|
U.S. State Department Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices
1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
Freedom House describes itself as "a non-profit, nonpartisan organization" that is "a clear voice
for democracy and freedom around the world". It has published annual reports on the state of freedom and democracy in
the world since 1972 along with reports on the level of press freedom in each country since 1980. The following
tables and links show how São Tomé and Príncipe performed in its yearly evaluation.
Methodology
Political Rights and Civil Liberties
Numerical Rating
Each country and territory is assigned a numerical rating, in both
categories, on a scale of 1 to 7 . A rating of 1 indicates the highest degree of freedom and 7 the least amount of freedom.
Status of Free, Partly Free, Not Free
Each pair of political rights and civil liberties ratings is averaged
to determine an overall status of “Free,” “Partly Free,” or “Not Free.” Those whose ratings
average 1-2.5 are considered Free, 3-5.5 Partly Free, and 5.5-7 Not Free. The dividing line between Partly Free and Not Free
falls at 5.5. For example, countries that receive a rating of 6 for political rights and 5 for civil liberties, or a 5 for
political rights and a 6 for civil liberties, could be either Partly Free or Not Free.
Criteria for designation as an Electoral Democracy
1) A competitive, multiparty political system.
2) Universal
adult suffrage for all citizens (with exceptions for restrictions that states may legitimately place on citizens as sanctions
for criminal offenses).
3) Regularly contested elections conducted in conditions of ballot secrecy, reasonable ballot
security, and in the absence of massive voter fraud that yields results that are unrepresentative of the public will.
4)
Significant public access of major political parties to the electorate through the media and through generally open political
campaigning.
|
Freedom House Ratings for São Tomé and Príncipe |
|
Year |
Political Rights |
Civil Liberties |
Status |
Electoral Democracy? |
|
1975-76 |
5 |
5 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
1976-77 |
5 |
5 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
1977-78 |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
No |
|
1978-79 |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
No |
|
1979-80 |
6 |
6 |
Not Free |
No |
|
1980-81 |
6 |
6 |
Not Free |
No |
|
1981-82 |
6 |
6 |
Not Free |
No |
|
1982-83 |
6 |
6 |
Not Free |
No |
|
1983-84 |
7 |
7 |
Not Free |
No |
|
1984-85 |
7 |
7 |
Not Free |
No |
|
1985-86 |
7 |
7 |
Not Free |
No |
|
1986-87 |
7 |
7 |
Not Free |
No |
|
1987-88 |
7 |
7 |
Not Free |
No |
|
1988-89 |
6 |
7 |
Not Free |
No |
|
1989-90 |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
No |
|
1990-91 |
5 |
5 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
1991-92 |
2 |
3 |
Free |
Yes |
|
1992-93 |
2 |
3 |
Free |
Yes |
|
1993-94 |
1 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
1994-95 |
1 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
1995-96 |
1 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
1996-97 |
1 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
1997-98 |
1 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
1998-99 |
1 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
1999-00 |
1 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
2000-01 |
1 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
2001-02 |
1 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
2002-03 |
1 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
2003-04 |
2 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
Links to the most recent Freedom House surveys for
STP
|
Freedom House Ratings for Sub-Saharan African Countries in 2003-04 |
|
Country |
Political Rights |
Civil Liberties |
Status |
Electoral Democracy? |
|
São Tomé & Príncipe |
2 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
Angola |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Benin |
2 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
Botswana |
2 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
Burkina Faso |
4 |
4 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
Burundi |
5 |
5 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
Cameroon |
6 |
6 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Cape Verde |
1 |
1 |
Free |
Yes |
|
Central African Rep. |
7 |
5 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Chad |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Comoros |
5 |
4 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
Congo-Brazzaville |
5 |
4 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
Congo-Kinshasa |
6 |
6 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Côte d'Ivoire |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Djibouti |
5 |
5 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
Equatorial Guinea |
7 |
6 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Eritrea |
7 |
6 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Ethiopia |
5 |
5 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
Gabon |
5 |
4 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
Gambia |
4 |
4 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
Ghana |
2 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
Guinea |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Guinea-Bissau |
6 |
4 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
Kenya |
3 |
3 |
Partly Free |
Yes |
|
Lesotho |
2 |
3 |
Free |
Yes |
|
Liberia |
6 |
6 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Madagascar |
3 |
3 |
Partly Free |
Yes |
|
Malawi |
3 |
4 |
Partly Free |
Yes |
|
Mali |
2 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
Mauritania |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Mauritius |
1 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
Mozambique |
3 |
4 |
Partly Free |
Yes |
|
Namibia |
2 |
3 |
Free |
Yes |
|
Niger |
4 |
4 |
Partly Free |
Yes |
|
Nigeria |
4 |
4 |
Partly Free |
Yes |
|
Rwanda |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Senegal |
2 |
3 |
Free |
Yes |
|
Seychelles |
3 |
3 |
Partly Free |
Yes |
|
Sierra Leone |
4 |
3 |
Partly Free |
Yes |
|
Somalia |
6 |
7 |
Not Free |
No |
|
South Africa |
1 |
2 |
Free |
Yes |
|
Sudan |
7 |
7 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Swaziland |
7 |
5 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Tanzania |
4 |
3 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
Togo |
6 |
5 |
Not Free |
No |
|
Uganda |
5 |
4 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
Zambia |
4 |
4 |
Partly Free |
No |
|
Zimbabwe |
6 |
6 |
Not Free |
No |
|
