Taiwan has remained the only country in Asia with “open” civic space for the fifth consecutive year, according to the CIVICUS Monitor ranking released on Wednesday.
The People Power Under Attack 2023 report named Taiwan as one of only 37 “open” countries or territories out of 198 globally, and the only in Asia.
Compiled by CIVICUS — a global alliance of civil organizations dedicated to strengthening civil action — the ranking compiled annually since 2017 measures the state of freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression around the world.
Photo courtesy of CIVICUS
Researchers assign each country or territory one of five rankings describing the state of its civic space as open, narrowed, obstructed, repressed or closed.
This year, 37 were considered open, 43 were narrowed, 40 were obstructed, 50 were repressed and 28 were closed.
By population, only 2.1 percent of people live in open societies — half of the percentage seen six years ago — while 40.3 percent are in repressed societies and 30.6 percent are in closed societies.
Eight of the 26 countries or territories in Asia were rated as closed, up from seven last year, as Bangladesh joined China, Hong Kong, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Afghanistan in the bottom ranking.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
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