Signal Over 3 billion people in autocracies; 19th year of declining freedom (60 vs 34 countries)

Summary

Drawing on the V-Dem Institute, the report states that more than three billion people worldwide live in autocracies. Citing Freedom House, it reports that global freedom has declined for nineteen consecutive years. Over that period sixty countries slipped on political rights and liberties, while only thirty-four saw some improvement. The report explains that regimes on the path to autocracy systematically erode democratic institutions and basic rights such as free elections, press freedom and civil liberties. It adds that online repression is also increasing, with more governments controlling the internet, suppressing online protests and stepping up censorship. The report also records a recent determined attempt to tear down the liberal ethos of democratic institutions in the almost 250-year-old democracy of the United States.