The gap
Every country ranked by the distance between what its constitution declares and what it is measured to practice. Negative means promises go unkept; positive means rights are respected beyond what the text guarantees.
A caveat you should read before the tables. A large positive gap is not a badge of honour, and this list is not a ranking of how free a country is. Countries that promise very little — because rights live in statute and common law rather than in an entrenched bill of rights — start near zero on the declared side and so rise to the top. The United Kingdom, New Zealand, Israel and Australia are flagged for exactly this reason. For how free a country actually is, read the practiced column on its own.
Underperformers — promise much, deliver little
| Country | Declared vs practiced | Decl. | Prac. | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicaragua | 96% | 26% | −70% | |
| Belarus | 93% | 38% | −56% | |
| Venezuela | 94% | 40% | −54% | |
| Eritrea | 78% | 26% | −53% | |
| Sudan | 90% | 38% | −52% | |
| Russia | 94% | 42% | −51% | |
| Türkiye | 97% | 46% | −50% | |
| Afghanistan | 70% | 20% | −50% | |
| Egypt | 89% | 41% | −48% | |
| Tajikistan | 78% | 30% | −48% | |
| Central African Republic | 94% | 47% | −47% | |
| Eswatini | 85% | 38% | −47% | |
| Cuba | 87% | 40% | −47% | |
| Azerbaijan | 90% | 44% | −46% | |
| Iraq | 96% | 51% | −45% | |
| Guinea | 90% | 46% | −45% | |
| Zimbabwe | 94% | 51% | −43% | |
| Burma/Myanmar | 72% | 29% | −42% | |
| Algeria | 93% | 51% | −41% | |
| Bangladesh | 87% | 47% | −40% |
Overperformers — promise little, deliver much
| Country | Declared vs practiced | Decl. | Prac. | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealandno entrenched bill of rights | 2% | 86% | +84% | |
| Australiano entrenched bill of rights | 11% | 85% | +74% | |
| France | 17% | 82% | +64% | |
| United Kingdomno entrenched bill of rights | 22% | 79% | +57% | |
| Denmark | 49% | 92% | +43% | |
| Netherlands | 44% | 82% | +38% | |
| Israelno entrenched bill of rights | 36% | 73% | +36% | |
| Luxembourg | 54% | 89% | +36% | |
| Ireland | 52% | 87% | +35% | |
| Singapore | 37% | 68% | +31% | |
| United States of America | 54% | 81% | +26% | |
| Malaysia | 40% | 65% | +25% | |
| Belgium | 63% | 88% | +25% | |
| Canadano entrenched bill of rights | 57% | 79% | +23% | |
| Swedenno entrenched bill of rights | 67% | 88% | +21% | |
| Vanuatu | 58% | 80% | +21% | |
| Iceland | 67% | 86% | +19% | |
| Taiwan | 70% | 85% | +16% | |
| Norway | 74% | 88% | +14% | |
| Malta | 68% | 81% | +13% |
158 countries scored across 23 rights measured on both sides. How these scores are built.