Democratic watchdog organization Freedom House has released its annual ranking of the world’s most free and most suppressed nations. The report is considered a key barometer for global democracy and this year’s edition found that while global freedom has declined for the 17th year straight, the world may be headed towards a “possible turning point”, as the rate of decline is leveling off. This partly comes down to the easing off of pandemic-related restrictions which had impacted freedom of assembly and freedom of movement.