Internet Freedom Around The World
The countries with the most and
least internet restrictions
Internet freedom is fast becoming an increasingly important issue, as governments around the world seek to limit their citizen's digital rights, restrict access to or censor information, or even prevent reliable internet access altogether. Internet freedom is also on the decline globally, with some activists taking advantage of residential proxies and VPNs to speak out against corrupt regimes and create a fairer society.
But which countries have the greatest internet freedoms, and which are clamping down on the digital rights of their citizens?
We’ve looked into the proportion of internet users in each country, the censorship laws that citizens are subjected to, and the digital freedoms afforded to the citizens of each country to find out.
The countries with the fewest internet restrictions
1
United Kingdom
Internet restriction score
The UK takes the top spot as the country with the most internet freedom, scoring the lowest, 0 out of 10. The country has the highest proportion of people online and tops the list for its internet freedom score. The UK also places no restrictions on social media sites.
2
Japan
Internet restriction score
In second is Japan. The country has one of the highest proportions of internet users and ranks very low for internet censorship, sharing last place for the factor. Japan also takes second place thanks to its high internet freedom score.
3
Germany
Internet restriction score
Next up is Germany, ranking highly thanks to its internet freedom score of 77 and sharing second place for this factor. Germany also doesn't restrict user access to social media and the country has one of the lowest censorship scores.
1
China
Internet restriction score
China has the most internet restrictions, as the Chinese government has banned its citizens from western social media sites, giving it one of the lowest scores for the factor. The country also heavily restricts its political media on the internet, giving the highest internet censorship score.
2
Iran
Internet restriction score
Taking second place is Iran, as the nation has banned western social media sites and heavily restricts citizen access to political media. The country also has a very low net freedom score thanks to its failure to protect the rights of its users.
3
Egypt
Internet restriction score
Next up is Egypt, scoring 6.84 out of 10. The north-African nation has a relatively low proportion of citizens who use the internet, ranking in the bottom five for this factor. It also ranks in the bottom five for internet freedoms, as the Egyptian government has been known to imprison journalists and human rights campaigners for their actions online.
The countries with the most and least internet restrictions
|
Rank |
Country |
Number of people online per 100,000 |
Censorship Score (/11) |
Internet Freedom Score (/100) |
Social media restrictions |
Internet restriction score (/10) |
|---|
The countries with the most people online
1
United Kingdom
per 100,000 people
Freedom to access the internet is the most fundamental right when it comes to internet freedom, and the UK has the highest proportion of internet users. Nearly all of the adult population accessed the internet in some form recently.
2
Japan
per 100,000 people
Up next is Japan, with over 95,000 per 100,000 people accessing the internet regularly. Despite the large proportion of internet users in Japan, the country spends the least time on social media and on the internet overall, compared to other countries.
3
France
per 100,000 people
Internet access is a key aspect of internet freedom, as some governments chose to silence opposing voices by limiting the internet infrastructure of certain areas. This is not the case in France however, as it takes third place for this factor, with just over 94,000 people per 100,000 being regular internet users.
The countries with the least censorship
1
Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The United Kingdom, United States
Censorship Score
Seven countries share the top spot when it comes to censorship. Each of these nations is relatively relaxed when it comes to restricting political media and social media sites. However, each of these countries has banned and shut down torrent sites, as they can easily spread illegal and copyrighted materials.
2
Nigeria
Censorship Score
Taking second place is Nigeria, as the Nigerian government has restrictions in three areas, the use of torrent sites, political media, and social media. The Nigerian government lifted its seven-month ban on Twitter this year after the site agreed to new regulations designed to limit its user's ability to organize anti-government protests.
3
Mexico
Censorship Score
Up next is Mexico, scoring four out of 10 for its internet censorship. The Mexican government has been known to censor political media in the run-up to elections and attempted to curb anonymous communication by requiring people buying prepaid phones to join a biometric registry.
The countries with the most internet freedoms
1
The United Kingdom
Internet Freedom Score
The UK takes the top spot with an internet freedom score of 79 out of 100. The UK mainly has laws in place to protect users from harmful or illegal content and hate speech, although some critics have suggested these are too broad and could limit freedom of expression online.
2
Japan and Germany
Internet Freedom Score
Two countries also share second place, with Japan and Germany both scoring 77 out of 100. Japan has very strong protections for freedom of expression, and people are free to use the internet to organize protests. The Japanese government also doesn’t block any major websites and its strong infrastructure means internet access is widely available.
Germany shares second place, with an internet penetration rate above the European average, and it's relatively cheap to access too. Most of the laws the German government imposes on internet freedom focus on protecting users from hate speech and disinformation, although it has been accused of excessive surveillance.
3
France and The United States
Internet Freedom Score
France scores 76 out of 100. The French government has recently increased protections for anonymity online, criminalizing the sharing of a user’s personally identifiable information. France has also cracked down on the sharing of disinformation, giving judges the power to order the removal of content deemed fake news.
The US also shares third place scoring 76/100 for its internet freedoms. The country has some of the strongest legal protections for freedom of expression online, although this has led to the increased sharing of fake news and conspiracy theories regarding elections which has created an unreliable online environment.
Methodology
Beginning with a list of countries, we analyzed each one on the following factors. We then gave each country a normalized score out of ten for each of the factors, before taking an average across each of these scores to reach our final overall score out of ten.
Number of people online per 100,000
The total number of people in each country per 100,000 of the population, according to Statista.
Censorship Score
The total score (out of 11) for each country for factors such as the banning and restriction of torrents, pornography, political media, social media, VPNs, and messaging and VoIP apps according to Comparitech.
Internet Freedom Score
The total score (out of 100) for each country’s internet freedoms, according to Freedom House.
Social media restrictions
The countries which have banned or heavily restricted social media according to Comparitech.
( = restricted = banned)Population
The total population in each country according to World Population Review.
