Freedom and Rights in Tonga
An important aspect of responsible and ethical travel is an awareness of your destination country's record on political and economic freedoms, civil and political rights, and corruption and press censorship. Here we have amalgamated data from a range of indices produced by different worldwide organisations (see details below) to assess the status of Tonga across these measures. Tonga currently has an overall ranking of 86 out of 195 countries. To see how Tonga compares with other countries, see our full list of countries freedoms and rights. Please be aware this is just intended as a broad overview and snapshot and the rankings are dependent on the criteria used by the respective organisations.
| Index | Status | Score | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom in the World | Free | 2 | - |
| Democracy Index | No Data | - | - |
| Index of Economic Freedom | Mostly Unfree | 59.3 | 95 (179) |
| Press Freedom Index | Satisfactory situation | 23.37 | 43 (179) |
| ILGA LGBT rights | No rights | -2 | - |
| Corruption Perceptions Index | No Data | - | - |
| Average | 56.83 | 86 (195) |
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Freedom in the WorldFreedom in the World, Freedom House’s flagship publication, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. Published annually since 1972, the survey ratings and narrative reports on 195 countries and 14 related and disputed territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. Year of Report: 2015 Scoring: 1 to 7 (1=most free, 7=least free) Results: 2 - Free Breakdown: Political Rights (2), Civil Liberties (2) |
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Index of Economic FreedomFor over a decade, The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation, Washington's preeminent think tank, have tracked the march of economic freedom around the world with the influential Index of Economic Freedom. Since 1995, the Index has brought Adam Smith's theories about liberty, prosperity and economic freedom to life by creating 10 benchmarks that gauge the economic success of 185 countries around the world, covering 10 freedoms from property rights to entrepreneurship. Year of Report: 2015 Scoring: 1 to 100 (1=least free, 100=most free) Results: 59.3 - Mostly Unfree Rank: 95/179 |
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Press Freedom IndexThe Reporters Without Borders index, which is published each year, measures the state of media freedom throughout the world. It reflects the degree of freedom that journalists, news media and netizens enjoy in each country, and the efforts made by the authorities to respect and ensure respect for this freedom. It asks questions about every kind of violation directly affecting journalists, netizens and news media and the degree of impunity enjoyed by those responsible for these violations. Year of Report: 2015 Scoring: 1 to 100 (1=most free, 100=least free) Results: 23.37 - Satisfactory situation Rank: 43/179 |
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ILGA LGBT rightsThe ILGA Report on State-Sponsored Homophobia is a comprehensive outline of the legal status of same-sex sexual activity in countries across the world. In addition to core legal issues, it addresses issues around same-sex marriage and adoption, the prohibition of discrimination in employment and constitutionally and issues around hate crimes and incitement to hatred. Year of Report: 2015 Scoring: -5 to 10 (-5=fewest rights, 10=most rights) Results: -2 - No rights Breakdown: Homosexuality illegal (-2) |