Freedom House has ranked Armenia “Partly Free” in its latest Freedom in the World 2022 report. Armenia, in terms of “political rights” scored 23 out of a possible 40, and in terms of “civil liberties” scored 32 out of a possible 60, for an overall score of 55/100. Freedom in the World 2022 evaluates the state of freedom in 195 countries and 15 territories during calendar year 2021. Each country and territory is assigned between 0 and 4 points on a series of 25 indicators, for an aggregate score of up to 100. The indicators are grouped into the categories of political rights (0–40) and civil liberties (0–60), whose totals are weighted equally to determine whether the country or territory has an overall status of Free, Partly Free, or Not Free. On Armenia, the report states: “Armenia is in the midst of a significant transition following mass antigovernment protests and elections in 2018 that forced out an entrenched political elite. The new government has pledged to deal with long-standing problems including systemic corruption, opaque policymaking, a flawed electoral system, and weak rule of law. The country continues to be seriously affected by the 2020 conflict with Azerbaijan, which saw several months of fighting over control of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.” The report, under the heading “Civil Liberties”, looks at the media in Armenia and says that the media is 50% free and independent, receiving 2 out of 4 points. “Independent and investigative outlets operate relatively freely in Armenia, and generally publish online. Small independent outlets often provide robust coverage challenging the narratives of state broadcasters and other establishment media. By comparison, most print and broadcast outlets are affiliated with political or larger commercial interests.” The report states that violence against journalists increased in 2021 and notes that “the criminalization of directing serious insult towards officials and public officials raises concerns that the law can be easily abused to curtail free expression and to direct political pressure against media organizations that criticize politicians.” Armenia received a low ranking (1/4) when it comes to the rule of law – independent judiciary, due process). Freedom House scored Armenia 53/100 for 2020. Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C.