Report Adds Three to List of Free Countries

Unfortunately freedom has declined in more countries than it has improved

Popular movements prompted major gains in freedom in the Middle East last year, a Freedom House report found.

Freedom House's annual report on the state of global freedom labels 90 countries as "free" in 2012, increasing by three from the previous year, with 16 countries showing positive gains.

But 27 countries' scores declined, marking the seventh year the report has indicated more declines than gains worldwide.