Human Freedom Index 2024
Cato Institute + Fraser Institute · Published 17 December 2024
Latest edition: 17 December 2024 · Next expected: December 2026
This ranking is questionable. The arithmetic is open, but many indicators are inherited from third parties whose own expert and survey selection stays closed.
What the report claims
The Human Freedom Index, from the Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute, combines personal freedom and economic freedom into a single ranking built from 86 indicators drawn from third-party datasets. India ranks 110th of 165 in the 2024 edition, and the personal-freedom components covering expression, association, and the rule of law drive the low placement. The indicator list, the aggregation rules, and the full country dataset are published and downloadable. The index adds personal and economic freedom with equal weight under an explicit limited-government orientation.
The Credibility Score, dimension by dimension
- Methodology transparency / replicability
- 14 / 20
- Source verifiability + measurement integrity
- 11 / 25
- Internal consistency of India’s place
- 13 / 20
- Construct validity / India coverage
- 5 / 10
- Independence and funding
- 4 / 20
- Accountability (corrections, versioning)
- 2 / 5
Funding and independence: The Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute are policy think tanks with stated libertarian and free-market advocacy missions, and both state that they do not accept government funding. Neither publishes an itemised donor list or contribution amounts; funding comes from private foundations, individual donors, and donor-advised funds, including long-running Koch-network funding of Cato, with only aggregate finances visible in public nonprofit filings. Historical series are recalculated in each edition, but there is no formal public corrections log.
Sources: Cato Institute + Fraser Institute, Human Freedom Index 2024
Updated 9 November 2026