Human Freedom Index 2025

Human Freedom Index 2025:Kuwait has reaffirmed its status as one of the most open and free societies in the region, ranking first among Gulf countries and second in the Arab world, after Jordan, according to the Human Freedom Index (HFI) 2025.

The annual index, which evaluates 165 countries worldwide, is jointly published by the American Cato Institute and the Canadian Fraser Institute. It is considered one of the most reliable global benchmarks for measuring levels of freedom.

On the global scale, Kuwait ranked 113th with an overall score of 6.18 points. However, the country recorded stronger results across several key indicators. In personal freedom, Kuwait scored 6.33 points, placing it 109th globally. In economic freedom, it achieved 6.56 points, ranking 88th worldwide. Kuwait also performed well in civil liberties, earning 6.43 points and ranking 104th globally.

Among other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, several states improved their positions compared to previous years. The United Arab Emirates ranked 121st, followed by Oman (122nd), Qatar (128th), Bahrain (129th), and Saudi Arabia (148th).

At the global level, the top ten countries in the Human Freedom Index were Switzerland, Denmark, New Zealand, Ireland, Luxembourg, Estonia, Finland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Australia. These nations consistently perform strongly in both personal and economic freedom indicators.

The Human Freedom Index is regarded as the most comprehensive global measure of freedom, assessing personal, civil, and economic liberties through 87 detailed sub-indicators. These include rule of law, freedom of expression, property rights, and regulatory efficiency, covering approximately 98 percent of the world’s population.