On Wednesday, July 15, at 1:30 p.m. ET, the Freedom and Prosperity Center will launch its 2026 Freedom and Indexes.
After a year defined by shifting economic alliances, a surge of youth-led political protests, and international insecurity, the newest edition of the Indexes provide a comprehensive look at trends in economic freedom, political freedom, the rule of law, and key indicators of prosperity across 171 countries.
The new data shows that political freedom and the rule of law continued to decline while economic freedom remained stable in 2025, and global progress on prosperity continued to slow after the initial post-COVID rebound.
Bringing together policy experts and leaders from international organizations, this year’s launch event will focus on the economic and social consequences of global declines in the rule of law, and will include a deep dive into the key findings from this year’s Indexes data.
New policy: In-person attendees will be required to show photo ID upon arrival, and no on-site registration will be permitted. Guests will not be admitted later than twenty minutes after the event’s start time.
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Send our speakers a question—it may be featured during our event.
Welcome remarks
Michael Fisch
Founder and CEO, American Securities;
Chairman, Freedom and Prosperity Center Advisory Council,
Freedom and Prosperity Center,
Atlantic Council
speakers
Ignacio Campomanes
Resident Fellow, Navarra University Center for International Development;
Senior Advisor, Freedom and Prosperity Center, Atlantic Council
Additional speakers to be announced.
moderated by
James Mazzarella
Senior Director, Freedom and Prosperity Center,
Atlantic Council
Nina Dannaoui-Johnson
Deputy Director, Freedom and Prosperity Center,
Atlantic Council
agenda
1:30–1:35 p.m. | Welcome remarks
Speakers
Michael Fisch
Founder and CEO, American Securities;
Chairman, Freedom and Prosperity Center, Atlantic Council
1:35–2:05 p.m. | Key findings from the 2026 Freedom and Prosperity Indexes: Global rule of law in decline
Featuring
Ignacio Campomanes
Resident Fellow, Navarra University Center for International Development;
Senior Advisor, Freedom and Prosperity Center, Atlantic Council
Moderated by
Nina Dannaoui-Johnson
Deputy Director, Freedom and Prosperity Center, Atlantic Council
2:052:55 p.m. | Making change in turbulent environments: Navigating insecurity and corruption to improve governance and drive development
Featuring
Millennium Challenge Corporation representative (TBA)
Additional speaker(s) to be announced
Moderated by
James Mazzarella
Senior Director, Freedom and Prosperity Center, Atlantic Council
2:55–3:00 p.m. | Closing remarks
Featuring
James Mazzarella
Senior Director, Freedom and Prosperity Center,
Atlantic Council
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Interactive website
The indexes rank 164 countries around the world according to their levels of freedom and prosperity. Use our award-winning site to explore 28 years of data, compare countries and regions, and examine the sub-indexes and indicators that comprise our indexes.
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The Freedom and Prosperity Center aims to increase the prosperity of the poor and marginalized in developing countries and to explore the nature of the relationship between freedom and prosperity in both developing and developed nations.
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