Freedom House
Freedom House describes itself as "a non-profit, nonpartisan organization" that is "a clear voice for democracy and freedom around the world".Founded in the 1940s, it produces reports on the progress of democracy and freedom in the government of countries around the world, and produces annual scores representing countries' progress (or otherwise) towards freedom.
For example, in their 2003 report, the fully democratic nation of Canada got a perfect score of a "1" in civil liberties and a "1" in political rights, earning them the rank of "free." The more oppressive nation of Nigeria got a "5" and a "4" earning them the rank of "Partly Free," while an out and out dictatorship like North Korea scored the lowest rank of "7-7", and was thus dubbed "not free."
Freedom House also produces annual reports on press freedom, governance in the nations of the former Soviet Union, freedom of women in the Middle East, and good governance in countries being considered for President George W. Bush's Millennium Challenge Account foreign aid program.
Freedom House is a a non-profit organization, funded by donations. Past donors include USAID, the Bradley Foundation, the Kirby Foundation and the Sarah Scaife Foundation.
External links:
- http://www.freedomhouse.org/
- http://www.freedomhouse.org/aboutfh/index.htm
- Freedom in the World Survey, 2003
- Freedom in the World Survey, 2004