Data protection and privacy

This thematic area examines the measures countries have in place to protect the right to privacy and data protection in the design, development and use of AI tools and systems.

The right to privacy is defined as the right of a person ‘to be free from intrusion into or publicity concerning matters of a personal nature’ by government and/or third parties, including private entities or individuals.

SCORES

Country and regional scores

Bright spots

Goverment Frameworks - Dominican Republic

Government actions - Saudi Arabia

Non-state actors - India

Background

It is worth noting that the right to privacy is not an absolute right and can be limited under circumstances provided for in law, such as the protection of national security interests or in the prevention and prosecution of criminal matters.

The right to privacy has evolved to include information privacy, which is defined as the right of an individual to have control over who has access to their personal data and for what purpose.

Background

The right to privacy has evolved to include information privacy, which is defined as the right of an individual to have control over who has access to their personal data and for what purpose.

Relevance

International normative frameworks on AI have highlighted the importance of the relationship between the right to privacy and data protection, with the OECD AI Principles calling for data protection measures to be guaranteed by AI actors, and with the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI (Recommendation) calling for the lawful data processing of personal data. In addition, the UNESCO Principles on Personal Data Protection and Privacy set out a list of ten principles for data protection.

EVIDENCE

Evidence Explorer

Discover and compare all all the evidence collected under this thematic area using our Evidence Explorer tool

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SCORES

Country rankings by Data protection and privacy


🇳🇱 Netherlands	Europe	97.31
🇮🇪 Ireland	Europe	96.11
🇪🇪 Estonia	Europe	94.48
🇩🇪 Germany	Europe	93.70
🇬🇧 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	Europe	92.64
🇫🇮 Finland	Europe	92.34
🇫🇷 France	Europe	88.69
🇵🇹 Portugal	Europe	87.26
🇦🇺 Australia	Asia and Oceania	83.49
🇺🇾 Uruguay	South and Central America	80.92
🇮🇹 Italy	Europe	79.01
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	Middle East	78.08
🇨🇭 Switzerland	Europe	74.35
🇦🇹 Austria	Europe	73.92
🇭🇺 Hungary	Europe	71.90
🇵🇱 Poland	Europe	71.89
🇹🇼 Taiwan *	Asia and Oceania	69.75
🇿🇦 South Africa	Africa	68.26
🇲🇰 North Macedonia	Europe	67.18
🇬🇪 Georgia	Europe	66.98
🇧🇬 Bulgaria	Europe	66.21
🇺🇸 United States of America	North America	66.16
🇭🇷 Croatia	Europe	65.18
🇨🇱 Chile	South and Central America	64.63
🇧🇭 Bahrain	Middle East	63.44
🇷🇴 Romania	Europe	61.22
🇵🇭 Philippines	Asia and Oceania	61.06
🇲🇦 Morocco	Africa	58.79
🇧🇯 Benin	Africa	55.13
🇲🇽 Mexico	North America	54.10
🇲🇾 Malaysia	Asia and Oceania	53.04
🇺🇦 Ukraine	Europe	51.85
🇸🇳 Senegal	Africa	51.37
🇳🇿 New Zealand	Asia and Oceania	51.35
🇱🇹 Lithuania	Europe	48.22
🇮🇳 India	Asia and Oceania	47.94
🇨🇦 Canada	North America	47.37
🇯🇵 Japan	Asia and Oceania	47.24
🇸🇮 Slovenia	Europe	46.44
🇧🇷 Brazil	South and Central America	46.26
🇹🇭 Thailand	Asia and Oceania	42.07
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	Middle East	41.63
🇬🇷 Greece	Europe	41.50
🇱🇻 Latvia	Europe	41.05
🇪🇸 Spain	Europe	39.14
🇲🇪 Montenegro	Europe	39.07
🇸🇰 Slovakia	Europe	38.59
🇧🇪 Belgium	Europe	36.25
🇹🇳 Tunisia	Africa	35.57
🇦🇷 Argentina	South and Central America	34.35
🇨🇴 Colombia	South and Central America	34.19
🇳🇦 Namibia	Africa	33.55
🇲🇩 Republic of Moldova	Europe	32.94
🇰🇼 Kuwait	Middle East	32.02
🇨🇷 Costa Rica	South and Central America	32.01
🇵🇸 Palestine *	Middle East	31.58
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	Asia and Oceania	31.44
🇨🇳 China	Asia and Oceania	30.16
🇳🇬 Nigeria	Africa	29.13
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	Caribbean	29.01
🇷🇸 Serbia	Europe	26.87
🇻🇳 Vietnam	Asia and Oceania	25.54
🇰🇷 Republic of Korea	Asia and Oceania	24.07
🇵🇪 Peru	South and Central America	23.89
🇸🇬 Singapore	Asia and Oceania	23.44
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	Asia and Oceania	23.30
🇴🇲 Oman	Middle East	23.16
🇶🇦 Qatar	Middle East	22.33
🇵🇰 Pakistan	Asia and Oceania	21.64
🇵🇦 Panama	South and Central America	21.46
🇿🇲 Zambia	Africa	19.76
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	Africa	19.41
🇳🇪 Niger	Africa	18.63
🇷🇼 Rwanda	Africa	18.08
🇨🇲 Cameroon	Africa	17.52
🇬🇦 Gabon	Africa	17.15
🇵🇾 Paraguay	South and Central America	16.72
🇯🇴 Jordan	Middle East	15.08
🇹🇯 Tajikistan	Asia and Oceania	14.89
🇬🇹 Guatemala	South and Central America	14.17
🇲🇳 Mongolia	Asia and Oceania	13.89
🇪🇬 Egypt	Africa	13.36
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	Africa	12.69
🇭🇰 China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region	Asia and Oceania	12.41
🇰🇭 Cambodia	Asia and Oceania	11.29
🇪🇨 Ecuador	South and Central America	10.83
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	Caribbean	6.46
🇯🇲 Jamaica	Caribbean	6.30
🇰🇪 Kenya	Africa	4.69
🇪🇹 Ethiopia	Africa	2.71
🇧🇾 Belarus	Europe	1.82
🇦🇫 Afghanistan	Asia and Oceania	0.00
🇦🇱 Albania	Europe	0.00
🇩🇿 Algeria	Africa	0.00
🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda	Caribbean	0.00
🇦🇲 Armenia	Asia and Oceania	0.00
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	Asia and Oceania	0.00
🇧🇧 Barbados	Caribbean	0.00
🇧🇿 Belize	Caribbean	0.00
🇧🇹 Bhutan	Asia and Oceania	0.00
🇧🇴 Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	South and Central America	0.00
🇧🇼 Botswana	Africa	0.00
🇧🇮 Burundi	Africa	0.00
🇨🇫 Central African Republic	Africa	0.00
🇹🇩 Chad	Africa	0.00
🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire	Africa	0.00
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	Africa	0.00
🇸🇻 El Salvador	South and Central America	0.00
🇪🇷 Eritrea	Africa	0.00
🇬🇲 Gambia	Africa	0.00
🇬🇭 Ghana	Africa	0.00
🇬🇳 Guinea	Africa	0.00
🇬🇾 Guyana	Caribbean	0.00
🇭🇹 Haiti	Caribbean	0.00
🇭🇳 Honduras	South and Central America	0.00
🇮🇩 Indonesia	Asia and Oceania	0.00
🇽🇰 Kosovo	Europe	0.00
🇰🇬 Kyrgyz Republic	Asia and Oceania	0.00
🇱🇦 Lao People's Democratic Republic	Asia and Oceania	0.00
🇱🇧 Lebanon	Middle East	0.00
🇱🇸 Lesotho	Africa	0.00
🇱🇷 Liberia	Africa	0.00
🇱🇾 Libya	Africa	0.00
🇲🇼 Malawi	Africa	0.00
🇲🇱 Mali	Africa	0.00
🇲🇺 Mauritius	Africa	0.00
🇲🇿 Mozambique	Africa	0.00
🇲🇲 Myanmar	Asia and Oceania	0.00
🇳🇵 Nepal	Asia and Oceania	0.00
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	Caribbean	0.00
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	Africa	0.00
🇸🇴 Somalia	Africa	0.00
🇸🇸 South Sudan	Africa	0.00
🇹🇬 Togo	Africa	0.00
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	Asia and Oceania	0.00
🇺🇬 Uganda	Africa	0.00
🇹🇿 United Republic of Tanzania	Africa	0.00
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	Asia and Oceania	0.00


🇳🇱 Netherlands	97.31
🇮🇪 Ireland	96.11
🇪🇪 Estonia	94.48
🇩🇪 Germany	93.70
🇬🇧 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	92.64
🇫🇮 Finland	92.34
🇫🇷 France	88.69
🇵🇹 Portugal	87.26
🇦🇺 Australia	83.49
🇺🇾 Uruguay	80.92
🇮🇹 Italy	79.01
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	78.08
🇨🇭 Switzerland	74.35
🇦🇹 Austria	73.92
🇭🇺 Hungary	71.90
🇵🇱 Poland	71.89
🇹🇼 Taiwan *	69.75
🇿🇦 South Africa	68.26
🇲🇰 North Macedonia	67.18
🇬🇪 Georgia	66.98
🇧🇬 Bulgaria	66.21
🇺🇸 United States of America	66.16
🇭🇷 Croatia	65.18
🇨🇱 Chile	64.63
🇧🇭 Bahrain	63.44
🇷🇴 Romania	61.22
🇵🇭 Philippines	61.06
🇲🇦 Morocco	58.79
🇧🇯 Benin	55.13
🇲🇽 Mexico	54.10
🇲🇾 Malaysia	53.04
🇺🇦 Ukraine	51.85
🇸🇳 Senegal	51.37
🇳🇿 New Zealand	51.35
🇱🇹 Lithuania	48.22
🇮🇳 India	47.94
🇨🇦 Canada	47.37
🇯🇵 Japan	47.24
🇸🇮 Slovenia	46.44
🇧🇷 Brazil	46.26
🇹🇭 Thailand	42.07
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	41.63
🇬🇷 Greece	41.50
🇱🇻 Latvia	41.05
🇪🇸 Spain	39.14
🇲🇪 Montenegro	39.07
🇸🇰 Slovakia	38.59
🇧🇪 Belgium	36.25
🇹🇳 Tunisia	35.57
🇦🇷 Argentina	34.35
🇨🇴 Colombia	34.19
🇳🇦 Namibia	33.55
🇲🇩 Republic of Moldova	32.94
🇰🇼 Kuwait	32.02
🇨🇷 Costa Rica	32.01
🇵🇸 Palestine *	31.58
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	31.44
🇨🇳 China	30.16
🇳🇬 Nigeria	29.13
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	29.01
🇷🇸 Serbia	26.87
🇻🇳 Vietnam	25.54
🇰🇷 Republic of Korea	24.07
🇵🇪 Peru	23.89
🇸🇬 Singapore	23.44
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	23.30
🇴🇲 Oman	23.16
🇶🇦 Qatar	22.33
🇵🇰 Pakistan	21.64
🇵🇦 Panama	21.46
🇿🇲 Zambia	19.76
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	19.41
🇳🇪 Niger	18.63
🇷🇼 Rwanda	18.08
🇨🇲 Cameroon	17.52
🇬🇦 Gabon	17.15
🇵🇾 Paraguay	16.72
🇯🇴 Jordan	15.08
🇹🇯 Tajikistan	14.89
🇬🇹 Guatemala	14.17
🇲🇳 Mongolia	13.89
🇪🇬 Egypt	13.36
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	12.69
🇭🇰 China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region	12.41
🇰🇭 Cambodia	11.29
🇪🇨 Ecuador	10.83
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	6.46
🇯🇲 Jamaica	6.30
🇰🇪 Kenya	4.69
🇪🇹 Ethiopia	2.71
🇧🇾 Belarus	1.82
🇦🇫 Afghanistan	0.00
🇦🇱 Albania	0.00
🇩🇿 Algeria	0.00
🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda	0.00
🇦🇲 Armenia	0.00
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	0.00
🇧🇧 Barbados	0.00
🇧🇿 Belize	0.00
🇧🇹 Bhutan	0.00
🇧🇴 Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	0.00
🇧🇼 Botswana	0.00
🇧🇮 Burundi	0.00
🇨🇫 Central African Republic	0.00
🇹🇩 Chad	0.00
🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire	0.00
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	0.00
🇸🇻 El Salvador	0.00
🇪🇷 Eritrea	0.00
🇬🇲 Gambia	0.00
🇬🇭 Ghana	0.00
🇬🇳 Guinea	0.00
🇬🇾 Guyana	0.00
🇭🇹 Haiti	0.00
🇭🇳 Honduras	0.00
🇮🇩 Indonesia	0.00
🇽🇰 Kosovo	0.00
🇰🇬 Kyrgyz Republic	0.00
🇱🇦 Lao People's Democratic Republic	0.00
🇱🇧 Lebanon	0.00
🇱🇸 Lesotho	0.00
🇱🇷 Liberia	0.00
🇱🇾 Libya	0.00
🇲🇼 Malawi	0.00
🇲🇱 Mali	0.00
🇲🇺 Mauritius	0.00
🇲🇿 Mozambique	0.00
🇲🇲 Myanmar	0.00
🇳🇵 Nepal	0.00
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	0.00
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	0.00
🇸🇴 Somalia	0.00
🇸🇸 South Sudan	0.00
🇹🇬 Togo	0.00
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	0.00
🇺🇬 Uganda	0.00
🇹🇿 United Republic of Tanzania	0.00
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	0.00

*In the table above, data was collected for Chinese Taipei (commonly referred to as Taiwan) and the West Bank, which is under the administration of the Palestinian Authority. No data collection took place in Gaza. We recognize that these are, at the time of writing, disputed jurisdictions.