CIFINI 2024–2025 Report — Civic Freedom & Integrity Index

Chapter One

Executive Summary

The Civic Freedom & Integrity Index (CIFINI) is a composite indicator that captures the quality of civic life, democratic governance, and institutional integrity across countries. It evaluates how well societies protect individual freedoms, uphold equality before the law, ensure transparent and accountable governance, and support human development.

CIFINI integrates internationally recognized datasets covering corruption control, democratic institutions, civil and political rights, press freedom, rule of law, equality protections, and human development. By combining these dimensions, the index distinguishes between countries that are merely administratively efficient and those that sustain open, rights-based civic environments.

Rather than focusing only on elections or economic performance, CIFINI emphasizes the lived experience of freedom and fairness—capturing whether people can participate in public life, express themselves freely, trust institutions, and enjoy equal protection regardless of identity.

175

Countries Analyzed

54.55

Global Average

89.08

Highest Score

6

Tier 1 Nations

            What Makes CIFINI Unique
             Goes beyond electoral processes to measure the lived experience of freedom
 Combines civic freedoms with institutional integrity and equality measures
 Provides a six-tier classification system for meaningful comparisons
 Integrates data from multiple internationally recognized sources

        

Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher values indicating stronger civic freedom, institutional integrity, and democratic resilience. The 2024–2025 edition covers 175 countries across six continents.

Chapter Two

How to Read the Index

Understanding CIFINI Scores

CIFINI scores range from 0 to 100, where higher scores indicate stronger civic freedom, institutional integrity, and democratic resilience. A high score (85+) suggests a society where citizens enjoy robust protections for individual freedoms, trust in transparent institutions, equal treatment before the law, and broad opportunities for democratic participation.

A low score (below 35) indicates significant constraints on civic freedoms, weak institutional integrity, limited accountability, and unequal application of rights and protections. Countries in this range typically exhibit restricted political participation, limited press freedom, and challenges in ensuring equal treatment regardless of identity.

The Six Tiers

Countries are grouped into six tiers based on their CIFINI scores, each representing a distinct level of civic freedom and institutional quality:

Tier 1 · 85–100

Open & Resilient Democracies

Very strong civic freedoms, low corruption, robust rule of law, and broad equality protections. Democratic institutions are resilient.

Tier 2 · 75–84.9

Consolidated Democracies

Stable democratic systems with generally strong civil liberties and legal protections. Some weaknesses may exist.

Tier 3 · 65–74.9

Democratic but Vulnerable

Countries retaining genuine democratic structures but showing vulnerabilities in institutional checks or equality protections.

Tier 4 · 50–64.9

Eroding Democratic Systems

Democratic institutions exist but civic freedoms and accountability are under sustained pressure.

Tier 5 · 35–49.9

Restricted Civic Space

Civic freedoms are significantly constrained with limited political competition and media independence.

Tier 6 · 0–34.9

Closed or Repressive Systems

Severely restricted civic freedoms, weak rule of law, and widespread inequality before the law.

What the Index Does Not Measure: CIFINI focuses specifically on civic freedoms and institutional integrity. It does not measure economic performance, environmental quality, cultural achievements, or military capabilities.

Chapter Three

Global Distribution

The distribution of countries across CIFINI tiers reveals significant variation in global civic freedom and institutional quality. While a small group of nations maintain open and resilient democracies, the majority of countries face challenges ranging from institutional vulnerabilities to severe restrictions on civic space.

Tier	Score Range	Countries	Description
Tier 1	85–100	6	Open & Resilient Democracies
Tier 2	75–84.9	17	Consolidated Democracies
Tier 3	65–74.9	24	Democratic but Vulnerable
Tier 4	50–64.9	49	Eroding Democratic Systems
Tier 5	35–49.9	63	Restricted Civic Space
Tier 6	0–34.9	16	Closed or Repressive Systems

Top 20 Countries

Rank	Country	Score	Tier
1	Norway	89.08	Open & Resilient
2	Denmark	88.55	Open & Resilient
3	Finland	87.68	Open & Resilient
4	New Zealand	86.97	Open & Resilient
5	Iceland	86.42	Open & Resilient
6	Sweden	86.17	Open & Resilient
7	Switzerland	84.94	Consolidated
8	Germany	84.69	Consolidated
9	Netherlands	84.52	Consolidated
10	Luxembourg	84.42	Consolidated
11	Ireland	84.15	Consolidated
12	Estonia	81.84	Consolidated
13	Australia	81.45	Consolidated
14	Belgium	80.58	Consolidated
15	Czech Republic	80.17	Consolidated
16	Austria	79.91	Consolidated
17	United Kingdom	79.54	Consolidated
18	Canada	76.81	Consolidated
19	Spain	76.68	Consolidated
20	Japan	76.66	Consolidated

Chapter Four

Complete Rankings

The following pages contain the complete CIFINI rankings for all 175 countries analyzed in the 2024–2025 edition, sorted by score from highest to lowest.

#	Country	Score	Tier
1	Norway	89.08	Open & Resilient
2	Denmark	88.55	Open & Resilient
3	Finland	87.68	Open & Resilient
4	New Zealand	86.97	Open & Resilient
5	Iceland	86.42	Open & Resilient
6	Sweden	86.17	Open & Resilient
7	Switzerland	84.94	Consolidated
8	Germany	84.69	Consolidated
9	Netherlands	84.52	Consolidated
10	Luxembourg	84.42	Consolidated
11	Ireland	84.15	Consolidated
12	Estonia	81.84	Consolidated
13	Australia	81.45	Consolidated
14	Belgium	80.58	Consolidated
15	Czech Republic	80.17	Consolidated
16	Austria	79.91	Consolidated
17	United Kingdom	79.54	Consolidated
18	Canada	76.81	Consolidated
19	Spain	76.68	Consolidated
20	Japan	76.66	Consolidated
21	France	76.54	Consolidated
22	Portugal	76.16	Consolidated
23	Costa Rica	76.05	Consolidated
24	Slovenia	74.80	Vulnerable
25	USA	74.64	Vulnerable
26	Latvia	74.57	Vulnerable
27	Lithuania	74.27	Vulnerable
28	Malta	74.23	Vulnerable
29	Uruguay	73.92	Vulnerable
30	Cape Verde	73.64	Vulnerable
31	Italy	73.20	Vulnerable
32	Seychelles	72.78	Vulnerable
33	South Korea	72.75	Vulnerable
34	Taiwan	72.52	Vulnerable
35	Chile	72.31	Vulnerable
36	Poland	71.79	Vulnerable
37	Greece	70.07	Vulnerable
38	Israel	69.44	Vulnerable
39	Cyprus	69.16	Vulnerable
40	Slovakia	69.09	Vulnerable

#	Country	Score	Tier
41	Barbados	68.83	Vulnerable
42	Singapore	68.83	Vulnerable
43	Hong Kong	68.23	Vulnerable
44	Croatia	67.73	Vulnerable
45	South Africa	66.85	Vulnerable
46	Mauritius	66.23	Vulnerable
47	Montenegro	65.27	Vulnerable
48	Argentina	63.98	Eroding
49	Romania	63.60	Eroding
50	Trinidad and Tobago	63.48	Eroding
51	Fiji	63.41	Eroding
52	Botswana	63.04	Eroding
53	Armenia	62.40	Eroding
54	Macedonia	62.37	Eroding
55	East Timor	62.33	Eroding
56	Suriname	61.94	Eroding
57	Brazil	61.66	Eroding
58	Hungary	61.50	Eroding
59	Belize	60.42	Eroding
60	Jamaica	59.98	Eroding
61	Albania	59.49	Eroding
62	Panama	59.35	Eroding
63	Bhutan	58.92	Eroding
64	Serbia	58.52	Eroding
65	Colombia	58.37	Eroding
66	Bahamas	58.18	Eroding
67	Namibia	58.05	Eroding
68	Georgia	57.81	Eroding
69	Bulgaria	57.78	Eroding
70	Dominican Republic	57.76	Eroding
71	Ukraine	57.65	Eroding
72	Guyana	57.32	Eroding
73	Moldova	57.30	Eroding
74	Bosnia and Herzegovina	56.93	Eroding
75	Mongolia	56.73	Eroding
76	Malaysia	55.74	Eroding
77	Ghana	55.31	Eroding
78	Kosovo	55.21	Eroding
79	Vanuatu	55.10	Eroding
80	Dominica	55.08	Eroding

#	Country	Score	Tier
81	Peru	54.05	Eroding
82	Nepal	54.03	Eroding
83	Thailand	53.66	Eroding
84	Lesotho	53.28	Eroding
85	Ecuador	53.11	Eroding
86	Grenada	52.58	Eroding
87	Papua New Guinea	52.41	Eroding
88	Cuba	52.26	Eroding
89	Tunisia	51.70	Eroding
90	Sri Lanka	51.69	Eroding
91	Senegal	51.53	Eroding
92	Bolivia	51.34	Eroding
93	Gabon	50.94	Eroding
94	Benin	50.68	Eroding
95	Mexico	50.54	Eroding
96	India	50.05	Eroding
97	Malawi	49.44	Restricted
98	Indonesia	49.26	Restricted
99	Philippines	48.85	Restricted
100	Paraguay	48.47	Restricted
101	Zambia	48.19	Restricted
102	Kuwait	48.13	Restricted
103	Tanzania	48.10	Restricted
104	Jordan	48.03	Restricted
105	Kazakhstan	47.86	Restricted
106	Maldives	47.86	Restricted
107	Sierra Leone	47.86	Restricted
108	Niger	46.87	Restricted
109	Morocco	46.75	Restricted
110	Honduras	46.58	Restricted
111	Liberia	46.53	Restricted
112	Rwanda	46.53	Restricted
113	Gambia	46.48	Restricted
114	Qatar	46.29	Restricted
115	Kyrgyzstan	46.00	Restricted
116	Congo	45.93	Restricted
117	Oman	45.85	Restricted
118	Algeria	45.84	Restricted
119	Belarus	45.78	Restricted
120	UAE	45.55	Restricted

#	Country	Score	Tier
121	Vietnam	45.52	Restricted
122	Kenya	45.38	Restricted
123	Mozambique	45.37	Restricted
124	Guinea-Bissau	44.96	Restricted
125	Burkina Faso	44.07	Restricted
126	El Salvador	43.92	Restricted
127	Comoros	43.63	Restricted
128	Madagascar	42.64	Restricted
129	Turkey	42.42	Restricted
130	Nigeria	42.37	Restricted
131	Angola	42.34	Restricted
132	Togo	42.34	Restricted
133	Bahrain	41.88	Restricted
134	Lebanon	41.81	Restricted
135	Guatemala	41.45	Restricted
136	China	41.42	Restricted
137	Zimbabwe	41.27	Restricted
138	Mauritania	41.18	Restricted
139	Azerbaijan	41.15	Restricted
140	Mali	40.78	Restricted
141	Uganda	39.85	Restricted
142	Uzbekistan	39.81	Restricted
143	Cameroon	39.38	Restricted
144	Russia	39.19	Restricted
145	Saudi Arabia	38.95	Restricted
146	Guinea	38.80	Restricted
147	Laos	38.80	Restricted
148	Equatorial Guinea	38.68	Restricted
149	Eswatini	38.46	Restricted
150	Djibouti	38.11	Restricted
151	Bangladesh	38.01	Restricted
152	Ethiopia	37.46	Restricted
153	Dem. Rep. Congo	36.82	Restricted
154	Iran	36.60	Restricted
155	Libya	36.59	Restricted
156	Iraq	36.30	Restricted
157	Nicaragua	35.68	Restricted
158	Venezuela	35.42	Restricted
159	Haiti	35.07	Restricted
160	Cambodia	34.39	Closed

#	Country	Score	Tier
161	Egypt	34.23	Closed
162	Tajikistan	33.05	Closed
163	Pakistan	32.61	Closed
164	Central African Republic	31.95	Closed
165	Chad	31.67	Closed
166	Turkmenistan	29.65	Closed
167	Burundi	29.58	Closed
168	Sudan	28.68	Closed
169	Myanmar	28.05	Closed
170	Somalia	26.18	Closed
171	Syria	25.13	Closed
172	South Sudan	23.53	Closed
173	Yemen	23.49	Closed
174	Eritrea	21.36	Closed
175	Afghanistan	19.24	Closed

Note: Rankings and scores are based on the 2024–2025 CIFINI methodology. Some scores may differ slightly from the interactive dashboard due to rounding. For the latest data and interactive visualizations, visit cifini.org.

Data Acknowledgment: CIFINI integrates data from the World Bank (WGI), Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, V-Dem Institute, Transparency International, and the United Nations (HDI). We gratefully acknowledge these organizations for making their research publicly available. CIFINI is an independent index; source organizations bear no responsibility for its methodology or conclusions.

CIFINI.

Civic Freedom & Integrity Index

cifini.org · contact@cifini.org

Created by Ville Schölin

Civic Freedom &Integrity Index