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Freedom in Africa 2005
 

africa_freedom_2005.gif

Table of African Countries*
Comparative Measures of Freedom
(Countries highlighted in yellow are designated as "Electoral Democracies" by Freedom House)
 
 up or down indicates a change in Political Rights, Civil Liberties, or Status since the last survey. In the Table, click on the number preceding the arrow for an explanation of the rating and/or status change in the selected country. A rating of 1 represents the most free and 7 the least free rating.
 
 Trend Arrows indicate general positive or negative trends since the previous survey that are not necessarily reflected in the raw points and do not warrant a ratings change.
 

Country

Political Rights

Civil Liberties

Status

Angola

6

5

Not Free

Benin

2

2

Free

Botswana

2

2

Free

Burkina Faso

   56

4

Partly Free

Burundi

5

5

Partly Free

Cameroon

6

6

Not Free

Cape Verde

1

1

Free

Central African Rep.

   65

5

Not Free

Chad

6

5

Not Free

Comoros

   45

4

Partly Free

Congo-Brazzaville

5

4

Partly Free

Congo-Kinshasa

6

6

Not Free

Côte d'Ivoire

6

   66

Not Free

Djibouti

5

5

Partly Free

Equatorial Guinea

7

6

Not Free

Eritrea

7

6

Not Free

Ethiopia

5

5

Partly Free

Gabon

5

4

Partly Free

The Gambia

4

4

Partly Free

Ghana

2

2

Free

Guinea

6

5

Not Free

Guinea-Bissau

   45

4

Partly Free

Kenya

3

3

Partly Free

Lesotho

2

3

Free

Liberia

   55

   45

Partly Free5

Madagascar

3

3

Partly Free

Malawi

   46

4

Partly Free

Mali

2

2

Free

Mauritania

6

5

Not Free

Mauritius

1

   15

Free

Mozambique

3

4

Partly Free

Namibia

2

3

Free

Niger

   35

   35

Partly Free

Nigeria

4

4

Partly Free

Rwanda

6

5

Not Free

São Tomé & Príncipe

2

2

Free

Senegal

2

3

Free

Seychelles

3

3

Partly Free

Sierra Leone

4

3

Partly Free

Somalia

6

7

Not Free

South Africa

1

2

Free

Sudan

7

7

Not Free

Swaziland

7

5

Not Free

Tanzania

4

3

Partly Free

Togo

6

5

Not Free

Uganda

5

4

Partly Free

Zambia

4

4

Partly Free

Zimbabwe

    76

6

Not Free

*The ratings in this table reflect global events from 1 December 2003 through 30 November 2004.
 
Criteria for designation as an Electoral Democracy
1. A competitive, multiparty political system.
2. Universal adult suffrage for all citizens (with exceptions for restrictions that states may legitimately place on citizens as sanctions for criminal offenses).
3. Regularly contested elections conducted in conditions of ballot secrecy, reasonable ballot security, and the absence of massive voter fraud that yields results that are unrepresentative of the public will.
4. Significant public access of major political parties to the electorate through the media and through generally open political campaigning.
 
Status and Ratings Changes, Trend Arrow Explanations
Burkina Faso: Political Rights declined (from 4 to 5) due to an increase in corruption and reports of illegal arms trafficking.
Central African Republic: Political Rights improved (from 7 to 6) as a result of increased political activism in preparation for democratic elections in 2005.
Comoros: Political Rights improved (from 5 to 4) as a result of increased political contestation in its National Assembly. The nation was also designated as an electoral democracy in this survey.
Côte d'Ivoire: Civil Liberties decreased (from 5 to 6) due to the deterioration in security and civil freedoms resulting from an upsurge in hostilities emulating from an unresolved civil conflict.
Guinea-Bissau: Political Rights improved (from 6 to 4) as a result of legislative elections that international observers pronounced as largely free and fair.
Liberia: Both Political Rights and Civil Liberties improved (Political Rights from 6 to 5; Civil Liberties from 6 to 4) as a result of greater political freedom that developed through the establishment of a broad-based, transitional government. These improvements were significant enough to improve the nation’s status from "Not Free" to "Partly Free".
Malawi: Political Rights declined (from 3 to 4) due to flawed political elections.
Mauritius: The country further increased its Civil Liberties score (from 2 to 1) through the consolidation of associational rights and social equalities.
Niger: Both Political Rights and Civil Liberties improved (both from 4 to 3) due to increased representation of minorities in government and because of efforts to improve the status of women.
Zimbabwe: Political Rights declined (from 6 to 7) due to increased government repression of the political opposition.
 
 
 
 
 

Freedom in Africa

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