Freedom House: Poland with best scores

Poland was deemed as 'free' in the latest Freedom in the World index compiled by Washington-based NGO Freedom House. Poland received the best notes (1 - the highest) in each category. "For the ninth consecutive year, the Freedom House’s annual report on the condition of global political rights and civil liberties, showed an overall decline. (...) A troubling number of large, economically powerful, regionally influential countries moved backward: Russia, Venezuela, Egypt, Turkey, Thailand, Nigeria, Kenya, and Azerbaijan. Hungary, a European Union member state, also saw a sharp slide in its democratic standards as part of a process that began in 2010. " the report read. The Freedom in the World index evaluates the state of freedom in 195 countries and 15 territories during 2014. Each country and territory is assigned two numerical ratings, from 1 to 7, for political rights and civil liberties, with 1 representing the most free and 7 the least free. The two ratings are based on scores assigned to 25 more detailed indicators. The average of a country or territory’s political rights and civil liberties ratings determines whether it is Free, Partly Free, or Not Free.