What the index tries to observe

Freedom of expression cannot be captured by counting one law or one newspaper. The V-Dem index combines multiple expert-coded components concerning discussion freedom, media censorship, harassment of journalists, self-censorship, academic and cultural expression, and whether people can present critical perspectives.

V-Dem’s 2026 report is based on dataset version 16, with more than 32 million data points for 202 countries and territories from 1789 to 2025. More than 4,200 scholars and country experts contribute to the wider measurement system.

The 2026 warning

The report describes freedom of expression as the most heavily affected democratic dimension and identifies deterioration in 44 countries between 2015 and 2025. It also stresses that annual dataset revisions can alter historical scores as more evidence and improved modelling are incorporated.

Why Humain Alert reverses the scale

The original index runs from lower to higher freedom. The dashboard uses a pressure direction so all four social gauges point the same way:

Expression pressure = (1 − V-Dem expression index) × 100

An original value of 0.80 becomes a pressure value of 20. The transformation changes direction and scale only; it adds no new evidence. Humain Alert links to the original series so readers can inspect it.

Expert-coded does not mean arbitrary

Expert assessments are structured, documented and statistically modelled. They are useful where administrative counts cannot capture intimidation, bias or self-censorship. Their strength is breadth and conceptual depth. Their limitation is uncertainty: experts may disagree, information environments differ and recent events can be difficult to code.

Five reading rules

  1. Read the index with its uncertainty and methodology.
  2. Use trends and material changes rather than tiny rank differences.
  3. Check whether the latest year reflects a rapidly changing situation.
  4. Compare the result with legal, media and country evidence.
  5. Do not turn a governance score into a judgment about citizens or culture.

Why this indicator belongs in Humain Alert

Access to information affects the ability to detect every other pressure. Violence, health failures, environmental harm and exploitation are harder to address when journalists, researchers and citizens cannot investigate or speak. The index is therefore treated as a signal about the information environment, not as a complete democracy score.

Primary sources and data

Evidence note: Sources were checked on 7 Sep 2026. Publication years differ because each institution follows its own release schedule. Humain Alert preserves those dates instead of presenting the series as simultaneous.