Academic freedom in Hong Kong experienced a “substantial” decline between 2013 and 2023, a study which reviewed research freedom, institutional autonomy and other indicators in more than 170 countries and regions has found. Hong Kong ranked in the bottom 10 to 20 per cent among 179 countries and regions in the latest Academic Freedom Index compiled by researchers from the FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany and V-Dem in Gothenburg, Sweden. Other countries and regions in that range included Jordan, Cambodia, Russia and India. The index released last month showed that Hong Kong scored 0.24 out of 1 i…