Skopje, 9 March 2023 (MIA) - North Macedonia's freedom index score in the latest report by Freedom House, entitled "Freedom in the World 2023", is 68 out of 100, which is a move up of one index point compared to last year. 

With a score of 68, North Macedonia is ranked as a "partly free" country. Most countries in the region have the same status. Serbia sees a drop and has a score of 60, same as Kosovo, which has moved up by four points. Albania and Montenegro have a score of 67, Bulgaria 79, Croatia 84 and Greece 86. Slovenia has the highest freedom index among the countries in the region - 95, whereas Bosnia and Herzegovina has the lowest - 52.

In its latest report, Freedom House notes that global freedom has declined for the 17th consecutive year. The Russian invasion has led to devastating human rights atrocities in Ukraine, and new coups and other attempts to undermine representative government destabilized Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Peru, and Brazil.

The report showed that Sweden, Norway, and Finland were the most free in the world with scores of 100, while the United States has a score of 83, Russia 16, China 9, and Ukraine 50. North Korea (3) and Syria (1) were the least free.