Since 1972, Freedom House has published Freedom in the World, an annual comparative assessment of the state of political rights and civil liberties around the world. Widely used by policy makers, journalists, and scholars, the 600-page survey is considered the definitive report on freedom around the globe. The ratings reflect global events from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2010.

According to the survey, global freedom deteriorated in 2009, marking the fourth consecutive year of decline. Latin America, Africa, the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East suffered the most marked drop in stability. The number of electoral democracies in the world declined from 119 to 116, the lowest number since 1995. Honduras, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Niger were removed from the list.

In 2009, 89 countries were judged to be free. Their 3.1 billion inhabitants (46% of the world's population) enjoy a broad range of rights. Fifty-eight countries representing 1.34 billion people (20%) are considered partly free. Political rights and civil liberties are more limited in these countries, in which corruption, dominant ruling parties, or, in some cases, ethnic or religious strife is often the norm. The survey found that 47 countries are not free. The 2.3 billion inhabitants (24%) of these countries, more than one-half of whom live in China, are denied most basic political rights and civil liberties. Six countries were downgraded in status: Lesotho moved from Free to Partly Free, and Bahrain, Gabon, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, and Yemen went from Partly Free to Not Free. There were some positive changes in 2009. Montenegro moved from Partly Free to Free, and Kosovo from Not Free to Partly Free.