Morocco deemed «partially free», by Freedom House's annual report

Freedom House which rates people’s access to political rights and civil liberties in 210 countries and territories has released its annual Freedom in the World report. The report covers the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023.

Morocco scored 37 points out of 100, with a lower score indicating less freedom. This placed the Kingdom in the category of partially free countries. The report focuses on the actual rights and freedoms people experience, not government performance itself. Both state and non-state actors, such as insurgents and armed groups, can affect political rights and civil liberties.

Within the report's sub-indices, Morocco received 13 out of 40 points in the political rights index, and 24 out of 60 points in the civil liberties index.

Morocco ranked sixth in Arab World 

Morocco ranked sixth in the Arab world, following Tunisia (51 points), the Comoros and Lebanon (42 points each), Mauritania (39 points), and Kuwait (38 points). The top six Arab countries were classified as partially free, while the remaining Arab nations fell under the category of «not free». Jordan received 33 points, followed by Algeria (32 points), and Qatar, Oman, Iraq, and Djibouti.

Globally, Finland topped the list as the freest country with a score of 100 points. New Zealand (99 points), Norway (98 points), and San Marino (97 points) followed closely. Conversely, the report classified Syria and South Sudan as the least free countries in the world, each with a mere 1 point.

According to the report, global freedom levels declined for the eighteenth consecutive year in 2023. The decline was significant in both breadth and depth. Political rights and civil liberties deteriorated in 52 countries, while only 21 showed improvement. Flawed elections and armed conflicts were contributing factors, jeopardizing freedom and causing immense human suffering.

The report estimates that in 2023, roughly 38 percent of the world's population lived in non-free countries, 42 percent in partially free countries, and only 20 percent in free countries.