The Economist Democracy Index

Short description: Measure of the state of democracy by The Economist

The 2022 Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index map

Full democracies

9.01–10.00

8.01–9.00

Flawed democracies

7.01–8.00

6.01–7.00

Hybrid regimes

5.01–6.00

4.01–5.00

Authoritarian regimes

3.01–4.00

2.01–3.00

1.01–2.00

0.00–1.00

No data

The Democracy Index is an index measuring democracy compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit of the Economist Group, a UK-based private company which publishes the weekly newspaper The Economist. Akin to other democracy indices, such as V-Dem Democracy indices or Bertelsmann Transformation Index, this index attempts to measure the state of democracy and is centrally concerned with political institutions and freedoms. The index includes 167 countries and territories, of which 166 are sovereign states and 164 are UN member states. The index is based on 60 indicators grouped in five categories, measuring pluralism, civil liberties, and political culture. In addition to a numeric score and a ranking, the index categorizes each country into one of four regime types: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes. The first Democracy Index report was published in 2006. Reports were published every two years until 2010 and annually thereafter.

Methodology

As described in the report,^[1] the Democracy Index produces a weighted average based on the answers to 60 questions, each one with either two or three permitted answers. Most answers are experts' assessments. Some answers are provided by public-opinion surveys from the respective countries. In the case of countries for which survey results are missing, survey results for similar countries and expert assessments are used in order to fill in gaps.

The questions are grouped into five categories:

electoral process and pluralism
civil liberties
functioning of government
political participation
political culture

Each answer is converted to a score, either 0 or 1, or for the three-answer questions, 0, 0.5 or 1. With the exceptions mentioned below, within each category, the scores are added, multiplied by ten, and divided by the total number of questions within the category. There are a few modifying dependencies, which are explained much more precisely than the main rule procedures. In a few cases, an answer yielding zero for one question voids another question; e.g. if the elections for the national legislature and head of government are not considered free (question 1), then the next question, "Are elections... fair?", is not considered, but automatically scored zero. Likewise, there are a few questions considered so important that a low score on them yields a penalty on the total score sum for their respective categories, namely:

"Whether national elections are free and fair";
"The security of voters";
"The influence of foreign powers on government";
"The capability of the civil servants to implement policies".

The five category indices, which are listed in the report, are then averaged to find the overall score for a given country. Finally, the score, rounded to two decimals, decides the regime-type classification of the country.

The report discusses other indices of democracy, as defined, e.g. by Freedom House, and argues for some of the choices made by the team from the Economist Intelligence Unit. In this comparison, a higher emphasis is placed on the public opinion and attitudes, as measured by surveys, but on the other hand, economic living-standards are not weighted as one criterion of democracy (as seemingly some other investigators have done).^[2]^[3]

The report is widely cited in the international press as well as in peer-reviewed academic journals.^[4]

Definitions

Full democracies are nations where civil liberties and fundamental political freedoms are not only respected but also reinforced by a political culture conducive to the thriving of democratic principles. These nations have a valid system of governmental checks and balances, an independent judiciary whose decisions are enforced, governments that function adequately, and diverse and independent media. These nations have only limited problems in democratic functioning.^[5]

Flawed democracies are nations where elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are honoured but may have issues (e.g. media freedom infringement and minor suppression of political opposition and critics). These nations can have significant faults in other democratic aspects, including underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance.^[5]

Hybrid regimes are nations with regular electoral frauds, preventing them from being fair and free democracies. These nations commonly have governments that apply pressure on political opposition, non-independent judiciaries, widespread corruption, harassment and pressure placed on the media, anaemic rule of law, and more pronounced faults than flawed democracies in the realms of underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance.^[5]

Authoritarian regimes are nations where political pluralism is nonexistent or severely limited. These nations are often absolute monarchies or dictatorships, may have some conventional institutions of democracy but with meagre significance, infringements and abuses of civil liberties are commonplace, elections (if they take place) are not fair or free (including sham elections), the media is often state-owned or controlled by groups associated with the ruling regime, the judiciary is not independent, and censorship and suppression of governmental criticism are commonplace.^[5]

By regime type

The following table indicates the number of nations and the percentage of World population for each type of regime. Some microstates are not considered in the calculation.

Year 2022^[6]
Type of regime	Score	Countries		Proportion of World population (%)
Type of regime	Score	Number	(%)	Proportion of World population (%)
Full democracies	9.01–10.00 8.01–9.00	24	14.4%	8.0%
Flawed democracies	7.01–8.00 6.01–7.00	48	28.7%	37.3%
Hybrid regimes	5.01–6.00 4.01–5.00	36	21.6%	17.9%
Authoritarian regimes	3.01–4.00 2.01–3.00 1.01–2.00 0.00–1.00	59	35.3%	36.9%

List by region

The following table lists the average of each country scored by geographic region. !class=unsortable|Region !class=unsortable|Countries !2022 !2021 !2020 !2019 !2018 !2017 !2016 !2015 !2014 !2013 !2012 !2011 !2010 !2008 !2006 |- | style="text-align:left;" | North America || style="color:black" | 2 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.37 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.36 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.58 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.59 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.56 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.56 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.56 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.56 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.59 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.59 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.59 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.59 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.63 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.64 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.64 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Western Europe || 21 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.36|| bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.23 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.29|| bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.35 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.35 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.38 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.40 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.42 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.41 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.41 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.44 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.40 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.45 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.61 || bgcolor="#2f5cd5" |8.60 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Latin America and the Caribbean || 24 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.79|| bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.83|| bgcolor="#c3eded" |6.09|| bgcolor="#c3eded" |6.13 || bgcolor="#c3eded" |6.24 || bgcolor="#c3eded" |6.26 || bgcolor="#c3eded" |6.33 || bgcolor="#c3eded" |6.37 || bgcolor="#c3eded" |6.36 || bgcolor="#c3eded" |6.38 || bgcolor="#c3eded" |6.36 || bgcolor="#c3eded" |6.35 || bgcolor="#c3eded" |6.37 || bgcolor="#c3eded" |6.43 || bgcolor="#c3eded" |6.37 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Asia and Australasia || 28 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.46|| bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.46|| bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.62|| bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.67 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.67 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.63 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.74 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.74 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.70 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.61 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.56 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.51 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.53 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.58 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.44 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Central and Eastern Europe || 28 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.39|| bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.36|| bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.36|| bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.42 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.42 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.40 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.43 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.55 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.58 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.53 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.51 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.50 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.55 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.67 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.76 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Sub-Saharan Africa || 44 || bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.14|| bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.12|| bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.16|| bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.26 || bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.36 || bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.35 || bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.37 || bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.38 || bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.34 || bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.36 || bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.33 || bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.32 || bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.23 || bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.28 || bgcolor="#fad45d" |4.24 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Middle East and North Africa || 20 || bgcolor="#da820f" |3.34|| bgcolor="#da820f" |3.41|| bgcolor="#da820f" |3.44|| bgcolor="#da820f" |3.53 || bgcolor="#da820f" |3.54 || bgcolor="#da820f" |3.54 || bgcolor="#da820f" |3.56 || bgcolor="#da820f" |3.58 || bgcolor="#da820f" |3.65 || bgcolor="#da820f" |3.68 || bgcolor="#da820f" |3.73 || bgcolor="#da820f" |3.62 || bgcolor="#da820f" |3.52 || bgcolor="#da820f" |3.48 || bgcolor="#da820f" |3.54 |- class="sortbottom static-row-header" | style="text-align:left;" | World || 167 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.29 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.28 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.37|| bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.44 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.48 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.48 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.52 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.55 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.55 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.53 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.52 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.49 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.46 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.55 || bgcolor="#f9f8bb" |5.52 |}

The following table lists the number of countries in each of the four democracy classifications.

Year 2022
Rank	Region	Countries	Authoritarian	Hybrid regime	Flawed democracy	Full democracy	Average score
1	North America	2	0	0	1	1	8.37
2	Western Europe	21	0	1	6	14	8.36
3	Latin America and the Caribbean	24	4	8	9	3	5.79
4	Asia and Australasia	28	7	7	9	5	5.46
5	Central and Eastern Europe	28	8	4	16	0	5.39
6	Sub-Saharan Africa	44	23	14	6	1	4.14
7	Middle East and North Africa	20	17	2	1	0	3.34
	World	167	59	36	48	24	5.29

List by country

The following table shows each nation's score over the years. The regions are assigned by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and may differ from conventional classifications (for example, Turkey is grouped in Western Europe).

Region	2022 rank	Country	Regime type	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2008	2006
North America	12	Canada	Full democracy	8.88	8.87	9.24	9.22	9.15	9.15	9.15	9.08	9.08	9.08	9.08	9.08	9.08	9.07	9.07
North America	30	United States	Flawed democracy	7.85	7.85	7.92	7.96	7.96	7.98	7.98	8.05	8.11	8.11	8.11	8.11	8.18	8.22	8.22
Western Europe	20	Austria	Full democracy	8.20	8.07	8.16	8.29	8.29	8.42	8.41	8.54	8.54	8.48	8.62	8.49	8.49	8.49	8.69
	36	Belgium	Flawed democracy	7.64	7.51	7.51	7.64	7.78	7.78	7.77	7.93	7.93	8.05	8.05	8.05	8.05	8.16	8.15
	37	Cyprus	Flawed democracy	7.38	7.43	7.56	7.59	7.59	7.59	7.65	7.53	7.40	7.29	7.29	7.29	7.29	7.70	7.60
	6	Denmark	Full democracy	9.28	9.09	9.15	9.22	9.22	9.22	9.20	9.11	9.11	9.38	9.52	9.52	9.52	9.52	9.52
	5	Finland	Full democracy	9.29	9.27	9.20	9.25	9.14	9.03	9.03	9.03	9.03	9.03	9.06	9.06	9.19	9.25	9.25
	22	France	Full democracy	8.07	7.99	7.99	8.12	7.80	7.80	7.92	7.92	8.04	7.92	7.88	7.77	7.77	8.07	8.07
	14	Germany	Full democracy	8.80	8.67	8.67	8.68	8.68	8.61	8.63	8.64	8.64	8.31	8.34	8.34	8.38	8.82	8.82
	25	Greece	Flawed democracy	7.97	7.56	7.39	7.43	7.29	7.29	7.23	7.45	7.45	7.65	7.65	7.65	7.92	8.13	8.13
	3	Iceland	Full democracy	9.52	9.18	9.37	9.58	9.58	9.58	9.50	9.58	9.58	9.65	9.65	9.65	9.65	9.65	9.71
	8	Ireland	Full democracy	9.13	9.00	9.05	9.24	9.15	9.15	9.15	8.85	8.72	8.68	8.56	8.56	8.79	9.01	9.01
	34	Italy	Flawed democracy	7.69	7.68	7.74	7.52	7.71	7.98	7.98	7.98	7.85	7.85	7.74	7.74	7.83	7.98	7.73
	13	Luxembourg	Full democracy	8.81	8.68	8.68	8.81	8.81	8.81	8.81	8.88	8.88	8.88	8.88	8.88	8.88	9.10	9.10
	33	Malta	Flawed democracy	7.70	7.57	7.68	7.95	8.21	8.15	8.39	8.39	8.39	8.28	8.28	8.28	8.28	8.39	8.39
	9	Netherlands	Full democracy	9.00	8.88	8.96	9.01	8.89	8.89	8.80	8.92	8.92	8.84	8.99	8.99	8.99	9.53	9.66
	1	Norway	Full democracy	9.81	9.75	9.81	9.87	9.87	9.87	9.93	9.93	9.93	9.93	9.93	9.80	9.80	9.68	9.55
	28	Portugal	Flawed democracy	7.95	7.82	7.90	8.03	7.84	7.84	7.86	7.79	7.79	7.65	7.92	7.81	8.02	8.05	8.16
	22	Spain	Full democracy	8.07	7.94	8.12	8.29	8.08	8.08	8.30	8.30	8.05	8.02	8.02	8.02	8.16	8.45	8.34
	4	Sweden	Full democracy	9.39	9.26	9.26	9.39	9.39	9.39	9.39	9.45	9.73	9.73	9.73	9.50	9.50	9.88	9.88
	7	Switzerland	Full democracy	9.14	8.90	8.83	9.03	9.03	9.03	9.09	9.09	9.09	9.09	9.09	9.09	9.09	9.15	9.02
	103	Turkey	Hybrid regime	4.35	4.35	4.48	4.09	4.37	4.88	5.04	5.12	5.12	5.63	5.76	5.73	5.73	5.69	5.70
	18	United Kingdom	Full democracy	8.28	8.10	8.54	8.52	8.53	8.53	8.36	8.31	8.31	8.31	8.21	8.16	8.16	8.15	8.08
Central and Eastern Europe	64	Albania	Flawed democracy	6.41	6.11	6.08	5.89	5.98	5.98	5.91	5.91	5.67	5.67	5.67	5.81	5.86	5.91	5.91
	82	Armenia	Hybrid regime	5.63	5.49	5.35	5.54	4.79	4.11	3.88	4.00	4.13	4.02	4.09	4.09	4.09	4.09	4.15
	134	Azerbaijan	Authoritarian	2.87	2.68	2.68	2.75	2.65	2.65	2.65	2.71	2.83	3.06	3.15	3.15	3.15	3.19	3.31
	153	Belarus	Authoritarian	1.99	2.41	2.59	2.48	3.13	3.13	3.54	3.62	3.69	3.04	3.04	3.16	3.34	3.34	3.34
	97	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Hybrid regime	5.00	5.04	4.84	4.86	4.98	4.87	4.87	4.83	4.78	5.02	5.11	5.24	5.32	5.70	5.78
	57	Bulgaria	Flawed democracy	6.53	6.64	6.71	7.03	7.03	7.03	7.01	7.14	6.73	6.83	6.72	6.78	6.84	7.02	7.10
	59	Croatia	Flawed democracy	6.50	6.50	6.50	6.57	6.57	6.63	6.75	6.93	6.93	6.93	6.93	6.73	6.81	7.04	7.04
	25	Czech Republic	Flawed democracy	7.97	7.74	7.67	7.69	7.69	7.62	7.82	7.94	7.94	8.06	8.19	8.19	8.19	8.19	8.17
	27	Estonia	Flawed democracy	7.96	7.84	7.84	7.90	7.97	7.79	7.85	7.85	7.74	7.61	7.61	7.61	7.68	7.68	7.74
	90	Georgia	Hybrid regime	5.20	5.12	5.31	5.42	5.50	5.93	5.93	5.88	5.82	5.95	5.53	4.74	4.59	4.62	4.90
	56	Hungary	Flawed democracy	6.64	6.50	6.56	6.63	6.63	6.64	6.72	6.84	6.90	6.96	6.96	7.04	7.21	7.44	7.53
	127	Kazakhstan	Authoritarian	3.08	3.08	3.14	2.94	2.94	3.06	3.06	3.06	3.17	3.06	2.95	3.24	3.30	3.45	3.62
	116	Kyrgyzstan	Authoritarian	3.62	3.62	4.21	4.89	5.11	5.11	4.93	5.33	5.24	4.69	4.69	4.34	4.31	4.05	4.08
	38	Latvia	Flawed democracy	7.37	7.31	7.24	7.49	7.38	7.25	7.31	7.37	7.48	7.05	7.05	7.05	7.05	7.23	7.37
	39	Lithuania	Flawed democracy	7.31	7.18	7.13	7.50	7.50	7.41	7.47	7.54	7.54	7.54	7.24	7.24	7.24	7.36	7.43
	69	Moldova	Flawed democracy	6.23	6.10	5.78	5.75	5.85	5.94	6.01	6.35	6.32	6.32	6.32	6.32	6.33	6.50	6.50
	61	Montenegro	Flawed democracy	6.45	6.02	5.77	5.65	5.74	5.69	5.72	6.01	5.94	5.94	6.05	6.15	6.27	6.43	6.57
	72	North Macedonia	Flawed democracy	6.10	6.03	5.89	5.97	5.87	5.57	5.23	6.02	6.25	6.16	6.16	6.16	6.16	6.21	6.33
	46	Poland	Flawed democracy	7.04	6.80	6.85	6.62	6.67	6.67	6.83	7.09	7.47	7.12	7.12	7.12	7.05	7.30	7.30
	61	Romania	Flawed democracy	6.45	6.43	6.40	6.49	6.38	6.44	6.62	6.68	6.68	6.54	6.54	6.54	6.60	7.06	7.06
	146	Russia	Authoritarian	2.28	3.24	3.31	3.11	2.94	3.17	3.24	3.31	3.39	3.59	3.74	3.92	4.26	4.48	5.02
	68	Serbia	Flawed democracy	6.33	6.36	6.22	6.41	6.41	6.41	6.57	6.71	6.71	6.67	6.33	6.33	6.33	6.49	6.62
	43	Slovakia	Flawed democracy	7.07	7.03	6.97	7.17	7.10	7.16	7.29	7.29	7.35	7.35	7.35	7.35	7.35	7.33	7.40
	31	Slovenia	Flawed democracy	7.75	7.54	7.54	7.50	7.50	7.50	7.51	7.57	7.57	7.88	7.88	7.76	7.69	7.96	7.96
	157	Tajikistan	Authoritarian	1.94	1.94	1.94	1.93	1.93	1.93	1.89	1.95	2.37	2.51	2.51	2.51	2.51	2.45	2.45
	161	Turkmenistan	Authoritarian	1.66	1.66	1.72	1.72	1.72	1.72	1.83	1.83	1.83	1.72	1.72	1.72	1.72	1.72	1.83
	87	Ukraine	Hybrid regime	5.42	5.57	5.81	5.90	5.69	5.69	5.70	5.70	5.42	5.84	5.91	5.94	6.30	6.94	6.94
	149	Uzbekistan	Authoritarian	2.12	2.12	2.12	2.01	2.01	1.95	1.95	1.95	2.45	1.72	1.72	1.74	1.74	1.74	1.85
Latin America and the Caribbean	50	Argentina	Flawed democracy	6.85	6.81	6.95	7.02	7.02	6.96	6.96	7.02	6.84	6.84	6.84	6.84	6.84	6.63	6.63
	100	Bolivia	Hybrid regime	4.51	4.65	5.08	4.84	5.70	5.49	5.63	5.75	5.79	5.79	5.84	5.84	5.92	6.15	5.98
	51	Brazil	Flawed democracy	6.78	6.86	6.92	6.86	6.97	6.86	6.90	6.96	7.38	7.12	7.12	7.12	7.12	7.38	7.38
	19	Chile	Full democracy	8.22	7.92	8.28	8.08	7.97	7.84	7.78	7.84	7.80	7.80	7.54	7.54	7.67	7.89	7.89
	53	Colombia	Flawed democracy	6.72	6.48	7.04	7.13	6.96	6.67	6.67	6.62	6.55	6.55	6.63	6.63	6.55	6.54	6.40
	17	Costa Rica	Full democracy	8.29	8.07	8.16	8.13	8.07	7.88	7.88	7.96	8.03	8.03	8.10	8.10	8.04	8.04	8.04
	139	Cuba	Authoritarian	2.65	2.59	2.84	2.84	3.00	3.31	3.46	3.52	3.52	3.52	3.52	3.52	3.52	3.52	3.52
	65	Dominican Republic	Flawed democracy	6.39	6.45	6.32	6.54	6.54	6.66	6.67	6.67	6.67	6.74	6.49	6.20	6.20	6.20	6.13
	81	Ecuador	Hybrid regime	5.69	5.71	6.13	6.33	6.27	6.02	5.81	5.87	5.87	5.87	5.78	5.72	5.77	5.64	5.64
	93	El Salvador	Hybrid regime	5.06	5.72	5.90	6.15	5.96	6.43	6.64	6.64	6.53	6.53	6.47	6.47	6.47	6.40	6.22
	98	Guatemala	Hybrid regime	4.68	4.62	4.97	5.26	5.60	5.86	5.92	5.92	5.81	5.81	5.88	5.88	6.05	6.07	6.07
	67	Guyana	Flawed democracy	6.34	6.25	6.01	6.15	6.67	6.46	6.25	6.05	5.91	6.05	6.05	6.05	6.05	6.12	6.15
	135	Haiti	Authoritarian	2.81	3.48	4.22	4.57	4.91	4.03	4.02	3.94	3.82	3.94	3.96	4.00	4.00	4.19	4.19
	91	Honduras	Hybrid regime	5.15	5.10	5.36	5.42	5.63	5.72	5.92	5.84	5.84	5.84	5.84	5.84	5.76	6.18	6.25
	42	Jamaica	Flawed democracy	7.13	7.13	7.13	6.96	7.02	7.29	7.39	7.39	7.39	7.39	7.39	7.13	7.21	7.21	7.34
	89	Mexico	Hybrid regime	5.25	5.57	6.07	6.09	6.19	6.41	6.47	6.55	6.68	6.91	6.90	6.93	6.93	6.78	6.67
	143	Nicaragua	Authoritarian	2.50	2.69	3.60	3.55	3.63	4.66	4.81	5.26	5.32	5.46	5.56	5.56	5.73	6.07	5.68
	49	Panama	Flawed democracy	6.91	6.85	7.18	7.05	7.05	7.08	7.13	7.19	7.08	7.08	7.08	7.08	7.15	7.35	7.35
	77	Paraguay	Hybrid regime	5.89	5.86	6.18	6.24	6.24	6.31	6.27	6.33	6.26	6.26	6.26	6.40	6.40	6.40	6.16
	75	Peru	Hybrid regime	5.92	6.09	6.53	6.60	6.60	6.49	6.65	6.58	6.54	6.54	6.47	6.59	6.40	6.31	6.11
	48	Suriname	Flawed democracy	6.95	6.82	6.82	6.98	6.98	6.76	6.77	6.77	6.77	6.77	6.65	6.65	6.65	6.58	6.52
	41	Trinidad and Tobago	Flawed democracy	7.16	7.16	7.16	7.16	7.16	7.04	7.10	7.10	6.99	6.99	6.99	7.16	7.16	7.21	7.18
	11	Uruguay	Full democracy	8.91	8.85	8.61	8.38	8.38	8.12	8.17	8.17	8.17	8.17	8.17	8.17	8.10	8.08	7.96
	147	Venezuela	Authoritarian	2.23	2.11	2.76	2.88	3.16	3.87	4.68	5.00	5.07	5.07	5.15	5.08	5.18	5.34	5.42
Asia and Australasia	167	Afghanistan	Authoritarian	0.32	0.32	2.85	2.85	2.97	2.55	2.55	2.77	2.77	2.48	2.48	2.48	2.48	3.02	3.06
	15	Australia	Full democracy	8.71	8.90	8.96	9.09	9.09	9.09	9.01	9.01	9.01	9.13	9.22	9.22	9.22	9.09	9.09
	73	Bangladesh	Hybrid regime	5.99	5.99	5.99	5.88	5.57	5.43	5.73	5.73	5.78	5.86	5.86	5.86	5.87	5.52	6.11
	84	Bhutan	Hybrid regime	5.54	5.71	5.71	5.30	5.30	5.08	4.93	4.93	4.87	4.82	4.65	4.57	4.68	4.30	2.62
	121	Cambodia	Authoritarian	3.18	2.90	3.10	3.53	3.59	3.63	4.27	4.27	4.78	4.60	4.96	4.87	4.87	4.87	4.77
	156	China, People's Republic of China	Authoritarian	1.94	2.21	2.27	2.26	3.32	3.10	3.18	3.14	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.14	3.14	3.04	2.97
	83	Fiji	Hybrid regime	5.55	5.61	5.72	5.85	5.85	5.85	5.64	5.69	5.61	3.61	3.67	3.67	3.62	5.11	5.66
	88	Hong Kong	Hybrid regime	5.28	5.60	5.57	6.02	6.15	6.31	6.42	6.50	6.46	6.42	6.42	5.92	5.92	5.85	6.03
	46	India	Flawed democracy	7.04	6.91	6.61	6.90	7.23	7.23	7.81	7.74	7.92	7.69	7.52	7.30	7.28	7.80	7.68
	54	Indonesia	Flawed democracy	6.71	6.71	6.30	6.48	6.39	6.39	6.97	7.03	6.95	6.82	6.76	6.53	6.53	6.34	6.41
	16	Japan	Full democracy	8.33	8.15	8.13	7.99	7.99	7.88	7.99	7.96	8.08	8.08	8.08	8.08	8.08	8.25	8.15
	159	Laos	Authoritarian	1.77	1.77	1.77	2.14	2.37	2.37	2.37	2.21	2.21	2.21	2.32	2.10	2.10	2.10	2.10
	40	Malaysia	Flawed democracy	7.30	7.24	7.19	7.16	6.88	6.54	6.54	6.43	6.49	6.49	6.41	6.19	6.19	6.36	5.98
	66	Mongolia	Flawed democracy	6.35	6.42	6.48	6.50	6.50	6.50	6.62	6.62	6.62	6.51	6.35	6.23	6.36	6.60	6.60
	166	Myanmar	Authoritarian	0.74	1.02	3.04	3.55	3.83	3.83	4.20	4.14	3.05	2.76	2.35	1.77	1.77	1.77	1.77
	101	Nepal	Hybrid regime	4.49	4.41	5.22	5.28	5.18	5.18	4.86	4.77	4.77	4.77	4.16	4.24	4.24	4.05	3.42
	2	New Zealand	Full democracy	9.61	9.37	9.25	9.26	9.26	9.26	9.26	9.26	9.26	9.26	9.26	9.26	9.26	9.19	9.01
	165	Korea, North North Korea	Authoritarian	1.08	1.08	1.08	1.08	1.08	1.08	1.08	1.08	1.08	1.08	1.08	1.08	1.08	0.86	1.03
	107	Pakistan	Hybrid regime	4.13	4.31	4.31	4.25	4.17	4.26	4.33	4.40	4.64	4.64	4.57	4.55	4.55	4.46	3.92
	74	Papua New Guinea	Hybrid regime	5.97	6.10	6.10	6.03	6.03	6.03	6.03	6.03	6.03	6.36	6.32	6.32	6.54	6.54	6.54
	52	Philippines	Flawed democracy	6.73	6.62	6.56	6.64	6.71	6.71	6.94	6.84	6.77	6.41	6.30	6.12	6.12	6.12	6.48
	70	Singapore	Flawed democracy	6.22	6.23	6.03	6.02	6.38	6.32	6.38	6.14	6.03	5.92	5.88	5.89	5.89	5.89	5.89
	24	Korea, South South Korea	Full democracy	8.03	8.16	8.01	8.00	8.00	8.00	7.92	7.97	8.06	8.06	8.13	8.06	8.11	8.01	7.88
	60	Sri Lanka	Flawed democracy	6.47	6.14	6.14	6.27	6.19	6.48	6.48	6.42	5.69	5.69	5.75	6.58	6.64	6.61	6.58
	10	Taiwan (Republic of China) Taiwan	Full democracy	8.99	8.99	8.94	7.73	7.73	7.73	7.79	7.83	7.65	7.57	7.57	7.46	7.52	7.82	7.82
	55	Thailand	Flawed democracy	6.67	6.04	6.04	6.32	4.63	4.63	4.92	5.09	5.39	6.25	6.55	6.55	6.55	6.81	5.67
	44	Template:ETM	Flawed democracy	7.06	7.06	7.06	7.19	7.19	7.19	7.24	7.24	7.24	7.24	7.16	7.22	7.22	7.22	6.41
	138	Vietnam	Authoritarian	2.73	2.94	2.94	3.08	3.08	3.08	3.38	3.53	3.41	3.29	2.89	2.96	2.94	2.53	2.75
Middle East and North Africa	113	Algeria	Authoritarian	3.66	3.77	3.77	4.01	3.50	3.56	3.56	3.95	3.83	3.83	3.83	3.44	3.44	3.32	3.17
	142	Bahrain	Authoritarian	2.52	2.52	2.49	2.55	2.71	2.71	2.79	2.79	2.87	2.87	2.53	2.92	3.49	3.38	3.53
	131	Egypt	Authoritarian	2.93	2.93	2.93	3.06	3.36	3.36	3.31	3.18	3.16	3.27	4.56	3.95	3.07	3.89	3.90
	154	Iran	Authoritarian	1.96	1.95	2.20	2.38	2.45	2.45	2.34	2.16	1.98	1.98	1.98	1.98	1.94	2.83	2.93
	124	Iraq	Authoritarian	3.13	3.51	3.62	3.74	4.06	4.09	4.08	4.08	4.23	4.10	4.10	4.03	4.00	4.00	4.01
	29	Israel	Flawed democracy	7.93	7.97	7.84	7.86	7.79	7.79	7.85	7.77	7.63	7.53	7.53	7.53	7.48	7.48	7.28
	122	Jordan	Authoritarian	3.17	3.49	3.62	3.93	3.93	3.87	3.96	3.86	3.76	3.76	3.76	3.89	3.74	3.93	3.92
	111	Kuwait	Authoritarian	3.83	3.91	3.80	3.93	3.85	3.85	3.85	3.85	3.78	3.78	3.78	3.74	3.88	3.39	3.09
	115	Lebanon	Authoritarian	3.64	3.84	4.16	4.36	4.63	4.72	4.86	4.86	5.12	5.05	5.05	5.32	5.82	5.62	5.82
	151	Libya	Authoritarian	2.06	1.95	1.95	2.02	2.19	2.32	2.25	2.25	3.80	4.82	5.15	3.55	1.94	2.00	1.84
	95	Morocco	Hybrid regime	5.04	5.04	5.04	5.10	4.99	4.87	4.77	4.66	4.00	4.07	4.07	3.83	3.79	3.88	3.90
	125	Oman	Authoritarian	3.12	3.00	3.00	3.06	3.04	3.04	3.04	3.04	3.15	3.26	3.26	3.26	2.86	2.98	2.77
	110	Palestine	Authoritarian	3.86	3.94	3.83	3.89	4.39	4.46	4.49	4.57	4.72	4.80	4.80	4.97	5.44	5.83	6.01
	114	Qatar	Authoritarian	3.65	3.65	3.24	3.19	3.19	3.19	3.18	3.18	3.18	3.18	3.18	3.18	3.09	2.92	2.78
	150	Saudi Arabia	Authoritarian	2.08	2.08	2.08	1.93	1.93	1.93	1.93	1.93	1.82	1.82	1.71	1.77	1.84	1.90	1.92
	144	Sudan	Authoritarian	2.47	2.47	2.54	2.70	2.15	2.15	2.37	2.37	2.54	2.54	2.38	2.38	2.42	2.81	2.90
	163	Syria	Authoritarian	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.74	1.86	1.63	1.99	2.31	2.18	2.36
	85	Tunisia	Hybrid regime	5.51	5.99	6.59	6.72	6.41	6.32	6.40	6.72	6.31	5.76	5.67	5.53	2.79	2.96	3.06
	133	United Arab Emirates	Authoritarian	2.90	2.90	2.70	2.76	2.76	2.69	2.75	2.75	2.64	2.52	2.58	2.58	2.52	2.60	2.42
	155	Yemen	Authoritarian	1.95	1.95	1.95	1.95	1.95	2.07	2.07	2.24	2.79	2.79	3.12	2.57	2.64	2.95	2.98
Sub-Saharan Africa	109	Angola	Authoritarian	3.96	3.37	3.66	3.72	3.62	3.62	3.40	3.35	3.35	3.35	3.35	3.32	3.32	3.35	2.41
	104	Benin	Hybrid regime	4.28	4.19	4.58	5.09	5.74	5.61	5.67	5.72	5.65	5.87	6.00	6.06	6.17	6.06	6.16
	32	Botswana	Flawed democracy	7.73	7.73	7.62	7.81	7.81	7.81	7.87	7.87	7.87	7.98	7.85	7.63	7.63	7.47	7.60
	127	Burkina Faso	Authoritarian	3.08	3.84	3.73	4.04	4.75	4.75	4.70	4.70	4.09	4.15	3.52	3.59	3.59	3.60	3.72
	148	Burundi	Authoritarian	2.13	2.13	2.14	2.15	2.33	2.33	2.40	2.49	3.33	3.41	3.60	4.01	4.01	4.51	4.51
	35	Cape Verde	Flawed democracy	7.65	7.65	7.65	7.78	7.88	7.88	7.94	7.81	7.81	7.92	7.92	7.92	7.94	7.81	7.43
	140	Cameroon	Authoritarian	2.56	2.56	2.77	2.85	3.28	3.61	3.46	3.66	3.41	3.41	3.44	3.41	3.41	3.46	3.27
	164	Central African Republic	Authoritarian	1.35	1.43	1.32	1.32	1.52	1.52	1.61	1.57	1.49	1.49	1.99	1.82	1.82	1.86	1.61
	160	Chad	Authoritarian	1.67	1.67	1.55	1.61	1.61	1.50	1.50	1.50	1.50	1.50	1.62	1.62	1.52	1.52	1.65
	120	Comoros	Authoritarian	3.20	3.20	3.09	3.15	3.71	3.71	3.71	3.71	3.52	3.52	3.52	3.52	3.41	3.58	3.90
	136	Congo, Repubblica del Republic of the Congo	Authoritarian	2.79	2.79	3.11	3.11	3.31	3.25	2.91	2.91	2.89	2.89	2.89	2.89	2.89	2.94	3.19
	106	Ivory Coast	Hybrid regime	4.22	4.22	4.11	4.05	4.15	3.93	3.81	3.31	3.53	3.25	3.25	3.08	3.02	3.27	3.38
	162	Congo, Democratic Republic of the Democratic Republic of the Congo	Authoritarian	1.48	1.40	1.13	1.13	1.49	1.61	1.93	2.11	1.75	1.83	1.92	2.15	2.15	2.28	2.76
	137	Djibouti	Authoritarian	2.74	2.74	2.71	2.77	2.87	2.76	2.83	2.90	2.99	2.96	2.74	2.68	2.20	2.37	2.37
	158	Equatorial Guinea	Authoritarian	1.92	1.92	1.92	1.92	1.92	1.81	1.70	1.77	1.66	1.77	1.83	1.77	1.84	2.19	2.09
	152	Eritrea	Authoritarian	2.03	2.03	2.15	2.37	2.37	2.37	2.37	2.37	2.44	2.40	2.40	2.34	2.31	2.31	2.31
	129	Eswatini	Authoritarian	3.01	3.08	3.08	3.14	3.03	3.03	3.03	3.09	3.09	3.20	3.20	3.26	2.90	3.04	2.93
	122	Ethiopia	Authoritarian	3.17	3.30	3.38	3.44	3.35	3.42	3.60	3.83	3.72	3.83	3.72	3.79	3.68	4.52	4.72
	118	Gabon	Authoritarian	3.40	3.40	3.54	3.61	3.61	3.61	3.74	3.76	3.76	3.76	3.56	3.48	3.29	3.00	2.72
	102	Gambia, The Gambia	Hybrid regime	4.47	4.41	4.49	4.33	4.31	4.06	2.91	2.97	3.05	3.31	3.31	3.38	3.38	4.19	4.39
	63	Ghana	Flawed democracy	6.43	6.50	6.50	6.63	6.63	6.69	6.75	6.86	6.33	6.33	6.02	6.02	6.02	5.35	5.35
	145	Guinea	Authoritarian	2.32	2.28	3.08	3.14	3.14	3.14	3.14	3.14	3.01	2.84	2.79	2.79	2.79	2.09	2.02
	140	Guinea-Bissau	Authoritarian	2.56	2.75	2.63	2.63	1.98	1.98	1.98	1.93	1.93	1.26	1.43	1.99	1.99	1.99	2.00
	94	Kenya	Hybrid regime	5.05	5.05	5.05	5.18	5.11	5.11	5.33	5.33	5.13	5.13	4.71	4.71	4.71	4.79	5.08
	71	Lesotho	Flawed democracy	6.19	6.30	6.30	6.54	6.64	6.64	6.59	6.59	6.66	6.66	6.66	6.33	6.02	6.29	6.48
	86	Liberia	Hybrid regime	5.43	5.43	5.32	5.45	5.35	5.23	5.31	4.95	4.95	4.95	4.95	5.07	5.07	5.25	5.22
	80	Madagascar	Hybrid regime	5.70	5.70	5.70	5.64	5.22	5.11	5.07	4.85	4.42	4.32	3.93	3.93	3.94	5.57	5.82
	76	Malawi	Hybrid regime	5.91	5.74	5.74	5.50	5.49	5.49	5.55	5.55	5.66	6.00	6.08	5.84	5.84	5.13	4.97
	119	Mali	Authoritarian	3.23	3.48	3.93	4.92	5.41	5.64	5.70	5.70	5.79	5.90	5.12	6.36	6.01	5.87	5.99
	108	Mauritania	Hybrid regime	4.03	4.03	3.92	3.92	3.82	3.82	3.96	3.96	4.17	4.17	4.17	4.17	3.86	3.91	3.12
	21	Mauritius	Full democracy	8.14	8.08	8.14	8.22	8.22	8.22	8.28	8.27	8.17	8.17	8.17	8.04	8.04	8.04	8.04
	117	Mozambique	Authoritarian	3.51	3.51	3.51	3.65	3.85	4.02	4.02	4.60	4.66	4.77	4.88	4.90	4.90	5.49	5.28
	58	Namibia	Flawed democracy	6.52	6.52	6.52	6.43	6.25	6.31	6.31	6.31	6.24	6.24	6.24	6.24	6.23	6.48	6.54
	112	Niger	Authoritarian	3.73	3.22	3.29	3.29	3.76	3.76	3.96	4.62	4.02	4.08	4.16	4.16	3.38	3.41	3.54
	105	Nigeria	Hybrid regime	4.23	4.11	4.10	4.12	4.44	4.44	4.50	3.85	3.76	3.77	3.77	3.83	3.47	3.53	3.52
	126	Rwanda	Authoritarian	3.10	3.10	3.10	3.16	3.35	3.19	3.07	3.07	3.25	3.38	3.36	3.25	3.25	3.71	3.82
	79	Senegal	Hybrid regime	5.72	5.53	5.67	5.81	6.15	6.15	6.21	6.08	6.15	6.15	6.09	5.51	5.27	5.37	5.37
	96	Sierra Leone	Hybrid regime	5.03	4.97	4.86	4.86	4.66	4.66	4.55	4.55	4.56	4.64	4.71	4.51	4.51	4.11	3.57
	45	South Africa	Flawed democracy	7.05	7.05	7.05	7.24	7.24	7.24	7.41	7.56	7.82	7.90	7.79	7.79	7.79	7.91	7.91
	92	Tanzania	Hybrid regime	5.10	5.10	5.10	5.16	5.41	5.47	5.76	5.58	5.77	5.77	5.88	5.64	5.64	5.28	5.18
	130	Togo	Authoritarian	2.99	2.80	2.80	3.30	3.10	3.05	3.32	3.41	3.45	3.45	3.45	3.45	3.45	2.43	1.75
	99	Uganda	Hybrid regime	4.55	4.48	4.94	5.02	5.20	5.09	5.26	5.22	5.22	5.22	5.16	5.13	5.05	5.03	5.14
	78	Zambia	Hybrid regime	5.80	5.72	4.86	5.09	5.61	5.68	5.99	6.28	6.39	6.26	6.26	6.19	5.68	5.25	5.25
	132	Zimbabwe	Authoritarian	2.92	2.92	3.16	3.16	3.16	3.16	3.05	3.05	2.78	2.67	2.67	2.68	2.64	2.53	2.62

Components

The following table shows the five parameters that made up the score of each nation in 2022 and the changes that had occurred since 2021.

Year 2022
Rank	Δ Rank	Country	Regime type	Overall score	Δ Score	Electoral process and pluralism	Functioning of government	Political participation	Political culture	Civil liberties

Full democracies
1		Norway	Full democracy	9.81	0.06	10.00	9.64	10.00	10.00	9.41
2		New Zealand	Full democracy	9.61	0.14	10.00	9.29	10.00	8.75	10.00
3	2	Iceland	Full democracy	9.52	0.34	10.00	9.64	8.89	9.38	9.71
4		Sweden	Full democracy	9.39	0.13	9.58	9.64	8.33	10.00	9.41
5	2	Finland	Full democracy	9.29	0.02	10.00	9.64	8.33	8.75	9.71
6		Denmark	Full democracy	9.28	0.19	10.00	9.29	8.33	9.38	9.41
7	2	Switzerland	Full democracy	9.14	0.24	9.58	9.29	8.33	9.38	9.12
8	1	Ireland	Full democracy	9.13	0.13	10.00	8.21	8.33	10.00	9.12
9	2	Netherlands	Full democracy	9.00	0.12	9.58	8.93	8.33	8.75	9.41
10	2	Taiwan	Full democracy	8.99		10.00	9.64	7.78	8.13	9.41
11	2	Uruguay	Full democracy	8.91	0.06	10.00	8.93	7.78	8.13	9.71
12		Canada	Full democracy	8.88	0.01	10.00	8.57	8.89	8.13	8.82
13	1	Luxembourg	Full democracy	8.81	0.13	10.00	8.93	6.67	8.75	9.71
14	1	Germany	Full democracy	8.80	0.13	9.58	8.57	8.33	8.13	9.41
15	6	Australia	Full democracy	8.71	0.19	10.00	8.57	7.78	7.50	9.71
16	1	Japan	Full democracy	8.33	0.18	9.17	8.57	6.67	8.13	9.12
17	3	Costa Rica	Full democracy	8.29	0.22	9.58	7.50	7.78	6.88	9.71
18		United Kingdom	Full democracy	8.28	0.18	9.58	7.50	8.33	6.88	9.12
19	6	Chile	Full democracy	8.22	0.30	9.58	8.21	6.67	7.50	9.12
20		Austria	Full democracy	8.20	0.13	9.58	7.14	8.89	6.88	8.53
21	2	Mauritius	Full democracy	8.14	0.06	9.17	7.86	6.11	8.75	8.82
22		France	Full democracy	8.07	0.08	9.58	7.86	7.78	6.88	8.24
22	2	Spain	Full democracy	8.07	0.13	9.58	7.50	7.22	7.50	8.53
24	8	South Korea	Full democracy	8.03	0.13	9.58	8.57	7.22	6.25	8.53
Flawed democracies
25	4	Czech Republic	Flawed democracy	7.97	0.23	9.58	6.43	7.22	7.50	9.12
25	9	Greece	Flawed democracy	7.97	0.41	10.00	7.14	6.67	7.50	8.53
27		Estonia	Flawed democracy	7.96	0.12	9.58	7.86	6.67	6.88	8.82
28		Portugal	Flawed democracy	7.95	0.13	9.58	7.50	6.67	6.88	9.12
29	6	Israel	Flawed democracy	7.93	0.04	9.58	7.86	9.44	6.88	5.88
30	4	United States	Flawed democracy	7.85		9.17	6.43	8.89	6.25	8.53
31	4	Slovenia	Flawed democracy	7.75	0.21	9.58	7.14	7.22	6.25	8.53
32	2	Botswana	Flawed democracy	7.73		9.17	6.79	6.67	7.50	8.53
33		Malta	Flawed democracy	7.70	0.13	9.17	7.14	5.56	8.13	8.53
34	3	Italy	Flawed democracy	7.69	0.01	9.58	6.79	7.22	7.50	7.35
35	3	Cape Verde	Flawed democracy	7.65		9.17	7.00	6.67	6.88	8.53
36		Belgium	Flawed democracy	7.64	0.13	9.58	8.21	5.00	6.88	8.53
37		Cyprus	Flawed democracy	7.38	0.05	9.17	5.36	6.67	6.88	8.82
38		Latvia	Flawed democracy	7.37	0.06	9.58	6.07	6.11	6.25	8.82
39	1	Lithuania	Flawed democracy	7.31	0.13	9.58	6.43	6.11	5.63	8.82
40	1	Malaysia	Flawed democracy	7.30	0.06	9.58	7.86	7.22	6.25	5.59
41		Trinidad and Tobago	Flawed democracy	7.16		9.58	7.14	6.11	5.63	7.35
42		Jamaica	Flawed democracy	7.13		8.75	7.14	5.00	6.25	8.53
43	2	Slovakia	Flawed democracy	7.07	0.04	9.58	6.07	5.56	5.63	8.53
44	1	Template:ETM	Flawed democracy	7.06		9.58	5.93	5.56	6.88	7.35
45	1	South Africa	Flawed democracy	7.05		7.42	7.14	8.33	5.00	7.35
46		India	Flawed democracy	7.04	0.13	8.67	7.50	7.22	5.63	6.18
46	5	Poland	Flawed democracy	7.04	0.24	9.17	6.07	6.67	6.25	7.06
48	1	Suriname	Flawed democracy	6.95	0.13	9.58	6.43	6.11	5.00	7.65
49	1	Panama	Flawed democracy	6.91	0.06	9.58	6.07	7.22	3.75	7.94
50		Argentina	Flawed democracy	6.85		9.17	5.00	7.78	4.38	7.94
51	4	Brazil	Flawed democracy	6.78	0.08	9.58	5.00	6.67	5.00	7.65
52	2	Philippines	Flawed democracy	6.73	0.11	9.17	5.00	7.78	4.38	7.35
53	6	Colombia	Flawed democracy	6.72	0.25	9.17	6.07	6.67	3.75	7.94
54	2	Indonesia	Flawed democracy	6.71		7.92	7.86	7.22	4.38	6.18
55	17	Thailand	Flawed democracy	6.67	0.63	7.42	6.07	8.33	5.63	5.88
56		Hungary	Flawed democracy	6.64	0.14	8.33	6.79	4.44	6.88	6.76
57	4	Bulgaria	Flawed democracy	6.53	0.11	9.17	5.36	6.11	4.38	7.65
58	3	Namibia	Flawed democracy	6.52		7.00	5.36	6.67	5.63	7.94
59	3	Croatia	Flawed democracy	6.50		9.17	6.07	6.11	4.38	6.76
60	7	Sri Lanka	Flawed democracy	6.47	0.33	7.00	5.71	7.22	6.25	6.18
61	13	Montenegro	Flawed democracy	6.45	0.43	7.42	6.79	7.22	3.75	7.06
61		Romania	Flawed democracy	6.45	0.02	9.17	6.43	5.56	3.75	7.35
63	7	Ghana	Flawed democracy	6.43	0.07	8.33	5.00	6.67	6.25	5.88
64	4	Albania	Flawed democracy	6.41	0.30	7.00	6.43	5.00	6.25	7.35
65	5	Dominican Republic	Flawed democracy	6.39	0.06	9.17	5.36	7.22	3.13	7.06
66	4	Mongolia	Flawed democracy	6.35	0.07	8.75	5.36	6.11	5.63	5.88
67	2	Guyana	Flawed democracy	6.34	0.09	6.92	6.07	6.67	5.00	7.06
68	5	Serbia	Flawed democracy	6.33	0.03	7.83	6.07	6.67	3.75	7.35
69		Moldova	Flawed democracy	6.23	0.13	7.42	5.36	7.22	4.38	6.76
70	4	Singapore	Flawed democracy	6.22	0.01	4.83	7.86	4.44	7.50	6.47
71	7	Lesotho	Flawed democracy	6.19	0.11	9.17	4.14	5.56	5.63	6.47
72	1	North Macedonia	Flawed democracy	6.10	0.07	7.83	6.07	6.11	3.13	7.35
Hybrid regimes
73	2	Bangladesh	Hybrid regime	5.99		7.42	6.07	5.56	5.63	5.29
74	5	Papua New Guinea	Hybrid regime	5.97	0.13	6.92	6.07	3.89	5.63	7.35
75	4	Peru	Hybrid regime	5.92	0.17	8.75	5.71	5.56	3.13	6.47
76	2	Malawi	Hybrid regime	5.91	0.17	7.00	4.29	5.56	6.25	6.47
77		Paraguay	Hybrid regime	5.89	0.03	8.75	5.36	6.11	1.88	7.35
78	1	Zambia	Hybrid regime	5.80	0.08	7.92	3.64	5.00	6.88	5.59
79	9	Senegal	Hybrid regime	5.72	0.19	6.58	5.71	4.44	6.25	5.59
80	3	Madagascar	Hybrid regime	5.70		7.92	3.57	6.67	5.63	4.71
81		Ecuador	Hybrid regime	5.69	0.02	8.75	5.00	6.67	1.88	6.18
82	7	Armenia	Hybrid regime	5.63	0.14	7.92	5.71	6.11	3.13	5.29
83	1	Fiji	Hybrid regime	5.55	0.06	6.58	5.00	5.56	5.63	5.00
84	3	Bhutan	Hybrid regime	5.54	0.24	8.75	5.93	3.33	5.00	4.71
85	10	Tunisia	Hybrid regime	5.51	0.48	6.17	4.64	6.11	5.63	5.00
86	4	Liberia	Hybrid regime	5.43		7.42	2.71	6.11	5.63	5.29
87	1	Ukraine	Hybrid regime	5.42	0.15	6.50	2.71	7.22	6.25	4.41
88	3	Hong Kong	Hybrid regime	5.28	0.32	2.75	3.29	5.56	6.88	7.94
89	3	Mexico	Hybrid regime	5.25	0.32	6.92	4.64	7.22	1.88	5.59
90	1	Georgia	Hybrid regime	5.20	0.08	7.00	3.57	6.11	3.75	5.59
91	1	Honduras	Hybrid regime	5.15	0.05	8.75	3.93	5.00	2.50	5.59
92		Tanzania	Hybrid regime	5.10		4.83	5.00	5.00	6.25	4.41
93	14	El Salvador	Hybrid regime	5.06	0.66	8.33	3.57	5.56	3.13	4.71
94		Kenya	Hybrid regime	5.05		3.50	5.36	6.67	5.63	4.12
95		Morocco	Hybrid regime	5.04		5.25	4.64	5.56	5.63	4.12
96	1	Sierra Leone	Hybrid regime	5.03	0.06	6.58	2.86	4.44	6.25	5.00
97	2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Hybrid regime	5.00	0.04	7.00	4.00	5.00	3.13	5.88
98	1	Guatemala	Hybrid regime	4.68	0.06	6.92	3.93	3.89	2.50	6.18
99	1	Uganda	Hybrid regime	4.55	0.07	3.42	3.57	3.89	6.88	5.00
100	2	Bolivia	Hybrid regime	4.51	0.14	4.75	4.29	6.67	1.25	5.59
101		Nepal	Hybrid regime	4.49	0.08	4.83	5.36	4.44	2.50	5.29
102	1	Gambia	Hybrid regime	4.47	0.06	4.42	4.29	3.89	5.63	4.12
103		Turkey	Hybrid regime	4.35		3.50	5.00	5.56	5.63	2.06
104	2	Benin	Hybrid regime	4.28	0.09	1.67	5.71	3.33	6.25	4.41
105	2	Nigeria	Hybrid regime	4.23	0.12	5.17	3.93	3.89	3.75	4.41
106	1	Ivory Coast	Hybrid regime	4.22		4.33	2.86	4.44	5.63	3.82
107	3	Pakistan	Hybrid regime	4.13	0.18	5.67	5.00	2.78	2.50	4.71
108		Mauritania	Hybrid regime	4.03		3.50	3.57	5.56	3.13	4.41
Authoritarian regimes
109	13	Angola	Authoritarian	3.96	0.59	4.50	3.21	4.44	5.00	2.65
110	1	Palestine	Authoritarian	3.86	0.08	2.92	0.14	8.33	4.38	3.53
111	1	Kuwait	Authoritarian	3.83	0.08	3.17	3.93	4.44	4.38	3.24
112	13	Niger	Authoritarian	3.73	0.51	2.92	1.50	3.89	5.63	4.71
113		Algeria	Authoritarian	3.66	0.11	3.08	2.50	3.89	5.00	3.82
114		Qatar	Authoritarian	3.65		1.50	4.29	3.33	5.63	3.53
115	4	Lebanon	Authoritarian	3.64	0.20	3.50	0.79	6.67	3.13	4.12
116	1	Kyrgyzstan	Authoritarian	3.62		4.33	1.50	4.44	3.13	4.71
117	1	Mozambique	Authoritarian	3.51		2.58	1.43	5.00	5.00	3.53
118	3	Gabon	Authoritarian	3.40		2.17	1.86	4.44	5.00	3.53
119		Mali	Authoritarian	3.23	0.25	1.17	0.00	5.56	5.63	3.82
120	6	Comoros	Authoritarian	3.20		2.08	2.21	4.44	3.75	3.53
121	13	Cambodia	Authoritarian	3.18	0.28	0.00	3.21	5.00	5.63	2.06
122	1	Ethiopia	Authoritarian	3.17	0.13	0.42	2.86	6.11	5.00	1.47
122	4	Jordan	Authoritarian	3.17	0.32	2.67	3.21	3.89	3.13	2.94
124	8	Iraq	Authoritarian	3.13	0.38	5.25	0.00	6.11	3.13	1.18
125	5	Oman	Authoritarian	3.12	0.12	0.08	3.93	2.78	5.00	3.82
126	1	Rwanda	Authoritarian	3.10		1.42	4.29	2.78	4.38	2.65
127	16	Burkina Faso	Authoritarian	3.08	0.76	0.00	2.50	5.00	4.38	3.53
127	1	Kazakhstan	Authoritarian	3.08		0.50	3.21	5.00	3.75	2.94
129	1	Eswatini	Authoritarian	3.01	0.07	0.92	2.50	2.78	5.63	3.24
130	6	Togo	Authoritarian	2.99	0.07	0.92	2.14	3.33	5.63	2.94
131	1	Egypt	Authoritarian	2.93		1.33	3.21	3.33	5.00	1.76
132	1	Zimbabwe	Authoritarian	2.92		0.00	2.50	3.89	5.00	3.24
133	1	United Arab Emirates	Authoritarian	2.90		0.00	4.29	2.22	5.63	2.35
134	7	Azerbaijan	Authoritarian	2.87	0.19	0.50	2.86	3.33	5.00	2.65
135	16	Haiti	Authoritarian	2.81	0.67	0.00	0.00	2.78	6.25	5.00
136	1	Republic of the Congo	Authoritarian	2.79		0.00	2.50	4.44	3.75	3.24
137	2	Djibouti	Authoritarian	2.74		0.00	1.29	4.44	5.63	2.35
138	7	Vietnam	Authoritarian	2.73	0.21	0.00	3.93	3.33	3.75	2.65
139	3	Cuba	Authoritarian	2.65	0.06	0.00	3.21	3.33	3.75	2.94
140	3	Cameroon	Authoritarian	2.56		0.33	2.14	3.89	4.38	2.06
140	2	Guinea-Bissau	Authoritarian	2.56	0.19	4.00	0.00	3.33	3.13	2.35
142	2	Bahrain	Authoritarian	2.52		0.42	2.71	3.33	4.38	1.76
143	3	Nicaragua	Authoritarian	2.50	0.19	0.00	2.14	3.33	4.38	2.65
144	1	Sudan	Authoritarian	2.47		0.00	1.43	4.44	5.00	1.47
145	2	Guinea	Authoritarian	2.32	0.04	0.83	0.43	3.33	4.38	2.65
146	22	Russia	Authoritarian	2.28	0.96	0.92	2.14	2.22	3.75	2.35
147	4	Venezuela	Authoritarian	2.23	0.12	0.00	1.07	5.56	1.88	2.65
148	1	Burundi	Authoritarian	2.13		0.00	0.00	3.89	5.00	1.76
149	1	Uzbekistan	Authoritarian	2.12		0.08	1.86	2.78	5.00	0.88
150	2	Saudi Arabia	Authoritarian	2.08		0.00	3.57	2.22	3.13	1.47
151	3	Libya	Authoritarian	2.06	0.11	0.00	0.00	3.89	3.75	2.65
152	1	Eritrea	Authoritarian	2.03		0.00	2.14	0.56	6.88	0.59
153	7	Belarus	Authoritarian	1.99	0.42	0.00	0.79	3.33	4.38	1.47
154		Iran	Authoritarian	1.96	0.25	0.00	2.50	3.33	2.50	1.47
155	1	Yemen	Authoritarian	1.95		0.00	0.00	3.89	5.00	0.88
156	8	China	Authoritarian	1.94	0.27	0.00	3.21	2.78	3.13	0.59
156	1	Tajikistan	Authoritarian	1.94		0.00	2.21	2.22	4.38	0.88
158		Equatorial Guinea	Authoritarian	1.92		0.00	0.43	3.33	4.38	1.47
159		Laos	Authoritarian	1.77		0.00	2.86	1.67	3.75	0.59
160		Chad	Authoritarian	1.67		0.00	0.00	2.22	3.75	2.35
161		Turkmenistan	Authoritarian	1.66		0.00	0.79	2.22	5.00	0.29
162	2	Template:DRC	Authoritarian	1.48	0.08	1.17	0.00	2.22	3.13	0.88
163	1	Syria	Authoritarian	1.43		0.00	0.00	2.78	4.38	0.00
164	2	Central African Republic	Authoritarian	1.35	0.08	0.83	0.00	1.67	1.88	2.35
165		North Korea	Authoritarian	1.08		0.00	2.50	1.67	1.25	0.00
166		Myanmar	Authoritarian	0.74	0.28	0.00	0.00	0.56	3.13	0.00
167		Afghanistan	Authoritarian	0.32		0.00	0.07	0.00	1.25	0.29

Recent changes

In 2016, the United States was downgraded from a full democracy to a flawed democracy;^[7] its score, which had been declining for some years, crossed the threshold from 8.05 in 2015 to 7.98 in 2016. The report stated that this was caused by myriad factors dating back to at least the late 1960s which have eroded Americans' trust in governmental institutions.^[8]^[9]

The 2017 Democracy Index registered, at the time, the worst year for global democracy since 2010–11. Asia was the region with the largest decline since 2016. Venezuela was downgraded from a hybrid regime to an authoritarian regime. In China, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), further entrenched his power by writing his contribution to the CCP's ideology, dubbed Xi Jinping Thought, into the party's constitution. Moldova was downgraded from a flawed democracy to a hybrid regime as a result of problematic elections. By contrast, Armenia was re-upgraded from an authoritarian regime to a hybrid regime as a result of constitutional changes that shifted power from the presidency to parliament.^[10] In 2017, the Gambia was upgraded again from an authoritarian regime to a hybrid regime after Yahya Jammeh, who was president from 1996 to 2017, was defeated by Adama Barrow, an opposition candidate in the 2016 presidential elections.

In 2019, France, Portugal and Chile were upgraded from flawed democracies to full democracies. In fact, this was not a new experience for the former two, which suffered from the eurozone crisis many years before. By contrast, Malta was downgraded from a full democracy to a flawed democracy. Thailand and Albania were upgraded from hybrid regimes to flawed democracies.^[11] Algeria was upgraded again from an authoritarian regime to a hybrid regime.

In 2020, Taiwan was upgraded from flawed democracy to full democracy following reforms in the judiciary,^[12] and soared to 11th position from its previous position at 33. Japan and South Korea were also upgraded again to a full democracy, while France and Portugal were once again relegated to flawed democracies. Hong Kong was downgraded from a flawed democracy to a hybrid regime. Algeria was downgraded again from a hybrid regime to an authoritarian regime. The Economist Intelligence Unit noted that democracy "was dealt a major blow in 2020".^[13] Almost 70% of countries covered by the Democracy Index recorded a decline in their overall score, as most of them imposed lockdowns and other restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to some arresting journalists and citizens accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation. The global average score fell to its lowest level since the index began in 2006.

In 2021, both the global and regional average scores continued downward trends, with the exception of the Central and Eastern Europe region. Spain and Chile were downgraded from full democracies to flawed democracies, while Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, and Tunisia were downgraded from flawed democracies to hybrid regimes. Haiti, Lebanon, and Kyrgyzstan were downgraded from hybrid regimes to authoritarian regimes. In addition, Moldova, Montenegro, and North Macedonia were upgraded from hybrid regimes to flawed democracies, whereas Mauritania was upgraded from authoritarian to hybrid regime. For the first time, two countries displaced North Korea as the lowest-ranked states in the Democracy Index – in Myanmar, the elected government was overthrown in a military coup, and protests were suppressed by the junta, which ultimately resulted in its score going down by 2.02 points; Afghanistan, as a result of the 2021 Taliban offensive and subsequent takeover of government, registered the lowest score of any state ever recorded on the Democracy Index at 0.32.

Criticism

Investment analyst Peter Tasker has criticised the Democracy Index for lacking transparency and accountability beyond the numbers. To generate the index, the Economist Intelligence Unit has a scoring system in which various experts are asked to answer 60 questions and assign each reply a number, with the weighted average deciding the ranking. However, the final report does not indicate what kinds of experts, nor their number, nor whether the experts are employees of the Economist Intelligence Unit or independent scholars, nor the nationalities of the experts.^[14]

References

↑ "Democracy Index 2012: Democracy at a standstill". Economist Intelligence Unit. 14 March 2013. http://pages.eiu.com/rs/eiu2/images/Democracy-Index-2012.pdf.
↑ "Democracy Index 2010: Democracy in retreat". Economist Intelligence Unit. 6 December 2010. https://graphics.eiu.com/PDF/Democracy_Index_2010_web.pdf.
↑ "Democracy Index 2006". The World in 2007. 15 November 2006. https://www.economist.com/media/pdf/DEMOCRACY_INDEX_2007_v3.pdf.
↑ Manaev, Oleg; Manayeva, Natalie; Dzmitry, Yuran (1 December 2011). "More State than Nation: Lukashenko's Belarus" (in en). Journal of International Affairs 65 (1): 93–113. https://jia.sipa.columbia.edu/more-state-nation-lukashenkos-belarus. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 "Democracy Index 2015: Democracy in an age of anxiety". The Economist Intelligence Unit. http://www.yabiladi.com/img/content/EIU-Democracy-Index-2015.pdf.
↑ "Democracy Index 2022: Frontline democracy and the battle for Ukraine" (in en-GB). 2023. p. 3. https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/DI-final-version-report.pdf.
↑ Karlis, Nicole (31 January 2018). "New report classifies US as a "flawed democracy" - Partisanship and Trump were to blame for the US's dismal ranking in the Economist's annual Democracy Index report". Salon. https://www.salon.com/2018/01/31/new-report-classifies-us-as-a-flawed-democracy/.
↑ Eshe Nelson (25 January 2017). "The US has been downgraded to a "flawed democracy," but not just because of Trump". Qz.com. https://qz.com/894362/america-has-been-downgraded-to-a-flawed-democracy-but-not-because-of-trump-economist-intelligence-unit-says.
↑ "Declining trust in government is denting democracy". The Economist. 25 January 2017. https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2017/01/daily-chart-20.
↑ "Democracy Index 2017: Free speech under attack". The Economist Intelligence Unit. https://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?campaignid=DemocracyIndex2017.
↑ "Democracy Index 2019 A year of democratic setbacks and popular protest". https://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?campaignid=democracyindex2019.
↑ "Taiwan most democratic country in East Asia: The Economist". 3 February 2021. https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4118874.
↑ "Democracy Index 2020: In sickness and in health?". https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2020/.
↑ Tasker, Peter (25 February 2016). "Peter Tasker: The flawed 'science' behind democracy rankings" (in en). Nikkei Asia. https://asia.nikkei.com/NAR/Articles/Peter-Tasker-The-flawed-science-behind-democracy-rankings.

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(0 votes)

[index2012-1] "Democracy Index 2012: Democracy at a standstill". Economist Intelligence Unit. 14 March 2013. http://pages.eiu.com/rs/eiu2/images/Democracy-Index-2012.pdf.

[index2010-2] "Democracy Index 2010: Democracy in retreat". Economist Intelligence Unit. 6 December 2010. https://graphics.eiu.com/PDF/Democracy_Index_2010_web.pdf.

[index2006-3] "Democracy Index 2006". The World in 2007. 15 November 2006. https://www.economist.com/media/pdf/DEMOCRACY_INDEX_2007_v3.pdf.

[a3-4] Manaev, Oleg; Manayeva, Natalie; Dzmitry, Yuran (1 December 2011). "More State than Nation: Lukashenko's Belarus" (in en). Journal of International Affairs 65 (1): 93–113. https://jia.sipa.columbia.edu/more-state-nation-lukashenkos-belarus. Retrieved 26 January 2017.

[index2015-5] 5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 "Democracy Index 2015: Democracy in an age of anxiety". The Economist Intelligence Unit. http://www.yabiladi.com/img/content/EIU-Democracy-Index-2015.pdf.

[6] "Democracy Index 2022: Frontline democracy and the battle for Ukraine" (in en-GB). 2023. p. 3. https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/DI-final-version-report.pdf.

[SLN-20180131-7] Karlis, Nicole (31 January 2018). "New report classifies US as a "flawed democracy" - Partisanship and Trump were to blame for the US's dismal ranking in the Economist's annual Democracy Index report". Salon. https://www.salon.com/2018/01/31/new-report-classifies-us-as-a-flawed-democracy/.

[a1-8] Eshe Nelson (25 January 2017). "The US has been downgraded to a "flawed democracy," but not just because of Trump". Qz.com. https://qz.com/894362/america-has-been-downgraded-to-a-flawed-democracy-but-not-because-of-trump-economist-intelligence-unit-says.

[a2-9] "Declining trust in government is denting democracy". The Economist. 25 January 2017. https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2017/01/daily-chart-20.

[index2017-10] "Democracy Index 2017: Free speech under attack". The Economist Intelligence Unit. https://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?campaignid=DemocracyIndex2017.

[index2019-11] "Democracy Index 2019 A year of democratic setbacks and popular protest". https://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?campaignid=democracyindex2019.

[12] "Taiwan most democratic country in East Asia: The Economist". 3 February 2021. https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4118874.

[index2020-13] "Democracy Index 2020: In sickness and in health?". https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2020/.

[criticism1-14] Tasker, Peter (25 February 2016). "Peter Tasker: The flawed 'science' behind democracy rankings" (in en). Nikkei Asia. https://asia.nikkei.com/NAR/Articles/Peter-Tasker-The-flawed-science-behind-democracy-rankings.

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