As we approach the end of the year in which “post-truth” became part of the common lexicon (so much so that it was was named the Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year), we thought it a good time to have a look at how people’s freedoms are holding up throughout the world.

This heatmap sorts the world’s countries according to how much “personal freedom” their citizens enjoy. The data comes from The Legatum Prosperity Index, which ranks countries according to a range of criteria. The personal freedom ranking is based on access to legal rights; freedom of speech and religion; and social tolerance, notably towards immigrants and ethnic minorities.

Luxembourg, a founding member of the European Union and seat of the European Court of Justice, tops the liberty charts. It is one of Europe’s smallest sovereign states and has a population of a little over half a million.

In second place is Canada, whose young Liberal leader Justin Trudeau is the envy of disgruntled progressives in the UK and now on the other side of the Atlantic too; the country’s immigration website famously crashed after Donald Trump’s victory in the US elections on November 9 this year.

Other European entries in the top 10 include Iceland, The Netherlands, Finland and Belgium.

Uruguay, which has a reputation for liberal legislation, including legalised cannabis - is the only South American country to make the top 20.

Uruguay is South America's most liberal country Credit: Kseniya Ragozina - Fotolia

New Zealand, which comes third in the personal freedom ranking, tops Legatum’s overall prosperity league table for 2016, which also takes in factors such as education and business environment.

Ireland beats the UK to a top 10 spot, coming in fifth for personal liberty, but Britain fares pretty well at 15th.

The United States is currently 25th in the ranking.

The 20 most tolerant countries

Luxembourg Canada New Zealand Iceland Ireland Uruguay Netherlands Finland Belgium Portugal Norway Australia Denmark Sweden United Kingdom Spain Malta Switzerland Costa Rica Slovenia

Perhaps unsurprisingly, conflict-ravaged Afghanistan scores lowest for personal liberty. The economy and infrastructure of the country have been hard hit by decades of instability, and the government set up following the US-led invasion of 2001 has struggled to maintain control across the country, with the Taliban stepping up attacks in the past two years.

Afghanistan's lowly position will surprise nobody Credit: Getty

Its neighbour Iran comes in the bottom five. Mauritania in northern Africa, as well as Egypt and Sudan, also fare very badly for personal liberty.

Russia, run by domestically popular but internationally controversial Putin, is also in the bottom 10 for rights and tolerance, coming behind Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo, among others.

The 20 least tolerant countries

Afghanistan Sudan Yemen Egypt Iran Libya Mauritania

The Central African Republic Russia Democratic Republic of Congo Iraq China Chad Algeria Swaziland Belarus Saudi Arabia

Pakistan Comoros Tajikistan



The top and bottom countries have not changed a great deal since 2015, but if tectonic plates of global politics continue to shift, the map may look different in the next few years.

We have also mapped the world’s safest and least safe countries, the best and worst countries for gender equality, the world’s most overcrowded cities and a host of other demographics.