The World Map is a research tool to assess and compare laws, policies, and practices on encryption across countries worldwide. It provides a structured, comparative overview of how far governments interfere with or enable strong encryption. It also assesses how well guarded these legal powers are against abuse according to international human rights standards.
First developed in 2020, the World Map was relaunched by Global Partners Digital (GPD) in 2026 with a new assessment framework, updated research in 40 countries and a redesigned look. Country research is presented in two categories: the 40 countries reviewed under the revised assessment framework provide more detailed and recent analysis, while the 60 countries evaluated under the earlier framework are included in the map and clearly labeled with the relevant methodology and assessment date.
Over time, we hope to expand the Map with updated research for additional countries. We are actively seeking opportunities to update and expand the research.
The 2026 update to the Map was led by Global Partners Digital with the invaluable support of external researchers and the oversight of several independent experts.
This project was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Internet Society, Mozilla, and Global Partners Digital.