Which countries don't allow freedom of speech?
Asked by: Miss Janie Donnelly DVM | Last update: February 27, 2026Score: 4.9/5 (19 votes)
Countries with virtually no freedom of speech, where the state tightly controls media and information, consistently include North Korea, Eritrea, and Turkmenistan, often ranking lowest in press freedom indices, while others like China, Iran, Vietnam, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia also heavily restrict expression through censorship, surveillance, and harassment, according to reports from groups like Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
What countries don't allow free speech?
According to Amnesty International, freedom of expression is significantly limited in China and North Korea. Freedom of speech has improved in Myanmar in recent years, but significant challenges remain.
What is the #1 freest country in the world?
According to major freedom indices, Switzerland is consistently ranked as the #1 freest country in the world, leading in the Human Freedom Index (HFI) for both 2024 and 2025 reports, closely followed by New Zealand and Denmark. It scores highly due to strong personal freedoms like political participation and economic freedoms, including property rights and low corruption.
What is the US ranked in free speech?
The U.S. has fallen from third to ninth place in the global ranking for support of free speech rights since 2021, according to a new study published by The Future of Free Speech at Vanderbilt University.
Where is free speech not protected?
Only that expression that is shown to belong to a few narrow categories of speech is not protected by the First Amendment. The categories of unprotected speech include obscenity, child pornography, defamatory speech, false advertising, true threats, and fighting words.
What Are You Allowed to Say - Free Speech Explained
What are the 5 limits to freedom of speech?
Five key limits to freedom of speech include incitement to violence, true threats, defamation, obscenity/child pornography, and speech integral to criminal conduct, all of which are generally unprotected because they cause direct harm, incite immediate illegal acts, or involve other serious offenses like fraud or perjury, despite free speech protecting even offensive or unpopular ideas.
Is hate speech illegal in the US?
The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently ruled that hateful or offensive speech is constitutionally protected from legal ramifications unless, for example, it incites imminent violence or unlawful action, constitutes “true threats” against individuals, is obscenity, as legally defined, or is defamatory – these are types ...
Do China have freedom of speech?
Although the 1982 constitution guarantees freedom of speech, the Chinese government often uses the "subversion of state power" and "protection of state secrets" clauses in their law system to imprison those who criticize the government.
Which country has more freedom than America?
The countries that took the top 10 places, in order, were Switzerland, New Zealand, Denmark, Luxembourg, Ireland, Finland, Australia and Iceland and Sweden (tied at 7), and Estonia.
What does the US rank #1 in?
The U.S. ranks #1 globally for economic size (GDP), military power, and innovation/entrepreneurship, leading in areas like film, medical research, and having top universities, while also being #1 for international influence and in some education/forward-thinking perceptions, though rankings vary by specific metric and perception vs. hard data.
Which US state is the freest?
For the 24th time, New Hampshire is the freest state among all U.S. states, having scored 8.34 out of 10 in this year's report, which measures government spending, taxation, regulations and labor market restrictions using data from 2023, the most recent year of available comparable data.
What is the most unfree country?
According to the Freedom House Freedom Index from 2024, Turkmenistan and South Sudan were the two least free countries in the world that year. The index measures the level of political rights and civil liberties in a country.
What is the most humane country in the world?
Ranked number one since 2008, Iceland remains the world's most peaceful nation, leading across all three domains: safety and security, ongoing conflict and militarisation.
Which country has no censorship?
Only two countries–Taiwan and Timor-Leste–don't impose vast restrictions. The majority of other countries (38 in total) are subject to heavy censorship. A large number (29) of these countries restrict social media platforms in some way.
Why doesn't Australia have freedom of speech?
The Australian Constitution does not explicitly protect freedom of expression. However, the High Court has held that an implied freedom of political communication exists as an indispensable part of the system of representative and responsible government created by the Constitution.
What is the most secretive country in the world?
However, we do know some things about life inside the most secretive country on Earth. In many ways, it's as bad as we imagine. But there are also plenty of unexpected aspects of North Korea, its leaders, its people, and the way things really work there.
Which country is actually the freest?
There isn't one single "freest" country, as rankings vary by index, but Switzerland, New Zealand, Denmark, and Canada consistently rank at the top for overall human freedom (personal and economic), while Nordic countries like Finland, Sweden, and Norway often lead in general freedom scores, highlighting strong civil liberties, political rights, and open societies.
Is China freer than the US?
No, the U.S. offers significantly more personal and political freedoms than China, which is an authoritarian one-party state with extensive censorship and surveillance, though some argue China provides greater safety and collective stability, contrasting with American emphasis on individual choice. Major freedom indexes consistently rank China as one "not free" or among the least free nations, while the U.S. ranks much higher, despite its own issues.
How much of the world is free?
According to Freedom in the World 2023: Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy, only 20 percent of the world's total population of 7.9 billion people live in a “Free” country.
Is it illegal to carry a Bible in China?
The Bible isn't completely banned in China, but its sale and distribution are heavily controlled by the state, meaning it can only be purchased through government-approved channels like state-sanctioned church bookstores (Three-Self Patriotic Movement). Online sales were banned in 2018, and while owning a Bible isn't technically illegal, the government is tightening restrictions, controlling versions (even attempting new "official" translations), and cracking down on unregistered religious activities, making it harder to get.
What are the three forbidden ts in China?
The "Three Ts" forbidden topics in China refer to Taiwan, Tibet, and Tiananmen Square, subjects considered highly sensitive and censored by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) due to their challenges to national sovereignty, human rights, and political legitimacy. Discussing these topics, even for foreign visitors, can lead to censorship or negative repercussions, with related themes including criticism of the CCP, Falun Gong, and human rights abuses.
Can you remain silent in China?
China has recognised the right against self-incrimination and forced confessions are prohibited by law. The signing of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1998, also guarantees Chinese citizens the right against self-incrimination, however the treaty has not been ratified in China.
Is the f word protected speech?
Yes, the "f-word" (profanity/obscenity) is generally protected speech under the First Amendment, as the Supreme Court has ruled that offensive or vulgar words alone aren't enough to restrict speech; however, it loses protection if it crosses into unprotected categories like "fighting words" (direct personal insults likely to provoke violence), true threats, or is part of obscenity, though courts have narrowed these exceptions significantly, as seen in the Brandi Levy case where school-related online swearing was protected.
Is it illegal to be a racist?
In the USA, legally you are allowed to say racist things under the first amendment freedom of speech, but you are not allowed to discriminate if you are running a business, or you are a government employee under official duties.
What states have hate crime laws?
State and district. Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia have statutes criminalizing various types of bias-motivated violence or intimidation (the exceptions being Arkansas, South Carolina, and Wyoming).