A total of 51 countries were deemed Not Free, representing 26% of the world's polities. The number of people living under Not Free conditions stood at 2.6 billion people, or 36% of the global population, though it is important to note that more than half of this number lives in just one country: China.

In a year marked by an explosion of terrorist violence, autocrats' use of more brutal tactics, and Russia's invasion and annexation of a neighbouring country's territory, the state of freedom in 2014 worsened significantly in nearly every part of the world.

strong>Discarding Democracy: Return to the Iron Fist

For the ninth consecutive year, Freedom in the World, Freedom House's annual report on the condition of global political rights and civil liberties, showed an overall decline. Indeed, acceptance of democracy as the world's dominant form of government-and of an international system built on democratic ideals-is under greater threat than at any point in the last 25 years.  Read more: Freedom House, 03/02/15