4.2 billion people facing freedom of expression crisis: Denmark leads, Afghanistan lags

An organization called “Global Expression” has released its annual report on the state of freedom of expression worldwide, stating that “more than half of the world’s population now lives in countries facing a crisis of freedom of expression.”

This organization’s report, published yesterday, shows that in 2023, the percentage of people living in crisis-ridden countries increased to 53%, encompassing over 4 billion people in 39 countries.

For its evaluation, the organization analyzed 25 indicators including media freedom, religion, and academia, and then ranked countries and territories into categories of open, less restricted, restricted, very restricted, and crisis.

This organization’s research findings indicate that only 23% of the world’s population, less than one-fourth of the global population, live in environments with freedom of expression (open expression) and less restriction, highlighting the critical state of freedom of expression worldwide.

“It’s not just bad. It’s literally the worst thing you can have in half of the world.”

In the latest ranking of countries based on freedom of expression indicators, only five countries, Brazil, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, made progress in 2023.

The organization’s report states that “more than half of the world’s population (4.2 billion people) currently live in countries in crisis – in terms of freedom of expression – meaning more than any other time in this century.”

It is worth noting that, according to this research’s findings, the largest declines in freedom of expression in recent years have been recorded in Hong Kong (-54 points), Afghanistan (-48 points), and El Salvador (-46 points).

This assessment classifies Afghanistan as a “crisis” state of freedom of expression and ranks it 155th among 161 countries.

Denmark tops this ranking with 95 points, while Afghanistan is at the bottom of the table with 2 points.

Since the Taliban took over, they have imposed oppressive policies, including the banning of free media. This has resulted in the dismissal of over 90% of female journalists and the closure of over half of the media outlets in Afghanistan.

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