Americans’ feeling of freedom is declining. In 2006, 91% of Americans were satisfied with the freedom in their lives. Today, it’s 75%.

The 16-percentage-point decline is dramatic — but looking at how far the U.S. has fallen in comparison with the rest of the world, the decline is even worse. The U.S. ranked 11th when Gallup asked this question in 2006 (among 118 countries). In 2016, the U.S. came in 71st (among 139 countries). This puts the U.S. in the bottom half of all countries measured. (emphasis added)

This decline isn’t happening in other wealthy democracies. Denmark, Finland and Canada were all tied for first in 2006 — 96% of people in each country expressed satisfaction with their freedom. Today, those figures are virtually unchanged, and all of them remain in the top 11.

Two things typically come to mind when people think about their personal freedom — their financial situation and their government.

On a global basis, GDP per capita and attitudes toward individual income are highly related to how people feel about their freedom. Stated simply, people in wealthy countries are more likely than […]