Atlantic Council 2026: Georgia first in 12-year prosperity gains, score reaches 75.5%

The Atlantic Council has published its 2026 Atlas based on the Freedom and Prosperity indices, reaffirming Georgia’s status as a country with moderate freedom and moderate prosperity.

Georgia ranked first in the world for improvement in the Prosperity Index over a 12-year period (2013–2024). The country also recorded a historic high in the prosperity score, reaching 75.5% on a 100-point scale.

Beyond prosperity, the report reviews long-term global democratisation trends since 2012. According to the assessment, Georgia ranks among the top five European countries for democratisation progress after 2012. The Atlantic Council notes that only eight countries among members and candidates of NATO and the European Union experienced democratic progress during this period: Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Georgia, Latvia, Czechia, Ireland, and Estonia.

Georgia was also placed in the category of a “permanent democracy with strong political freedom”.

According to the Atlantic Council, countries with a political freedom score above 50% are considered democratic, while those below are deemed autocratic. States that consistently maintain scores above 50% over time are categorised as persistent democracies, while those exceeding 75% are considered to have strong political freedom.

Georgia’s current political freedom score stands at 75.1%, securing its status in this category. The report notes that Georgia has consistently maintained a score above 75% since 2013, whereas prior to that it had not achieved this threshold.

Furthermore, Georgia’s population is among the 9% of the global population that has experienced improvements in democratisation and political freedom since 2012. In the political freedom category, the country received its highest score in elections (82.4%), followed by civil liberties (81.8%).

The Freedom Index is assessed based on criteria such as fair elections, civil liberties, political rights, rule of law, judicial independence and effectiveness, government integrity, absence of corruption, public security, and property rights. These indicators are grouped into three aggregate indexes: economic freedom, political freedom, and legal freedom.

As for the Prosperity Index, it is based on six pillars: income level, environmental protection, minority rights, public health, education, and equality. The index ranks 164 countries and territories across four categories: high, moderate, low, and very low prosperity.

Georgia is classified as a country with moderate prosperity, ranking 47th globally. According to the report, achieving “high prosperity” status requires ranking between 1st and 41st place. Georgia is currently just six positions away from entering this category.

In this year’s ranking, Georgia outperforms all neighboring countries, all EU candidate states, and five EU and NATO member states - Bulgaria, Turkey, Albania, North Macedonia, and Montenegro.

The Freedom and Prosperity Indexes are developed by the Atlantic Council’s Freedom and Prosperity Center and are primarily based on data from the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators, the United Nations, the Heritage Foundation, and Varieties of Democracy, incorporating extensive international research and aggregated indices.