Signal About 38 percent of the world's population lived in Not Free countries in 2022, with democracy declining for 16 straight years

Summary

The civic-space overview cites Freedom House data showing that, as of 2022, about 38 percent of the world's population lived in countries rated Not Free. The same source records sixteen consecutive years of democratic decline. The survey adds that more than 100 governments have introduced laws restricting the activities of civil society organisations. Measures such as registration limits for critical groups and restrictions on receiving foreign funds are spreading. It reads these figures as evidence that shrinking civic space and securitised authoritarianism are becoming a global structural trend.