Transparency is a cornerstone of the Wikimedia movement — as such, we care a lot about what data we release and how we release it. In line with our Data Publication Guidelines, our goal is to provide accurate information about our projects without exacerbating the privacy and other safety risks that our communities may face for contributing to our projects.
The Country and Territory Protection List Policy aims to enhance the Wikimedia Foundation's ability to publish information and protect contributors' personal information, while preserving everyone's ability to contribute safely to our projects online, consistent with the Foundation's commitment to upholding Wikimedians' rights to privacy as laid out in its Human Rights Policy. Publishing exact values of high-level, seemingly anonymous statistics exposes contributors to or risks. To that end, this update of the Country and Territory Protection List Policy takes into account the ability of to statistically mask individual contributors and contributions. This update will allow for more flexibility and nuance without compromising the safety of our communities, and will thus allow us to release more data and better meet communities' needs.
Process
The Wikimedia Foundation relies on the judgments of respected international human rights NGOs to assess potential risk to Wikimedia users. Every year, Reporters Without Borders produces an annual score for hundreds of countries and territories (based on a review of political, economic, legislative, social, and security factors) that signifies journalistic safety in each place. Similarly, Freedom House produces an annual internet freedom score for nearly 80 countries and territories (based on a questionnaire that evaluates obstacles to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights).
These signals are highly-credible and dynamic, with updates every year provided by panels of subject matter experts. Relying on this independent data allows our own models to iterate and provides every person with access to sensitive data with a built-in set of guidelines around risk minimization. They also give the Wikimedia Foundation a sense of the relative risk of government or other parties' actions against Wikimedia community members for their on-platform behaviors (e.g. editing and reading). Where possible, we average the two scores together and subtract them from 100 to get a composite risk score, where 0 is the least likely and 100 is the most likely to take action against community members for on-platform behavior.[1]
Based on the composite score, we then sort each country or territory into one of four categories:
- 0 to 60 — lower risk: These countries and territories are at lower risk of action being taken against Wikimedia community members for on-platform activities. The Wikimedia Foundation can publish aggregated data about them as long as it is in line with the minimum thresholds set out in the Data Publication Guidelines.
- 60 to 67.5 — medium risk: These countries and territories are at medium risk of action being taken against Wikimedia community members for on-platform activities. The Wikimedia Foundation can publish aggregated data about them only using differential privacy such that any consumer of the data will be (in the worst case) at most 5% more certain about a data subject's presence or absence in the dataset.[2]
- 67.5 to 75 — higher risk: These countries and territories are at higher risk of action being taken against Wikimedia community members for on-platform activities. The Wikimedia Foundation can publish aggregated data about them only using differential privacy such that any consumer of the data will be (in the worst case) at most 2.5% more certain about a data subject's presence or absence in the dataset.[3]
- 75 to 100 — not published: These countries and territories are at the highest risk of action being taken against Wikimedia community members for on-platform activities. For reasons of user and editor safety, the Wikimedia Foundation does not publish aggregated data about them.
Some countries and territories are not included in the Country and Territory Protection List because they do not have sufficient associated scores from our data sources; in these cases, privacy and human rights experts may decide their risk category.
Country and territory protection list designations
In 2024, the country and territory protection list is as follows:
Medium risk
There are twenty countries and territories deemed medium risk of action being taken against community members for on-platform activities: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Honduras, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Laos, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Sudan, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and Yemen.
Higher risk
There are eight countries and territories deemed higher risk of action being taken against community members for on-platform activities: Bahrain, Belarus, Egypt, Eritrea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Turkmenistan.
Not published
There are eight countries and territories deemed highest risk of action being taken against community members for on-platform activities, and that are, as a result, too risky to publish data about: China, Cuba, Iran, Macau, Myanmar, North Korea, Syria, and Vietnam.
Full country and territory list
Country and territory protection list (full list)
|
Country |
Score |
Protected? (Yes/No) |
Risk Designation
|
Afghanistan |
60.25 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Albania |
42.14 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Algeria |
54.26 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Andorra |
24.95 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Angola |
46.35 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Anguilla (OECS) |
41.64 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Antigua and Barbuda (OECS) |
41.64 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Argentina |
26.82 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Armenia |
28.70 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Australia |
22.88 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Austria |
22.70 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Azerbaijan |
61.54 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Bahrain |
70.71 |
Yes |
Higher risk
|
Bangladesh |
61.85 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Belarus |
68.92 |
Yes |
Higher risk
|
Belgium |
23.53 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Belize |
29.51 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Benin |
47.56 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Bhutan |
40.75 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Bolivia |
48.91 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
34.57 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Botswana |
35.39 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Brazil |
38.67 |
No |
Lower risk
|
British Virgin Islands (OECS) |
41.64 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Brunei Darussalam |
55.80 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Bulgaria |
37.02 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Burkina Faso |
32.36 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Burundi |
47.86 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Cape Verde |
24.28 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Cambodia |
56.99 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Cameroon |
54.42 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Canada |
14.24 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Central African Republic |
42.44 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Chad |
46.27 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Chile |
39.91 |
No |
Lower risk
|
People's Republic of China |
84.02 |
Yes |
Not published
|
Colombia |
44.89 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Comoros |
37.75 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Republic of the Congo |
39.58 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Costa Rica |
17.40 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Ivory Coast |
31.17 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Croatia |
28.05 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Cuba |
75.50 |
Yes |
Not published
|
Cyprus |
31.38 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Czech Republic |
16.42 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Denmark |
10.52 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Djibouti |
64.13 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Dominica (OECS) |
41.64 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Dominican Republic |
28.12 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Democratic Republic of the Congo |
51.45 |
No |
Lower risk
|
East Timor |
15.51 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Ecuador |
37.75 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Egypt |
69.32 |
Yes |
Higher risk
|
El Salvador |
48.64 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Equatorial Guinea |
49.65 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Eritrea |
72.14 |
Yes |
Higher risk
|
Estonia |
10.85 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Eswatini |
47.34 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Ethiopia |
63.15 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Fiji |
40.73 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Finland |
12.06 |
No |
Lower risk
|
France |
22.64 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Gabon |
41.88 |
No |
Lower risk
|
The Gambia |
36.47 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Georgia |
31.16 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Germany |
20.55 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Ghana |
34.54 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Greece |
44.80 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Grenada (OECS) |
41.64 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Guadeloupe (OECS) |
41.64 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Guatemala |
51.88 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Guinea |
40.49 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Guinea-Bissau |
38.43 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Guyana |
32.50 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Haiti |
42.62 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Honduras |
67.35 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Hong Kong |
55.14 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Hungary |
34.02 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Iceland |
11.41 |
No |
Lower risk
|
India |
56.69 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Indonesia |
49.09 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Iran |
82.10 |
Yes |
Not published
|
Iraq |
62.03 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Republic of Ireland |
10.09 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Israel |
42.43 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Italy |
26.48 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Jamaica |
24.11 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Japan |
29.53 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Jordan |
55.11 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Kazakhstan |
60.07 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Kenya |
41.43 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Kosovo |
31.62 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Kuwait |
61.16 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Kyrgyzstan |
49.05 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Laos |
63.34 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Latvia |
16.73 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Lebanon |
49.77 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Lesotho |
35.71 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Liberia |
35.66 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Libya |
58.89 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Liechtenstein |
15.53 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Lithuania |
13.21 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Luxembourg |
18.02 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Macau |
n/a |
Yes |
Not published
|
Madagascar |
43.34 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Malawi |
39.83 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Malaysia |
38.09 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Maldives |
43.07 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Mali |
47.71 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Malta |
40.24 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Martinique (OECS) |
41.64 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Mauritania |
40.55 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Mauritius |
34.44 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Mexico |
45.01 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Moldova |
22.38 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Mongolia |
40.67 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Montenegro |
25.72 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Montserrat (OECS) |
41.64 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Morocco |
51.66 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Mozambique |
43.87 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Myanmar |
80.87 |
Yes |
Not published
|
Namibia |
19.09 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Nepal |
42.11 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Netherlands |
13.00 |
No |
Lower risk
|
New Zealand |
15.77 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Nicaragua |
60.46 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Niger |
33.16 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Nigeria |
45.22 |
No |
Lower risk
|
North Korea |
78.28 |
Yes |
Not published
|
North Macedonia |
25.65 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Norway |
4.82 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Oman |
62.13 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Pakistan |
67.03 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
State of Palestine |
62.14 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Panama |
36.33 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Papua New Guinea |
32.38 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Paraguay |
44.04 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Peru |
47.26 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Philippines |
46.40 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Poland |
32.34 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Portugal |
15.40 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Qatar |
44.72 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Romania |
30.96 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Russia |
72.12 |
Yes |
Higher risk
|
Rwanda |
58.21 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Saint Kitts and Nevis (OECS) |
41.64 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Saint Lucia (OECS) |
41.64 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (OECS) |
41.64 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Samoa |
17.85 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Saudi Arabia |
71.29 |
Yes |
Higher risk
|
Senegal |
44.18 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Serbia |
34.92 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Seychelles |
24.29 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Sierra Leone |
37.45 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Singapore |
49.06 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Slovakia |
16.78 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Slovenia |
29.41 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Somalia |
55.76 |
No |
Lower risk
|
South Africa |
24.20 |
No |
Lower risk
|
South Korea |
31.09 |
No |
Lower risk
|
South Sudan |
49.38 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Spain |
24.63 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Sri Lanka |
51.08 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Sudan |
64.59 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Suriname |
29.38 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Sweden |
11.85 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Switzerland |
15.60 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Syria |
77.89 |
Yes |
Not published
|
Taiwan |
23.23 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Tajikistan |
60.94 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Tanzania |
55.98 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Thailand |
52.88 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Togo |
36.94 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Tonga |
28.71 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
23.46 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Tunisia |
45.45 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Turkey |
68.02 |
Yes |
Higher risk
|
Turkmenistan |
74.18 |
Yes |
Higher risk
|
Uganda |
51.46 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Ukraine |
39.91 |
No |
Lower risk
|
United Arab Emirates |
63.51 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
United Kingdom |
21.25 |
No |
Lower risk
|
United States of America |
26.39 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Uruguay |
29.67 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Uzbekistan |
64.64 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Venezuela |
67.01 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Vietnam |
76.71 |
Yes |
Not published
|
Western Sahara |
51.66 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Yemen |
67.22 |
Yes |
Medium risk
|
Zambia |
40.80 |
No |
Lower risk
|
Zimbabwe |
50.42 |
No |
Lower risk
|
|
Notes
- ↑ Where there are not two scores, we fall back to using the single score we have from one of the NGOs.
- ↑ This corresponds to a privacy loss (epsilon value) ≤ 0.2 for a data release.
- ↑ This corresponds to a privacy loss (epsilon value) ≤ 0.1 for a data release.