Freedom in the World 2011, the latest edition of Freedom House’s annual survey of global political rights and civil liberties, showed that conditions worsened for the fifth consecutive year. The multiyear spate of backsliding is the longest of its kind since Freedom in the World was first published in 1972. The number of countries exhibiting declines for the past year (25), was substantially higher than the number showing gains (11). The number of countries designated as Free dropped from 89 to 87, but more disturbing was the further decline in the number of electoral democracies, from 116 to 115, putting the figure well below its 2005 level of 123.