A central premise of Democracy Web is that one of the best means for teaching about democracy is through comparative study of democracy's principles, history and current practice. Each Study Guide unit includes three Country Studies, one each for the three categories in Freedom House’s annual survey ─ “Free,” “Partially Free” and “Not Free.” (The Country Study of the United States is in the last unit, Freedom of Religion.) They may be accessed below individually (in alphabetical order) or by category.
AZERBAIJAN COUNTRY STUDY: Free, Fair & Regular Elections
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: 0/40 | Civil Liberties: 7/60
Azerbaijan lies at the crossroads between Europe and Asia - with Russia to the north, Iran to the south and Georgia and Armenia to the northwest and west.
BOLIVIA COUNTRY STUDY: Consent of the Governed
Status: Partly Free
| Political Rights: 27/40 | Civil Liberties: 39/60
Bolivia has had 40 years of civilian rule but faces significant challenges following a political crisis in 2019-20.
BOTSWANA COUNTRY STUDY: Accountability and Transparency
Status: Free
| Political Rights: 28/40 | Civil Liberties: 44/60
Botswana is Africa’s oldest continuous multiparty democracy, having held uninterrupted free elections since gaining independence in 1966.
CHILE COUNTRY STUDY: Freedom of Association
Status: Free
| Political Rights: 38/40 | Civil Liberties: 56/60
Chile, a country that spans a long length of territory on the Pacific Coast of South America, is a unitary presidential republic.
CHINA COUNTRY STUDY: Freedom of Association
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: -2/40 | Civil Liberties: 11/60
CHINA COUNTRY STUDY: Freedom of Expression
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: -2/40 | Civil Liberties: 11/60
The People’s Republic of China is a unitary republic and one-party dictatorship. Freedom in the World has categorized the country as “not free” since the first survey in 1973 and today it ranks among teh least free nations.
CUBA COUNTRY STUDY: Economic Freedom
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: 1/40 | Civil Liberties: 11/60
Cuba is a unitary republic with a one-party dictatorship. Cuba has been ranked “not free” in all of Freedom House’s world surveys since 1973.
ESTONIA COUNTRY STUDY: Economic Freedom
Status: Free
| Political Rights: 38/40 | Civil Liberties: 57/60
Estonia, among the world’s most free and economically dynamic countries, has a parliamentary system with a unicameral legislature.
FRANCE COUNTRY STUDY: Constitutional Limits on Government
Status: Free
| Political Rights: 38/40 | Civil Liberties: 51/60
France has a mixed presidential-parliamentary government. Its history encompasses periods of absolutism, revolution, empire, constitutional monarchy and republicanism.
GERMANY COUNTRY STUDY: Rule of Law
Status: Free
| Political Rights: 39/40 | Civil Liberties: 54/60
The Federal Republic of Germany has a parliamentary democracy and a federal state, and has become one of the freer nations in the world.
GUATEMALA COUNTRY STUDY: Constitutional Limits on Government
Status: Partly Free
| Political Rights: 17/40 | Civil Liberties: 29/60
Guatemala has had democratic elections since 1985 but struggled to overcome a legacy of military rule, corrupt government and poverty.
INDONESIA COUNTRY STUDY: Human Rights and Freedom from State Tyranny
Status: Partly Free
| Political Rights: 28/40 | Civil Liberties: 29/60
Indonesia is an archipelago nation between the Asian and Australian continents with, since 1998, a mixed presidential-parliamentary system with free, fair and regular elections.
IRAN COUNTRY STUDY: Consent of the Governed
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: 4/40 | Civil Liberties: 7/60
The territory of Iran, previously known as Persia, was ruled by monarchical dynasties or occupied and dominated by foreign powers for nearly all of its recorded history.
ISRAEL COUNTRY STUDY: The Multiparty System
Status: Free
| Political Rights: 34/40 | Civil Liberties: 40/60
Israel's multiparty system is highly diverse, including representation for minority populations. But in recent years Israel’s democracy has faced a range of challenges.
KAZAKHSTAN COUNTRY STUDY: Accountability and Transparency
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: 5/40 | Civil Liberties: 18/60
Kazakhstan is a presidential republic in Central Asia. Since its independence in 1991, Kazakhstan has not had democratic governance.
KENYA COUNTRY STUDY: Economic Freedom
Status: Partly Free
| Political Rights: 22/40 | Civil Liberties: 30/60
Kenya is a presidential republic on the central eastern coast of Africa. Its mixed economy, once a model for Africa, today has high levels of poverty and corruption.
MALAYSIA COUNTRY STUDY: The Multiparty System
Status: Partly Free
| Political Rights: 22/40 | Civil Liberties: 31/60
The Federation of Malaysia, consisting of two territories separated by the South China Sea, is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government.
MOROCCO COUNTRY STUDY: Human Rights and Freedom from State Tyranny
Status: Partly Free
| Political Rights: 13/40 | Civil Liberties: 24/60
The Kingdom of Morocco, located on the northwestern coast of Africa, is a semi-constitutional monarchy with a limited unitary parliamentary system.
NETHERLANDS COUNTRY STUDY: Majority Rule, Minority Rights
Status: Free
| Political Rights: 39/40 | Civil Liberties: 58/60
Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy with unitary structure.
NETHERLANDS COUNTRY STUDY: Freedom of Expression
Status: Free
| Political Rights: 39/40 | Civil Liberties: 58/60
The Netherlands has a long history of free media, free political debate, free and fair elections and pluralist political competition. That tradition continues.
NIGERIA COUNTRY STUDY: Freedom of Religion
Status: Partly Free
| Political Rights: 20/40 | Civil Liberties: 24/60
Nigeria, on the east coast of Africa, is a federal republic with a mixed presidential-parliamentary system.
NORTH KOREA COUNTRY STUDY: Human Rights and Freedom from State Tyranny
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: 0/40 | Civil Liberties: 3/60
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is a unitary republic with a highly repressive one-party dictatorship and among the worst violators of human rights.
PHILIPPINES COUNTRY STUDY: Accountability and Transparency
Status: Partly Free
| Political Rights: 25/40 | Civil Liberties: 33/60
The Philippines is a constitutional republic with a presidential system. Democracy was restored in 1986, but recent presidents have eroded human rights and rule of law.
POLAND COUNTRY STUDY: Free, Fair & Regular Elections
Status: Free
| Political Rights: 33/40 | Civil Liberties: 47/60
Since 1989, Poland has been a free and sovereign country following more than two centuries of foreign domination, occupation, and control.
SAUDI ARABIA COUNTRY STUDY: Rule of Law
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: 1/40 | Civil Liberties: 7/60
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy and Islamic state, and is ranked among the “worst of the worst” dictatorships in the Freedom in the World report.
SINGAPORE COUNTRY STUDY: Rule of Law
Status: Partly Free
| Political Rights: 19/40 | Civil Liberties: 29/60
Singapore, an island city-state with a parliamentary republic and authoritarian governance. Freedom House consistently categorizes the country as “partly free.”
SOUTH AFRICA COUNTRY STUDY: Consent of the Governed
Status: Free
| Political Rights: 33/40 | Civil Liberties: 46/60
South Africa is a constitutional republic and parliamentary democracy whose president is chosen by the National Assembly, the popularly elected lower house of a bicameral legislature.
SUDAN COUNTRY STUDY: Majority Rule, Minority Rights
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: -3/40 | Civil Liberties: 9/60
Since gaining independence in 1956, Sudan has endured numerous civil wars and been governed mostly by military dictatorships.
SYRIA COUNTRY STUDY: The Multiparty System
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: -3/40 | Civil Liberties: 4/60
Syria, a constitutional republic located in the Middle East, is among the world’s most repressive dictatorships.
TUNISIA COUNTRY STUDY: Freedom of Association
Status: Partly Free
| Political Rights: 16/40 | Civil Liberties: 35/60
Tunisia, a North African country on the Mediterranean Sea, is now a presidential republic following a staged constitutional referendum in 2022.
TURKEY COUNTRY STUDY: Majority Rule, Minority Rights
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: 17/40 | Civil Liberties: 16/60
Turkey has a presidential-parliamentary system, now with dominant executive powers following a controversial 2017 referendum.
UGANDA COUNTRY STUDY: Freedom of Expression
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: 10/40 | Civil Liberties: 24/60
Uganda is a unitary republic with a presidential system. The current president came to power in 1986 and has governed in largely authoritarian manner.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA COUNTRY STUDY: Freedom of Religion
Status: Free
| Political Rights: 33/40 | Civil Liberties: 50/60
The United States is a constitutional republic with a presidential system. It is the world's oldest representative democracy among nation states.
UZBEKISTAN COUNTRY STUDY: Constitutional Limits on Government
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: 2/40 | Civil Liberties: 10/60
Uzbekistan is a nation in Central Asia with a mixed presidential-parliamentary system, but in practice is a consolidated dictatorship.
VENEZUELA COUNTRY STUDY: Free, Fair & Regular Elections
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: 1/40 | Civil Liberties: 14/60
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has a dominant presidential system and authoritarian government.
VIETNAM COUNTRY STUDY: Freedom of Religion
Status: Not Free
| Political Rights: 4/40 | Civil Liberties: 15/60
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a unitary republic and one-party dictatorship. Since 1975, Freedom in the World has categorized the united country as “not free.”