Nonprofit organization Freedom House, known for its research on democracy, political freedom, and human rights, today released its 2025 Political Rights and Civil Liberties Index. In its tenth annual report, titled «The Uphill Battle to Safeguard Rights», which analyzed 195 countries, the organization classified Morocco as «partially free», awarding it a score of 37 out of 100. The higher the score, the greater the country's freedom. Morocco scored 13 out of 40 in political rights and 24 out of 60 in civil liberties. In the Maghreb region, Morocco ranked third, behind Tunisia (44 points) and Mauritania (39 points), but ahead of Algeria (31 points), which was classified as «not free», and Libya, which scored just 10 points. Globally, the report noted that global freedom declined for the 19th consecutive year in 2024. Sixty countries saw a deterioration in political rights and civil liberties, while only 34 countries made improvements. El Salvador, Haiti, Kuwait, and Tunisia experienced the largest declines in scores, while Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Syria saw the biggest gains. The report also highlighted that in more than 40% of countries and territories that held national elections in 2024, candidates faced assassination attempts or assaults, polling stations were attacked, or post-election protests were violently suppressed. Authoritarian regimes manipulated elections to block genuine opposition candidates from participating. Looking ahead, the report stressed the importance of democratic solidarity, noting that global freedom will face serious challenges in 2025, including security threats from multiple armed conflicts, increasing repression in established and emerging authoritarian regimes, and democratically elected leaders seeking to bypass institutional checks on their power.
