Bulgaria rated a 'free country' by Freedom House

Bulgaria has been identified as a free country in this year's Freedom in the World report, published on 29th February by the American NGO Freedom House.

The country scored 78 out of 100 points. It scored 46 out of 60 for civil liberties and 32 out of 40 for political freedom.

The report notes a drop of one point compared to 2023, when the country scored a total of 79 points. Among neighbouring countries, Greece and Romania outperform Bulgaria, with scores of 85 and 83 respectively. Serbia and the Republic of North Macedonia are considered partly free by Freedom House with scores of 57 and 67 respectively, while Turkey is considered not free with a score of 33. Hungary ranks last in the EU with a score of 65. Russia is classified as 'not free' with a score of 13 out of 100.

Overall, freedom in Europe declined in 2023 as corruption, dysfunction and deteriorating transparency affected democratic institutions, according to the report.