How Much Internet Freedom Do Different Countries Actually Have In 2026?
A recent report by Cloudwards evaluates global internet freedom, assessing torrenting, adult content, political and civic expression, and VPN access. Countries are scored from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating fewer restrictions.
A recent report by Cloudwards evaluates global internet freedom, assessing torrenting, adult content, political and civic expression, and VPN access. Countries are scored from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating fewer restrictions.
Eleven countries achieved a top score of 92, including Belgium, Costa Rica, Timor Leste, and New Zealand. In these regions, social media, VPNs, and political expression are fully accessible. While torrenting is restricted due to copyright laws, adult content and civic debate face no blocks.
New Zealand is the sole country in Oceania to score 92, whereas Australia and the United States both scored 64. High-scoring countries are distributed across Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Oceania.
North Korea received the lowest score of 0, with internet access limited to a select group. Russia, Pakistan, Iran, and China each scored 4, with restricted access across all categories measured. Social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok are frequently blocked.
A recent report by Cloudwards evaluates global internet freedom, assessing torrenting, adult content, political and civic expression, and VPN access.
Countries scoring 20 or below are located in Asia, Africa, and Europe, including Belarus, where public dissent is not tolerated. In the Middle East and North Africa, countries like Yemen, the UAE, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt scored 12, with Iraq scoring 16, reflecting tight control over political expression and VPN use.
The United Kingdom scored 52, placing it in the mid to lower global tier. The UK has restrictions on torrenting, adult content, and political expression, though VPNs and social media are fully accessible. This position is comparable to Brazil, Colombia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, and Zambia.
Cloudwards utilized data from OONI Explorer, Freedom House, government notices, court rulings, and regulatory disclosures. Each country was evaluated across four categories: fully accessible, restricted, banned, or restricted and banned. Scores were normalized to a 1 to 100 scale.
Torrenting emerged as the most restricted category globally due to copyright laws, even in countries with higher freedom scores.
Based on reporting by techround.co.uk.