Bulgaria is the least free country in the European Union after Hungary. This is according to Freedom House's annual ranking in the organization's report on the state of freedoms and rights around the world. The survey covers 210 countries and territories.

Bulgaria has a score of 79 out of 100. For political rights, the points are 33 out of 40 possible. In the case of civil liberties, the performance is worse - 46 out of 60 possible. The position is the same as last year - 79.

100 out of 100 have three countries. Without particular surprises, they are Scandinavian - Norway, Finland and Sweden.

Hungary is the only EU country still defined as partially free with a score of 66.

We are equal with Seychelles and South Africa, also with 79. The closest to the Bulgarian result are also Ghana and Jamaica - with 80 each, Israel and Namibia with 77. Exotic places such as the island of Mauritius - 85, Panama - 83 and Micronesia - 92, Cape Verde - 92, etc. are "freer" according to the ranking.

Despite the EC's constant criticism, Poland has 83 points, the same number as Romania.

Global freedom continues to decline, marking the 17th year in a row. Russia's aggression in Ukraine leads to severe violations of human rights and atrocities, Freedom House points out.

The good news is that there is almost evenness between countries improving and those getting worse. 34 countries have made progress, 35 are moving in the opposite direction to deterioration. Two countries - Colombia and Lesotho - are the best performers, moving from "partly free" to "free".

Still, the world is significantly freer today than it was 50 years ago, when Freedom House published its first annual report. In 1973, 44 out of 148 countries were defined as free. Today, 84 out of 195 fall into that column.

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/Freedom House