The countries that are most and least afraid of criticising their governments

The Pew Research Centre recently conducted a study into attitudes towards freedom of speech around the world.

The report looked at 38 different countries' policies and public support for freedom of expression, religion, free press and censorship of sexually explicit material, as well as how important people feel the right to criticise their government is.

Lebanon, which has suffered a series of attacks both internal and external on its democracy since 2004, including an Isis suicide bomb which killed 43 people last week, is the country in the world which feels most strongly about being able to freely discuss the government.

The data collected in May 2015 shows that France (at 89 per cent) ranks lower than other Western countries, including the UK and US.

In Turkey, which has recently re-elected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a leader criticised for his crackdowns on the right to free protest and freedom of the press, only 52 per cent of people felt strongly and able to voice negativity about government policy.

More: What happened when a journalist asked Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan if he was a dictator