---
license: cc-by-4.0
task_categories:
  - text-classification
  - question-answering
language:
  - en
tags:
  - internet-freedom
  - censorship
  - human-rights
  - network-measurements
  - ooni
pretty_name: Voidly Global Censorship Index
size_categories:
  - n<1K
---

# Voidly Global Censorship Index

Real-time internet censorship measurements for 200 countries, based on 38,780,449+ OONI network probes.

## Dataset Description

The Global Censorship Index provides country-level internet censorship scores derived from actual network measurements. Unlike annual expert assessments, this data updates daily.

### Key Statistics

- **Countries covered:** 200
- **Total measurements:** 38,780,449
- **Severe censorship:** 1 countries
- **High censorship:** 6 countries
- **Update frequency:** Daily

### Most Censored Countries (Top 10)

| Rank | Country | Score | Level |
|------|---------|-------|-------|
| 1 | China | 61% | severe |
| 2 | KG | 48% | high |
| 3 | Iran | 45% | high |
| 4 | Russia | 37% | high |
| 5 | SS | 37% | high |
| 6 | MU | 33% | high |
| 7 | GA | 31% | high |
| 8 | Venezuela | 18% | medium |
| 9 | Myanmar | 16% | medium |
| 10 | NP | 16% | medium |

## Data Fields

- `country_code`: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
- `country_name`: Full country name
- `censorship_score`: 0-100 score (100 = total censorship)
- `threat_level`: Categorical level (free, low, medium, high, severe)
- `block_rate`: Fraction of tested URLs blocked (0.0-1.0)
- `total_measurements`: Number of OONI probe tests
- `blocked_measurements`: Number of blocked test results
- `web_connectivity_tests`: Website accessibility tests
- `telegram_tests`: Telegram app connectivity tests
- `whatsapp_tests`: WhatsApp connectivity tests
- `isp_count`: Number of ISPs with data
- `top_blocking_isps`: List of ISPs with highest block rates
- `rank`: Global ranking by censorship severity

## Scoring Methodology

Censorship scores are calculated from block rate percentages:

| Score Range | Level | Description |
|------------|-------|-------------|
| 0-4 | Free | Minimal censorship |
| 5-9 | Low | Limited censorship |
| 10-24 | Medium | Moderate censorship |
| 25-49 | High | Significant censorship |
| 50-100 | Severe | Pervasive censorship |

## Data Sources

- **Primary:** OONI (Open Observatory of Network Interference) - 38,780,449+ measurements
- **Supplementary:** Distributed sensor network (16 nodes), anonymized VPN telemetry

## Usage

```python
from datasets import load_dataset

dataset = load_dataset("voidly/global-censorship-index")

# Get most censored countries
for entry in dataset['train']:
    if entry['threat_level'] == 'severe':
        print(f"{entry['country_name']}: {entry['censorship_score']}%")
```

## Citation

```bibtex
@misc{voidly2025censorship,
  title={Global Censorship Index},
  author={Voidly Research},
  year={2025},
  url={https://voidly.ai/censorship-index},
  note={Data set. Updated daily.}
}
```

## License

CC BY 4.0 - Free to use with attribution.

## Links

- [Interactive Index](https://voidly.ai/censorship-index)
- [API Documentation](https://voidly.ai/api-docs)
- [Methodology](https://voidly.ai/methodology)
- [Data Catalog](https://voidly.ai/data)