2026 Freedom in Africa Index reports gains alongside persistent setbacks

The Liberalist Centre’s 2026 Freedom in Africa (F(in)AR) Index was unveiled at the Conference of Freedom Advocates in Abuja, according to the Guardian’s report of November 4, 2026. The report found that Africa’s overall score rose from 47 in 2025 to 52.8 in 2026, while also identifying continuing setbacks in areas including judicial independence and freedom of expression.

The index reported improvements in electoral processes, press freedom and freedom of assembly, but said progress was uneven across countries and indicators. Chad, Burundi, Cameroon, Egypt and Equatorial Guinea recorded setbacks in some measures of political freedom.

Election integrity improved across the continent, with its average score rising from 4 out of 10 in 2025 to 5.2 in 2026. Ghana’s score increased from 6.8 to 9.5; Morocco’s from 2.9 to 7.9; and Côte d’Ivoire’s from 1.8 to 6.0. The report identified these countries among the stronger performers in that assessment. Somalia and Libya, by contrast, continued to record declines.

Results for freedom of speech also diverged. The Gambia’s score rose from 5.8 to 8.7, which the report associated with improvements in the media environment, including reduced self-censorship among journalists. Gabon’s suspension of access to major social media platforms was identified as a setback to expression.

Press freedom averaged 6.4 out of 10. The report nevertheless said journalists continued to face political, legal and economic pressures, and, citing Reporters Without Borders, noted that verbal attacks persisted despite a strong investigative media culture. Freedom of assembly averaged 5.8. Nigeria, Madagascar and Lesotho recorded gains, while restrictions on demonstrations remained a challenge in some countries.

Judicial independence was one of the index’s weakest areas, averaging 4.0 out of 10. The reported country results varied sharply: Seychelles rose from 9.0 to 9.9, The Gambia from 7.0 to 8.1, and Benin from 4.9 to 7.8. Nigeria’s score fell from 6.1 to 2.9.

The index placed Seychelles, Cape Verde, Ghana, Mauritius, South Africa, São Tomé and Príncipe, The Gambia, Namibia, Botswana and Lesotho among its 10 best-performing countries in political freedom. Sudan, Chad, Libya, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Eswatini, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea and Eritrea were listed among the 10 least-performing.

The 2026 edition is the index’s second publication. The Guardian reported that F(in)AR examines political freedom, economic freedom and prosperity, assessing conditions related to rights, participation, economic opportunity and quality of life. Its political-freedom measures include election integrity, freedom of speech, press freedom, freedom of assembly, judicial independence, and protection from oppression and torture.

The index relies entirely on secondary data drawn from international and African datasets, indexes and statistical sources. It does not conduct independent surveys or collect information directly from countries. That methodological detail matters when interpreting the scores: the results are the index’s assessment based on those existing sources, rather than findings from new direct surveys by the index itself. The reported improvements therefore do not mean that every country, or every dimension of freedom, improved.

For readers comparing political conditions across African countries, the report’s central finding is mixed: its overall score increased, but the component results varied by country and subject. The election-integrity gains, for example, sit alongside continuing declines in Somalia and Libya; progress in some judicial-independence scores sits alongside Nigeria’s sharp fall and a low continental average.

The index does not establish why a score changed or show that improvement in one measure led to change in another. Its findings are best read by looking at the specific indicator and country result, as well as the stated reliance on secondary data. The areas to keep in view in assessing future developments are those the report highlighted as uneven or weak, particularly judicial independence and freedom of expression. The Guardian’s account reports the 2026 findings but gives no further scheduled milestone for the index.