CIVICUS Monitor has published its annual report, ‘People Power Under Attack 2025’ (December 2025), tracking the state of civic space at global and regional levels. The report assesses how well countries protect the fundamental freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression.
Human Level’s Take
Civic space shrank considerably in 2025, with 73% of the world’s population now living under restricted conditions and nearly 31% in countries where civic space is fully closed. AThese trends have continued and probably worsened in 2026.
Attacks on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly remain the most frequent violations. Governments are increasingly using detentions, excessive force, surveillance and digital repression to curb dissent, targeting journalists, human rights defenders and often young (Gen Z) protesters.
These restrictions are not only a human rights concern. They also heighten operational, legal and reputational risks for companies. The normalisation of arbitrary detentions, protest crackdowns and digital surveillance deteriorate the enabling environments businesses depend on for resilient operations, safe and meaningful stakeholder engagement and accountable governance.
Companies can help mitigate these systemic and human rights risks by integrating civic space considerations into human rights due diligence, and by advocating against legislation that criminalises civil society actors and for laws that protect environmental and human rights defenders.
Companies operating in repressed or closed civic space contexts, in particular, are also expected to apply heightened human rights due diligence to ensure they are not contributing to, enabling or benefiting from restrictive practices.
Some key takeaways:
The state of global civic space: In 2025, civic space conditions continued to deteriorate, with just 7.2% of the global population living in countries rated as ‘open’ or ‘narrowed’ in terms of civic space. This constitutes a decline of 7.5% when compared to 2024. Fifteen countries were downgraded in their rating, compared to the previous year, while only three were upgraded. Improvements were recorded in Gabon, Mauritania and Senegal, while downgrades affected countries like the United States, France, Italy, Argentina, El Salvador and Serbia. Only 39 of 198 countries are now rated as “open”, meaning fundamental freedoms are broadly respected, while 83 are classified as “repressed” or “closed”, indicating systematic constraints on civil society. Overall, 73% of the world’s population lives under restricted civic space conditions, with nearly 31% living in countries where civic space is completely closed.
Common tactics of repression and attacks: Freedom of expression was the most frequently recorded violation in 2025, accounting for 44% of documented incidents. In second place, 30% of attacks or violations were against peaceful assembly, with the detention of protesters recorded in at least 82 countries. Protests related to the Israel–Palestine conflict, climate change, corruption, electoral integrity, rising living costs and poor public services were among the most frequently targeted – as 2025 saw large-scale, Gen Z-led mobilisations in countries such as Madagascar, Morocco, Nepal and Peru. The detention of journalists and human rights defenders (HRDs) were also commonly reported violations. Investigative journalists, those working for independent media and reporters covering corruption are particularly vulnerable to arbitrary arrest. And, for human rights defenders, violations were recorded across Sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the MENA region. Governments also increasingly used legislative tools to restrict civic space. Several countries introduced new laws limiting peaceful assembly, and between January and April 2025 alone, including at least 41 of U.S. states. Finally, digital repression was documented in at least 11% of all recorded civic space violation cases – including via internet shutdowns, social media blocking, online censorship, criminalisation of online speech, harassment and state-influenced content moderation. Surveillance technologies, including spyware, are also increasingly used against HRDs, journalists and protesters.
How companies can address these systemic risks: Although the report’s formal recommendations focus primarily on governments and international institutions, companies play an important role in preventing and mitigating impacts on civic freedoms linked to their operations and value chains. Businesses can prevent and mitigate impacts on civil freedoms linked to their operations or value chain by engaging meaningfully with civil society organisations, human rights defenders and other stakeholders to understand local contexts and potential harms - especially in countries ranked with the highest levels of repressions - and, therefore, ensuring they are not contributing to or benefitting from restrictions on freedoms of expression, assembly or association. Companies can also use their leverage responsibly, advocating against legislation that criminalises civil society actors and supporting legal frameworks that protect environmental and human rights defenders.
