkmenistan
7. Uzbekistan
8. Iran
8. Zimbabwe
8. Central African Republic
8. Democratic Republic of Congo
8. Myanmar
2014 Greatest Increases in Liberty:
1. Cote d'Ivoire
2. Tunisia
2. Lesotho
4. Georgia
5. Guyana
5. Colombia
7. Ecuador
8. Senegal
8. Mauritania
8. Mali
2014 Greatest Increases in Tyranny:
1. Central African Republic
2. Tajikistan
2. Guatemala
2. Argentina
5. Kuwait
5. Kenya
7. Montenegro
7. Vanuatu
9. Swaziland
10. Yemen
10. Cabo Verde