Freedom House, the New York-based human rights group, today releases the results of its 30th annual survey of political rights and civil liberties around the world. Seen from a long view, the study depicts a generation of progress. Today there are 89 free countries, up from 43 when the survey was first conducted in 1972. Today 44% of the world’s population, the highest percentage ever, lives in freedom; in 1972 only 35% of the world’s population did. The one exception to the trend is in the Middle East and North Africa. In 1972, Freedom House found two free countries in that part of the globe: Israel and Lebanon. Today the survey lists only one: Israel. “Among countries with Islamic majorities, the last 30 years have seen a trend diametrically opposite to the global trend toward political liberalization,” the study says. Freedom House speculates about the causes for this: the persistence of monarchies, Baathism, and revolutionary Islam. One thing is certain: So long as the Arab world resists political modernization, it will remain mired in poverty. The free countries put out $26.8 trillion — or about 89% — of the world’s $29.9 trillion GDP, by Freedom House’s count. Finally, it’s worth observing that among the least free countries — Iraq, Cuba, North Korea, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Saudi Arabia — are many that support and export terrorism. So we all have a stake in hoping — and in doing what we can to ensure — that the march of freedom continues in the new year.