Freedom House produces a yearly report on media and political freedom in the world. The ranking and definitions have some issues, but for Thailand it has been a reasonable assessment of where the country sits on these scores and which countries rank about the same as Thailand.
In the latest ranking, Thailand is considered “Not Free.” No surprise there as the country has had a similar standing since the 2014 military coup. Thailand’s dismal performance since 2001 is listed in the following table:
| Year |
Political Rights |
Civil Liberties |
| 2018 | 6 | 5 |
| 2015 | 6 | 5 |
| 2012 | 4 | 4 |
| 2007 | 7 | 4 |
| 2005 | 2 | 3 |
| 2001 | 2 | 3 |
The report for 2018 is summarized in the following clip from the Freedom House website:
As bad as this score and decline are, the ruling elite prefers it when Thais are not free.
Political Prisoners in Thailand 