Analytics, Democracy , EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Rating

In the report, Latvia is included in the category of Free countries by the situation with political rights and civil liberties.

However, Latvia's political rights rating declined from 1 to 2 due to the government's weak response to the "Oligarch Talks" scandal, which revealed the extent to which recent legal improvements have failed to loosen the grip of powerful businessmen on the political arena, the Freedom House said.

Latvia's aggregate score was 87 points out of maximum 100, of the same as the year before.

Estonia and Lithuania also were rated as Free countries, and their respective scores were 94 points and 91 points, both unchanged from the previous year.

Freedom House said that altogether 71 countries suffered net declines in political rights and civil liberties in 2017, with only 35 countries registering gains. This marked the 12th consecutive year of decline in global freedom, the watchdog said.

Over the period since the 12-year global slide began in 2006, 113 countries have seen a net decline, and only 62 have experienced a net improvement.

"Political rights and civil liberties around the world deteriorated to their lowest point in more than a decade in 2017, extending a period characterized by emboldened autocrats, beleaguered democracies, and the United States' withdrawal from its leadership role in the global struggle for human freedom," the report says.