Croatia is amongst 90 countries in the world considered by the non-governmental organisation Freedom House to be free countries, the organisation's latest report Freedom in the World 2013 released on Wednesday says.
The report notes that the number of countries ranked as Free for 2012 was 90, including Croatia. This is 46% out of a total of 195 countries encompassed in the annual report by this organisation. Freedom House is an independent watchdog organisation, with its headquarters in Washington, dedicated to the expansion of freedom around the world.
The report further notes that 58 countries were considered Partly Free and 47 Not Free.
The report says that the number of countries ranked as Free has shown significant declines over the past seven years and the Arab Spring countries triggered autocratic leaders to heighten their repression.
Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Serbia are ranked as Free countries while Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia are considered to be Partly Free.
The report ranks countries from 1 to 7 signifying the level of freedom, 7 being the lowest score.
Croatia was given a score of 1 for political rights and 2 for civil liberties, Slovenia scored well on both accounts.
Serbia was given a score of 2 for both political rights and civil liberties, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia scored a 3 in both these areas. Kosovo fared worst in the region scoring 5 for political rights and 4 for civil liberties.
The list of Free countries includes the USA, European countries but also Botswana, Ghana, Mongolia, Trinidad and Tobago.
The worst ranking in the world include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
