The Human Score for Asia and the Pacific has dropped 18 points in the last decade and is now just half of its Regional Expression Score – a bigger divide than in any other region.

This gap is evidence of the dire situation in the region; countries with huge populations, like India and China, are facing declines for freedom of expression that affect the human rights of billions of people.

4 billion people in Asia and the Pacific are living with less freedom of expression than they had a decade ago. 

More than half the countries in this region have seen a decline in score over the last decade (52%), ranging from declines of 54 points in Hong Kong (China) to 3 points in Australia. This large range shows us the unusually broad range of experiences in this region.

The region’s combined 62-point gain over the last decade has largely taken place in less-populated countries, meaning that the human impact of those advances doesn’t compare to the massive losses that have taken place in countries as populous as China and India. Even these small advances stagnated in the last year: There were no advances in the region between 2021 and 2022.