Table of African Countries*
Comparative Measures of Freedom
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.
| Trend |
Country |
Political Rights |
Civil Liberties |
Status |
|
Angola |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
|
Benin |
2 |
2 |
Free |
|
Botswana |
3 |
2 |
Free |
|
Burkina Faso |
5 |
3 |
Partly Free |
|
Burundi |
5 |
5 |
Partly Free |
|
Cameroon |
6 |
6 |
Not Free |
|
Cape Verde |
1 |
1 |
Free |
|
Central African Rep. |
5 |
5 |
Partly Free |
|
Chad |
7 |
6 |
Not Free |
|
Comoros |
3 |
4 |
Partly Free |
|
Congo-Brazzaville |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
|
Congo-Kinshasa |
6 |
6 |
Not Free |
|
Côte d'Ivoire |
6 |
6 |
Not Free |
 |
Djibouti |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
|
Equatorial Guinea |
7 |
7 |
Not Free |
|
Eritrea |
7 |
7 |
Not Free |
|
Ethiopia |
6 |
6 |
Not Free |
|
Gabon |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
|
The Gambia |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
|
Ghana |
1 |
2 |
Free |
|
Guinea |
5 |
5 |
Partly Free |
|
Guinea-Bissau |
4 |
4 |
Partly Free |
|
Kenya |
4 |
3 |
Partly Free |
|
Lesotho |
3 |
3 |
Partly Free |
|
Liberia |
3 |
4 |
Partly Free |
|
Madagascar |
6 |
4 |
Partly Free |
 |
Malawi |
3 |
4 |
Partly Free |
|
Mali |
2 |
3 |
Free |
|
Mauritania |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
|
Mauritius |
1 |
2 |
Free |
|
Mozambique |
4 |
3 |
Partly Free |
|
Namibia |
2 |
2 |
Free |
|
Niger |
3 |
4 |
Partly Free |
|
Nigeria |
4 |
4 |
Partly Free |
|
Rwanda |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
|
São Tomé & Príncipe |
2 |
2 |
Free |
|
Senegal |
3 |
3 |
Partly Free |
|
Seychelles |
3 |
3 |
Partly Free |
|
Sierra Leone |
3 |
3 |
Partly Free |
|
Somalia |
7 |
7 |
Not Free |
|
Somaliland |
4 |
5 |
Partly Free |
|
South Africa |
2 |
2 |
Free |
|
South Sudan |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
|
Sudan |
7 |
7 |
Not Free |
|
Swaziland |
7 |
5 |
Not Free |
|
Tanzania |
3 |
3 |
Partly Free |
|
Togo |
5 |
4 |
Partly Free |
|
Uganda |
5 |
4 |
Partly Free |
 |
Zambia |
3 |
4 |
Partly Free |
|
Zimbabwe |
6 |
6 |
Not Free |
*The ratings in this table reflect global events from 1 January 2011 through 31 December 2011.
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.
Additional Note: The
presence of certain irregularities during the electoral process does not automatically disqualify a country from being designated
an electoral democracy. A country cannot be an electoral democracy if significant authority for national decisions resides
in the hands of an unelected power, whether a monarch or a foreign or international authority. A country is removed from the
ranks of electoral democracies if its last national elections were not sufficiently free or fair, or if changes in law significantly
eroded the public's opportunity for electoral choice.
Status and Ratings Changes, Trend Arrow
Explanations
Côte d'Ivoire's political rights rating improved from 7 to 6 due to opposition
leader Alassane Ouattara's assumption of office after a reasonably credible 2010 presidential election and the forcible removal
of incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, who had refused to accept his electoral defeat.
Djibouti received a downward trend arrow due to harassment and intimidation
of opposition parties that resulted in President Ismail Omar Guelleh winning a third term in office, a crackdown on anti-government
protesters, and a ban on public demonstrations.
Ethiopia received a downward trend arrow due to the government's increased
use of anti-terrorism legislation to target political opponents and a decision by the parliament's lower house to include
a leading opposition movement in its list of terrorist organizations.
The Gambia's political rights rating declined from 5 to 6 and its status
from Partly Free to Not Free due to President Yayha Jammeh's severe suppression of the opposition, media, and civil society
in the run-up to the November presidential election, which was boycotted by ECOWAS monitors because the electoral and political
environment was not conducive to free or fair polls.
Malawi received a downward trend arrow due to the government's violent
suppression of public protests, intimidation of journalists, and threats to academic freedom.
Niger's political rights rating improved from 5 to 3 due to the holding
of successful presidential, legislative, and local elections following the 2010 ouster of former president Mamadou Tandja
and a subsequent period of military rule. The country was also designated as an electoral democracy in this survey.
Sudan received a downward trend arrow due to a surge in arrests of opposition
political activists and leaders, the banning of a leading political party, the violent response to public demonstrations in
Khartoum and other cities, and a crackdown on the activities of journalists.
Uganda received a downward trend arrow due to the poor conduct of the
February national elections, the government's violent response to protests over corruption and inflation, and a crackdown
on journalists.
