Overview

• The 2025 IDEA assessment says press conditions worsened in a quarter of countries, with the steepest drops in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso and Myanmar, and a notable fall in South Korea tied to defamation cases and raids on journalists.
• IDEA reports issuing 20 alerts from January to April 2025 over U.S. moves it says eroded democratic norms, including efforts to criminalize protest, restrict academic freedom and limit media access to the executive.
• The watchdog records a ninth straight yearly decline in its global democracy index in 2024, with 54% of countries backsliding on at least one key indicator and credibility of elections at a 30‑year low.
• The report highlights severe risks to journalists in conflict zones, noting nearly 200 killed in Palestine since October 2023 and restrictions on independent international press access to Gaza.
• Despite broad deterioration, IDEA cites gains in select countries, including improved expression in Chile and advances in Botswana, South Africa, Jordan and Poland.