Freedom increasing Worldwide, Annual Survey Shows by UN Wire 10:35am 22nd Dec, 2003   December 19, 2003    Democracy and freedom are gaining a stronger foothold in the world despite attempts in some regions to quash them, according to the annual global survey released yesterday by the New York-based rights group Freedom House.    The group said that although some states, particularly in Central Asia, had attempted to use the war on terrorism to justify stifling dissent, gains in democracy worldwide significantly outnumbered setbacks, with 25 countries having made progress and 15 having backslid.    The survey designated 88 countries, home to 2.8 billion people, as "free" and able to enjoy a broad range of rights.  It ranked 55 countries as "partly free," with limited civil liberties, and 49 "not free."    The number of countries receiving the very lowest score was, at eight, smaller than ever before.  They were Cuba, Libya, Myanmar, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and Turkmenistan.     The survey found the largest "freedom gap" in countries with Muslim majorities but identified no firm correlation between Islam and repression, as half of the world's Muslims live in democracies including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey.  Additionally, Yemen was found to have made great strides toward democratic freedoms.    Another surprise in the survey was the fact that among the 88 nations designated "free," 38 had a per capita gross national income of $3,500 or less.    "It is common wisdom that poor countries cannot support democratic systems," Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor said.  "But our data show that in dozens of poor countries, democracy does not depend on development.  In fact, our findings suggest that freedom can be the engine of development" (Agence France-Presse, Dec. 17). Visit the related web page
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