or the third year in a row, Americans are less satisfied with their personal freedom than the rest of the world, including their peers in other wealthy, market–based economies.
In 2024, 72% of Americans said they were satisfied with their freedom to choose what they do with their lives, in line with where this sentiment has been since it plummeted in 2022. The 2024 level remains well below the 2007-2021 U.S. average of 83%.
While Americans have been less satisfied in recent years, satisfaction with personal freedom has remained higher and steady worldwide. A median of 81% across 142 countries and territories expressed satisfaction with their freedom in 2024.
The global pattern is similar for countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co–operation and Development—a group of mostly high–income, market–based economies, including the U.S.—where a median of 86% were satisfied last year.
Since 2021, 16 countries have experienced increases of nine percentage points or more in satisfaction with personal freedom, while the U.S. and three other countries have seen declines of the same magnitude. Between 2021 and 2024, only Pakistan (-23 points) and Croatia (-17 points) recorded larger drops in satisfaction than the U.S. (-9 points, on par with North Macedonia).
These findings are based on data collected in 2024, before the U.S. election that returned President Donald Trump to office. Public attitudes may yet shift in 2025, similar to the bump in satisfaction with personal freedom observed early in his first term, before tapering off somewhat.
Satisfaction Declines Among Both Men and Women, but Perhaps for Different Reasons
The past five years have seen decisive shifts in satisfaction with personal freedom among both men and women in the U.S., albeit for possibly different reasons. By 2024, 66% of women in the U.S. said they were satisfied with their freedom to choose what they do with their lives, significantly lower than the 77% of men who felt the same—the widest gap on record in men’s favor.
U.S. women’s satisfaction with personal freedom dropped sharply between 2021 and 2022. Gallup’s fieldwork in 2022 coincided with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision on abortion rights, a draft of which was leaked to the press on May 2, 2022. Responses to that survey collected between April 19 and May 1—before the leak—show similar proportions of men (75%) and women (80%) reporting satisfaction with their personal freedom. But from May 2 to Sept. 1 (the official Dobbs decision was handed down on June 24), women’s satisfaction fell to 68%, while men’s was stable at 77%.
Since 2022, women have continued to feel less satisfied with their freedom, dipping to 69% in 2023 and 66% in 2024. This has occurred among women of all age ranges—but particularly those aged 15 to 59.
This trend corresponds with other external measures of women’s freedom in the U.S. after the Dobbs decision, such as the V–Dem Women’s Civil Rights Index, which declined after 2022 to 0.891 in 2024, its lowest point since 1978 (0.888).
U.S. women’s declining satisfaction with their personal freedom in recent years stands in sharp contrast to their perceptions over a decade ago. In 2007, 85% of U.S. women were satisfied, on par with the top 20 countries globally on this measure. By 2024, the U.S. ranked among the bottom 20 countries globally for women’s views on their freedom.
Support for political leaders—which can be used as a proxy for political party (as the World Poll does not collect party identification data)—is also related to how women and men view their personal freedom. In 2022, aligning with the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, women’s satisfaction dropped most among those who approved of then–President Joe Biden, from 85% to 71%, falling to match the lower level already observed among women who disapproved of Biden. Since then, the two groups’ satisfaction has remained similar.
This marks a contrast with the final year of Trump’s first term, when a clear divide was evident: 88% of U.S. women who approved of Trump in 2020 were satisfied with their freedom, compared with 78% of those who disapproved.
U.S. men’s satisfaction follows a different trend. In 2020, near the end of Trump’s first term, satisfaction with freedom among men was high across the board: 90% among those who approved of Trump and 87% among those who did not.
But under Biden, that pattern changed. Among men who disapproved of Biden’s leadership, satisfaction with freedom dropped sharply to 77% in 2021 and then remained relatively stable through 2024. Meanwhile, men who approved of Biden experienced the steepest decline in satisfaction between 2022 and 2023, falling from 83% to 73%, before recovering to 79% in 2024.
By the end of Biden’s term, satisfaction levels converged, and there was no longer a noticeable difference between men who approved and men who disapproved of his leadership or between women who approved and women who disapproved. However, men remained significantly more satisfied overall compared with women.
U.S. Gender Gap in Satisfaction With Freedom Stands Out Globally
Large national gender gaps in satisfaction with personal freedom are rare. In 2024, only 21 countries of 142 surveyed showed statistically significant gender differences: seven where men were more satisfied, and 14 where women were.
Two of the countries where women report higher satisfaction than men are Ukraine and Russia, which have been at war since 2022. But the three other countries where women significantly outpace men—Canada, Guinea and Lithuania—don’t fit this pattern.
No other country has a wider gender gap where women report lower satisfaction than men than the U.S. (11 points), with Pakistan (nine points) and Italy (eight points) seeing gaps of a similar magnitude.
Bottom Line
Although most U.S. adults continue to express satisfaction with their personal freedom, that satisfaction has declined notably in recent years. While the poll doesn’t ask people why they do or don’t feel satisfied with their freedom, the timing of the 2022 decline relative to the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs suggests that the loss of constitutional protection for abortion could be a strong factor. That decision coincided with a decline in women’s satisfaction with their freedom, one that has only deepened since.
U.S. men’s satisfaction had already declined in 2021—driven by men who disapproved of Biden—and was pushed further down after Biden’s male supporters lost satisfaction with their freedom in 2023, before rebounding in 2024.
As a result, in addition to being among the lowest–ranking countries for women’s satisfaction with personal freedom, the U.S. also now exhibits one of the widest gender gaps in satisfaction worldwide.
For many Americans, particularly women, the "land of the free" no longer feels quite as free as it once did.
For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details.
Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works.
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Land of the free? Fewer Americans agree
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay
May 27, 2025
Gallup polling found that Americans remain less satisfied with their freedom than the rest of the world. Satisfaction has been declining among both men and women in the U.S., but likely for different reasons—and women are substantially less satisfied than men, write Benedict Vigers and Julie Ray.
F
or the third year in a row, Americans are less satisfied with their personal freedom than the rest of the world, including their peers in other wealthy, market–based economies.
In 2024, 72% of Americans said they were satisfied with their freedom to choose what they do with their lives, in line with where this sentiment has been since it plummeted in 2022. The 2024 level remains well below the 2007-2021 U.S. average of 83%.
While Americans have been less satisfied in recent years, satisfaction with personal freedom has remained higher and steady worldwide. A median of 81% across 142 countries and territories expressed satisfaction with their freedom in 2024.
The global pattern is similar for countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co–operation and Development—a group of mostly high–income, market–based economies, including the U.S.—where a median of 86% were satisfied last year.
Since 2021, 16 countries have experienced increases of nine percentage points or more in satisfaction with personal freedom, while the U.S. and three other countries have seen declines of the same magnitude. Between 2021 and 2024, only Pakistan (-23 points) and Croatia (-17 points) recorded larger drops in satisfaction than the U.S. (-9 points, on par with North Macedonia).
These findings are based on data collected in 2024, before the U.S. election that returned President Donald Trump to office. Public attitudes may yet shift in 2025, similar to the bump in satisfaction with personal freedom observed early in his first term, before tapering off somewhat.
Satisfaction Declines Among Both Men and Women, but Perhaps for Different Reasons
The past five years have seen decisive shifts in satisfaction with personal freedom among both men and women in the U.S., albeit for possibly different reasons. By 2024, 66% of women in the U.S. said they were satisfied with their freedom to choose what they do with their lives, significantly lower than the 77% of men who felt the same—the widest gap on record in men’s favor.
U.S. women’s satisfaction with personal freedom dropped sharply between 2021 and 2022. Gallup’s fieldwork in 2022 coincided with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision on abortion rights, a draft of which was leaked to the press on May 2, 2022. Responses to that survey collected between April 19 and May 1—before the leak—show similar proportions of men (75%) and women (80%) reporting satisfaction with their personal freedom. But from May 2 to Sept. 1 (the official Dobbs decision was handed down on June 24), women’s satisfaction fell to 68%, while men’s was stable at 77%.
Since 2022, women have continued to feel less satisfied with their freedom, dipping to 69% in 2023 and 66% in 2024. This has occurred among women of all age ranges—but particularly those aged 15 to 59.
This trend corresponds with other external measures of women’s freedom in the U.S. after the Dobbs decision, such as the V–Dem Women’s Civil Rights Index, which declined after 2022 to 0.891 in 2024, its lowest point since 1978 (0.888).
U.S. women’s declining satisfaction with their personal freedom in recent years stands in sharp contrast to their perceptions over a decade ago. In 2007, 85% of U.S. women were satisfied, on par with the top 20 countries globally on this measure. By 2024, the U.S. ranked among the bottom 20 countries globally for women’s views on their freedom.
Support for political leaders—which can be used as a proxy for political party (as the World Poll does not collect party identification data)—is also related to how women and men view their personal freedom. In 2022, aligning with the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, women’s satisfaction dropped most among those who approved of then–President Joe Biden, from 85% to 71%, falling to match the lower level already observed among women who disapproved of Biden. Since then, the two groups’ satisfaction has remained similar.
This marks a contrast with the final year of Trump’s first term, when a clear divide was evident: 88% of U.S. women who approved of Trump in 2020 were satisfied with their freedom, compared with 78% of those who disapproved.
U.S. men’s satisfaction follows a different trend. In 2020, near the end of Trump’s first term, satisfaction with freedom among men was high across the board: 90% among those who approved of Trump and 87% among those who did not.
But under Biden, that pattern changed. Among men who disapproved of Biden’s leadership, satisfaction with freedom dropped sharply to 77% in 2021 and then remained relatively stable through 2024. Meanwhile, men who approved of Biden experienced the steepest decline in satisfaction between 2022 and 2023, falling from 83% to 73%, before recovering to 79% in 2024.
By the end of Biden’s term, satisfaction levels converged, and there was no longer a noticeable difference between men who approved and men who disapproved of his leadership or between women who approved and women who disapproved. However, men remained significantly more satisfied overall compared with women.
U.S. Gender Gap in Satisfaction With Freedom Stands Out Globally
Large national gender gaps in satisfaction with personal freedom are rare. In 2024, only 21 countries of 142 surveyed showed statistically significant gender differences: seven where men were more satisfied, and 14 where women were.
Two of the countries where women report higher satisfaction than men are Ukraine and Russia, which have been at war since 2022. But the three other countries where women significantly outpace men—Canada, Guinea and Lithuania—don’t fit this pattern.
No other country has a wider gender gap where women report lower satisfaction than men than the U.S. (11 points), with Pakistan (nine points) and Italy (eight points) seeing gaps of a similar magnitude.
Bottom Line
Although most U.S. adults continue to express satisfaction with their personal freedom, that satisfaction has declined notably in recent years. While the poll doesn’t ask people why they do or don’t feel satisfied with their freedom, the timing of the 2022 decline relative to the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs suggests that the loss of constitutional protection for abortion could be a strong factor. That decision coincided with a decline in women’s satisfaction with their freedom, one that has only deepened since.
U.S. men’s satisfaction had already declined in 2021—driven by men who disapproved of Biden—and was pushed further down after Biden’s male supporters lost satisfaction with their freedom in 2023, before rebounding in 2024.
As a result, in addition to being among the lowest–ranking countries for women’s satisfaction with personal freedom, the U.S. also now exhibits one of the widest gender gaps in satisfaction worldwide.
For many Americans, particularly women, the "land of the free" no longer feels quite as free as it once did.
For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details.
Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works.
