The survey assigns each country the status 'Free', 'Partly Free', or 'Not Free' on the bases of responses to the following questions:

(1) Is the head of state and/or head of government or other chief authority elected through free and fair elections?

(2) Are the legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections?

(3) Are there fair electoral laws, equal campaigning opportunities, fair polling, and honest tabulation of ballots?

(4) Are the voters able to endow their freely elected representatives with real power?

(5) Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system open to the rise and fall of these competing parties or groupings?

(6) Are there a significant opposition vote, de facto opposition power, and a realistic possibility for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections?

(7) Are the people free from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group?

(8) Do cultural, ethnic, religious, and other minority groups have reasonable self-determination, self-government, autonomy, or participation through informal consensus in the decision-making process?

Freedom of Expression and Belief

(1) Are there free and independent media and other forms of cultural expression? (In cases where the media are state controlled but offer pluralistic points of view, the survey gives the system credit.)

(2) Are there free religious institutions, and is there free private and public religious expression?

Association and Organizational Rights

(1) Is there freedom of assembly, demonstration, and open public discussion?

(2) Is there freedom of political or quasi-political organization? (This includes political parties, civic organizations, ad hoc issue groups, etc.)

(3) Are there free trade unions and peasant organizations or equivalents, and is there effective collective bargaining?

(4) Are there free professional and other private organizations?

Rule of Law and Human Rights

(1) Is there an independent judiciary?

(2) Does the rule of law prevail in civil and criminal matters?

(3) Is the population treated equally under the law?

(4) Are police under direct civilian control?

(5) Is there protection from political terror, unjustified imprisonment, exile or torture, whether by groups that support or oppose the system?

(6) Is there freedom from war and insurgencies? (Freedom from war and insurgencies enhances the liberties in a free society, but the absence of wars and insurgencies does not in and of itself make a Not Free Society, Free.)

(7) Is there freedom from extreme government indifference and corruption?

Personal Autonomy and Economic Rights

(1) Is there open and free private discussion?

(2) Is there personal autonomy?

(3) Does the state control travel, choice of residence, or choice of employment?

(4) Is there freedom from indoctrination and excessive dependency on the state?

(5) Are property rights secure?

(6) Do citizens have the right to establish private businesses?

(7) Do government officials, security forces, or organized crime unduly influence private business activity?

(8) Are there personal social freedoms, including gender equality, choice of marriage partners, and size of family?

(9) Is there equality of opportunity including freedom from exploitation by or dependency on landlords, employers, union leaders, bureaucrats, or other types of obstacles to share of legitimate economic gains?