Atlantic Council report: Georgia ranks top 5 globally in minority rights protection for 21st century

The Atlantic Council has released its 2025 Prosperity Index and detailed report, which stated that Georgia ranks amongst the top five countries in the 21st century for improving minority rights protection and holds the 39th position globally - outperforming nine EU and NATO member states.

The report evaluates prosperity through a comprehensive lens, factoring in not only income but also social equity, minority rights, environmental stewardship, education, and public health.

In the Minority Rights Index, Georgia scored 74.8%, ranking 39th amongst 164 countries - a position that puts the country within the global top 40 for minority rights protection.

This marks a significant improvement for Georgia, both in absolute terms and relative to many developed nations.

The index measures discrimination or exclusion based on factors such as gender, ethnicity, race, language, religion, immigration status, political affiliation, or region, and assesses access to public services, government jobs, and business opportunities.

Over the past two decades, Georgia has demonstrated one of the most impressive trajectories in advancing minority rights.

From 2001 to 2024, Georgia improved its score by 14 points, ranking it amongst the top five countries globally for progress in this area in the 21st century.

In stark contrast, the global average saw almost no movement (an increase of just 0.01 percentage points), while the European Union experienced a decline of 0.9 points.

Since 2012, Georgia has further strengthened its reputation in this field, ranking 12th globally for improvements over the last 12 years.

During this time, Georgia’s minority rights index improved by 6.2 points, while the EU’s average score declined by 2 percentage points.

Since 2012, the country has climbed 12 places in the global ranking and now surpasses nine NATO and EU member states, including the United Kingdom, Poland, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Turkey.

The Freedom and Prosperity Indices are produced by the Atlantic Council’s Center for Freedom and Prosperity. These indices are primarily based on detailed international studies, scientific expertise, and aggregated indexes from sources such as the World Bank’s Global Governance Indicators, the United Nations, the Heritage Foundation (USA), and the organization Diversity of Democracy.