Abkhazia Maintains Partly Free Status in 2025 Freedom House Report
Freedom House's 'Freedom in the World' report assesses political rights and civil liberties globally.
SUKHUM / AQW'A — Freedom House has released its annual assessment of global political rights and civil liberties, "Freedom in the World 2025," covering developments from 1 January to 31 December 2024. The report, published on 26 February, underscores the continued global decline in freedoms, a trend that has persisted for nearly two decades.
Abkhazia has retained its classification as Partly Free, with a total score of 39, identical to last year's rating. The breakdown includes 17 points for Political Rights and 22 points for Civil Liberties. This stability in Abkhazia's ranking reflects the ongoing challenges the country faces in advancing political freedoms and civil liberties.
Regional Comparison
The 2025 Freedom House report also assesses neighbouring entities:
- Armenia: 54 (Partly Free) – Political Rights: 23, Civil Liberties: 31
- Azerbaijan: 7 (Not Free) – Political Rights: 0, Civil Liberties: 7
- Georgia: 55 (Partly Free) – Political Rights: 21, Civil Liberties: 34
- Russia: 12 (Not Free) – Political Rights: 4, Civil Liberties: 8
- South Ossetia: 12 (Not Free) – Political Rights: 3, Civil Liberties: 9
- Türkiye: 33 (Not Free) – Political Rights: 17, Civil Liberties: 16
Nagorno-Karabakh is no longer included in Freedom House’s annual Global Freedom Status report. In the previous year, it received the lowest possible score worldwide following Azerbaijan’s military takeover.
For years, Freedom House has consistently labelled Georgia and Abkhazia as "partially free," contrasting with the designation of "not free" for Azerbaijan and South Ossetia, among others. However, Georgian officials have frequently contested these assessments, questioning their accuracy and impartiality.
This sentiment was echoed in 2022 by Georgian parliamentarian Mikhail Sardzhveladze, who questioned the credibility of Abkhazia's score surpassing that of countries like Kazakhstan and NATO member Türkiye.
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Freedom House's "Freedom in the World" report evaluates political rights and civil liberties in 195 countries and 13 territories. Its methodology is grounded in principles outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with an emphasis on real-world implementation rather than legal guarantees. The report considers the influence of both state and non-state actors in shaping freedoms within a society.
For a comprehensive view of the report, readers can visit the Freedom House website.