Analyzing the longitudinal data combining several global indices, this paper empirically examines what factors determine the degree to which a country achieves freedom-of-information ideals - access to information, press freedom, and transparency. Though countries with a freedom-of-information law show greater achievement of freedom-of-information ideals, the presence or absence of the legislation itself is not significant for estimating accomplishment of the ideals after controlling both time-series and cross-sectional effects. Such determinants as the general quality of public administration and socio-political stability proved significance as an explanatory variable in the panel data regressions. Countries with Scandinavian and German legal traditions are higher achievers of freedom-of-information ideals than those with English and French heritages. From a narrow focus on the subsample of countries with a freedom-of-information law, the study found that not merely the intention behind a particular provision but also concreteness and specificity of the statute significantly affect achievement of the legal ideals.