Syria has recorded a notable improvement in the latest Freedom House Global Freedom Index, marking a rare positive shift at a time when civil and political rights are declining worldwide.
The country was listed among those achieving the largest annual gains, reflecting progress in governance and public freedoms.
Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa announced the development on Sunday, stating in a post on X that Syria ranked among the top global improvers, with a five-point increase alongside Bolivia and Sri Lanka, according to the report published on Freedom House’s official website.
The minister attributed this rise to advances in several key areas, including freedom of expression and media, the absence of journalist detentions, the expansion of independent and private media outlets, and broader personal liberties.
He emphasized that these gains stand out against a global backdrop in which 54 countries recorded declines in political and civil rights, underscoring Syria’s relative progress despite wider international setbacks.
Al-Mustafa also acknowledged academic criticism of Freedom House’s methodology and its selection criteria, but maintained that the index remains widely influential in both research and policymaking. He added that major companies have increasingly begun to reference the index in shaping investment decisions.
The minister stressed that freedom of expression and the media constitute a cornerstone of political legitimacy, particularly during transitional periods, and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protecting these advances through regulatory frameworks, professional codes of conduct, and legal safeguards against the arbitrary misuse of freedoms.
He further noted that the theoretical framework underpinning these regulations has recently been finalized, with implementation expected in the near term.
Freedom House has been assessing political rights and civil liberties worldwide since 1973, and its index continues to serve as a key reference for policymakers, journalists, academics and civil society actors.
