Never trust
statistics you didn't
fake on your own.
Freedom House, an US-based
non-profit organisation relases its own freedom index since
1972. It divides countries into three groups:
free, partly free and not-free. Each country gets a score ranging from 1(free) to 7.9(non-free) based on political and civil rights granted (more on http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2000/methodology.htm ).
The best score today is a 1.1 reached by several countries including all Top 10 Human Freedom Index countries (except Germany and Belgium which get 1.2), the United States and several other countries (most noticeable Bahamas, Belize or Cyprus(Greece)).
Considering the many countries which get a 1.1, a 1.2 has to be a great lack of freedom. Me, living in Germany, never noticed that, nor did I feel less free than people on Cyprus. Some other numbers a worthwhile a look, too. The former GDR (German Democratic Republic, the Enemy) ranged from 7.6-7.7. making people there less free than people today in Iran or Iraq (round about 6.5). I don't think so. If I was a woman and had the choice between the GDR and Iran, I wouldn't think twice, choosing the GDR, which at least granted me the same, though not many, rights as a man. I am drifting away? No. I wanted to show you that this statistic isn't worth anything. At least for most of the countries. What does it tell us? People in Sweden and the US are equally free? Or in the US and in Belize? Or people are surpressed in countries like Belgium and Germany?
No.