The Economist Democracy Index Explained

The Democracy Index published by the Economist Group is an index measuring the quality of democracy across the world. This quantitative and comparative assessment is centrally concerned with democratic rights and democratic institutions. The methodology for assessing democracy used in this democracy index is according to Economist Intelligence Unit which is part of the Economist Group, a UK-based private company, which publishes the weekly newspaper The Economist. The index is based on 60 indicators grouped into 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. The index includes 167 countries and territories, of which 166 are sovereign states and 164 are UN member states. Other democracy indices with similar assessments of the state of democracy^[1] include V-Dem Democracy indices or Bertelsmann Transformation Index.

Methodology

As described in the report, 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:

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).

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

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.
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.
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.
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.

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.

Type of regime! rowspan=2
Number	(%)w		Proportion of world population (%)
Score	Countries		Proportion of world population (%)
Full democracies		24	14.4%	7.8%
Flawed democracies		50	29.9%	37.6%
Hybrid regimes		34	20.4%	15.2%
Authoritarian regimes		59	35.3%	39.4%

List by region

The following table lists the average of each country scored by geographic region, as defined by the Economist Democracy Index.

Region	Countries	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2008	2006
Western Europe	21
North America	2
Latin America and the Caribbean	24	5.68	5.79	5.83	6.09	6.13	6.24	6.26	6.33	6.37	6.36	6.38	6.36	6.35	6.37	6.43	6.37
Central and Eastern Europe	28	5.37	5.39	5.36	5.36	5.42	5.42	5.40	5.43	5.55	5.58	5.53	5.51	5.50	5.55	5.67	5.76
Asia and Australasia	28	5.21	5.46	5.62	5.67	5.67	5.67	5.63	5.74	5.74	5.70	5.61	5.56	5.51	5.53	5.58	5.44
Sub-Saharan Africa	44	4.04	4.14	4.12	4.16	4.26	4.36	4.35	4.37	4.38	4.34	4.36	4.33	4.32	4.23	4.28	4.24
Middle East and North Africa	20
World	167	5.23	5.29	5.28	5.37	5.44	5.48	5.48	5.52	5.55	5.55	5.53	5.52	5.49	5.46	5.55	5.52

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

Year 2023!Rank! Region! Countries! Authoritarian! Hybrid regime! Flawed democracy! Full democracy! Average score
1	Western Europe	21	0	1	5	15
2	North America	2	0	0	1	1
3	Latin America and the Caribbean	24	4	7	11	2	5.68
4	Asia and Australasia	28	8	5	10	5	5.41
5	Central and Eastern Europe	28	8	4	16	0	5.37
6	Sub-Saharan Africa	44	22	15	6	1	4.04
7	Middle East and North Africa	20	17	2	1	0
	World	167	59	34	50	25	5.23

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).

North America
Western Europe
Central and Eastern Europe
Latin America and the Caribbean
Asia and Australasia
Middle East and North Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa

Region	2023 rank	Regime type	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2008	2006
North America	13	Full democracy	8.69	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	29	Flawed democracy	7.85	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	19	Full democracy	8.28	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	Flawed democracy	7.64	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	Flawed democracy	7.38	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	Full democracy	9.28	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	Full democracy	9.30	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
	24	Full democracy	8.07	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
	12	Full democracy	8.80	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
	21	Full democracy	8.14	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	Full democracy	9.45	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
	7	Full democracy	9.19	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	Flawed democracy	7.69	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
	11	Full democracy	8.81	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
	28	Flawed democracy	7.93	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	Full democracy	9.00	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	Full democracy	9.81	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
	31	Flawed democracy	7.75	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
	23	Full democracy	8.07	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	Full democracy	9.39	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
	8	Full democracy	9.14	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
	102	Hybrid regime	4.33	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	Full democracy	8.28	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	66	Flawed democracy	6.28	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
	84	Hybrid regime	5.42	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
	130	Authoritarian	2.80	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
	151	Authoritarian	1.99	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
	94	Hybrid regime	5.00	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
	62	Flawed democracy	6.41	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
	58	Flawed democracy	6.50	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
	26	Flawed democracy	7.97	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	Flawed democracy	7.96	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
	89	Hybrid regime	5.20	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
	50	Flawed democracy	6.72	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
	120	Authoritarian	3.08	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
	109	Authoritarian	3.70	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	Flawed democracy	7.38	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	Flawed democracy	7.31	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
	68	Flawed democracy	6.23	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
	52	Flawed democracy	6.67	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
	73	Flawed democracy	6.03	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
	42	Flawed democracy	7.18	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
	60	Flawed democracy	6.45	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
	144	Authoritarian	2.22	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
	64	Flawed democracy	6.33	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
	44	Flawed democracy	7.07	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
	32	Flawed democracy	7.75	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
	155	Authoritarian	1.94	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
	162	Authoritarian	1.66	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
	91	Hybrid regime	5.06	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	Authoritarian	2.12	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	54	Flawed democracy	6.62	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
	106	Hybrid regime	4.20	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	Flawed democracy	6.68	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
	25	Flawed democracy	7.98	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
	55	Flawed democracy	6.55	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	Full democracy	8.29	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
	135	Authoritarian	2.65	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
	61	Flawed democracy	6.44	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
	85	Hybrid regime	5.41	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
	96	Hybrid regime	4.71	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
	100	Hybrid regime	4.47	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	Flawed democracy	6.26	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
	129	Authoritarian	2.81	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
	95	Hybrid regime	4.98	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
	45	Flawed democracy	7.06	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
	90	Hybrid regime	5.14	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	Authoritarian	2.26	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
	48	Flawed democracy	6.91	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
	74	Flawed democracy	6.00	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
	77	Hybrid regime	5.81	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
	49	Flawed democracy	6.88	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
	43	Flawed democracy	7.16	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
	15	Full democracy	8.66	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
	142	Authoritarian	2.31	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	Authoritarian	0.26	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
	14	Full democracy	8.66	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
	75	Hybrid regime	5.87	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
	81	Hybrid regime	5.54	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	Authoritarian	3.05	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
	148	Authoritarian	2.12	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
	80	Hybrid regime	5.55	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	Hybrid regime	5.24	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
	41	Flawed democracy	7.18	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
	56	Flawed democracy	6.53	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	Full democracy	8.40	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	Authoritarian	1.71	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	Flawed democracy	7.29	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
	59	Flawed democracy	6.48	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	Authoritarian	0.85	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
	98	Hybrid regime	4.60	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	Full democracy	9.61	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	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	1.08	0.86	1.03
	118	Authoritarian	3.25	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
	72	Flawed democracy	6.03	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
	53	Flawed democracy	6.66	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
	69	Flawed democracy	6.18	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
	22	Full democracy	8.09	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
	70	Flawed democracy	6.17	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	Full democracy	8.92	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
	63	Flawed democracy	6.35	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
	46	Flawed democracy	7.06	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
	136	Authoritarian	2.62	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	110	Authoritarian	3.66	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
	139	Authoritarian	2.52	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
	127	Authoritarian	2.93	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
	153	Authoritarian	1.96	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
	128	Authoritarian	2.88	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
	30	Flawed democracy	7.80	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	Authoritarian	3.04	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
	114	Authoritarian	3.50	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
	112	Authoritarian	3.56	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
	157	Authoritarian	1.78	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
	93	Hybrid regime	5.04	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
	119	Authoritarian	3.12	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
	115	Authoritarian	3.47	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
	111	Authoritarian	3.65	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	Authoritarian	2.08	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
	158	Authoritarian	1.76	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	Authoritarian	1.43	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
	82	Hybrid regime	5.51	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
	125	Authoritarian	3.01	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
	154	Authoritarian	1.95	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	107	Hybrid regime	4.18	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
	97	Hybrid regime	4.68	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
	33	Flawed democracy	7.73	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
	133	Authoritarian	2.73	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
	147	Authoritarian	2.13	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	Flawed democracy	7.65	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
	138	Authoritarian	2.56	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	Authoritarian	1.18	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
	161	Authoritarian	1.67	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
	123	Authoritarian	3.04	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
	131	Authoritarian	2.79	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
	105	Hybrid regime	4.22	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
	160	Authoritarian	1.68	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
	134	Authoritarian	2.70	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
	156	Authoritarian	1.92	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	Authoritarian	1.97	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
	132	Authoritarian	2.78	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
	116	Authoritarian	3.37	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
	146	Authoritarian	2.18	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
	101	Hybrid regime	4.47	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
	65	Flawed democracy	6.30	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	Authoritarian	2.21	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	Authoritarian	2.45	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
	92	Hybrid regime	5.05	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	Flawed democracy	6.06	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
	79	Hybrid regime	5.57	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
	87	Hybrid regime	5.26	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	Hybrid regime	5.85	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
	137	Authoritarian	2.58	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	Hybrid regime	4.14	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
	20	Full democracy	8.14	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
	113	Authoritarian	3.51	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
	57	Flawed democracy	6.52	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
	141	Authoritarian	2.37	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
	104	Hybrid regime	4.23	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
	117	Authoritarian	3.30	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
	83	Hybrid regime	5.48	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
	103	Hybrid regime	4.32	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
	47	Flawed democracy	7.05	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
	86	Hybrid regime	5.35	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
	126	Authoritarian	2.99	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	Hybrid regime	4.49	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	Hybrid regime	5.80	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
	124	Authoritarian	3.04	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 2023 and the changes that had occurred since 2022.

Rank! ! data-sort-type="text"
Full democracies
Country	Regime type	data-sort-type="number"	Overall score		data-sort-type="number"	Electoral process and pluralism	data-sort-type="number"	Functioning of government	data-sort-type="number"	Political participation	data-sort-type="number"	Political culture	data-sort-type="number"	Civil liberties
<											-- Non-displayed row to allow «Full democracies» row to sort at the bottom -->
1			Full democracy			10.00	9.64	10.00	10.00	9.41
2			Full democracy			10.00	9.29	10.00	8.75	10.00
3			Full democracy			10.00	9.64	8.89	9.38	9.71
4			Full democracy			9.58	9.64	8.33	10.00	9.41
5			Full democracy		0.01	10.00	9.64	7.78	9.38	9.71
6			Full democracy			10.00	9.29	8.33	9.38	9.41
7	1		Full democracy	9.19	0.05	10.00	8.21	8.33	10.00	9.41
8	1		Full democracy			9.58	9.29	8.33	9.38	9.12
9			Full democracy	9.00		9.58	8.93	8.33	8.75	9.41
10			Full democracy	8.92	0.07	10.00	9.29	7.78	8.13	9.41
11	2		Full democracy	8.81		10.00	8.93	6.67	8.75	9.71
12	2		Full democracy	8.80		9.58	8.57	8.33	8.13	9.41
13	1		Full democracy	8.69	0.19	10.00	8.21	8.89	7.50	8.82
14	3		Full democracy	8.66	0.25	10.00	8.93	7.78	6.88	9.71
15	1		Full democracy	8.66	0.05	10.00	8.57	7.22	7.50	10.00
16			Full democracy	8.40	0.25	9.17	8.93	6.67	8.13	9.12
17			Full democracy	8.29		9.58	7.50	7.78	6.88	9.71
18			Full democracy	8.28		9.58	7.50	8.33	6.88	9.12
19	1		Full democracy	8.28	0.08	9.58	7.50	8.89	6.88	8.53
20	5		Full democracy	8.14	0.17	10.00	7.14	7.22	7.50	8.82
21	1		Full democracy	8.14		9.17	7.86	6.11	8.75	8.82
22	2		Full democracy	8.09	0.06	9.58	8.57	7.22	6.25	8.82
23	1		Full democracy	8.07		9.58	7.86	7.78	6.88	8.24
data-sort-value="23"	24	1		Full democracy	8.07		9.58	7.50	7.22	7.50	8.53
Flawed democracies
25	6		Flawed democracy	7.98	0.24	9.58	8.21	6.11	6.88	9.12
26	1		Flawed democracy	7.97		9.58	6.43	7.22	7.50	9.12
27			Flawed democracy	7.96		9.58	7.86	6.67	6.88	8.82
28	5		Flawed democracy	7.93	0.23	9.17	7.14	6.67	8.13	8.53
29	1		Flawed democracy	7.85		9.17	6.43	8.89	6.25	8.53
30	1		Flawed democracy	7.80	0.13	9.58	7.50	9.44	6.88	5.59
31	3		Flawed democracy	7.75	0.20	9.58	6.79	6.67	6.88	8.82
32			Flawed democracy	7.75		9.58	7.14	7.22	6.25	8.53
33	1		Flawed democracy	7.73		9.17	6.79	6.67	7.50	8.53
34			Flawed democracy	7.69		9.58	6.79	7.22	7.50	7.35
35			Flawed democracy	7.65		9.17	7.00	6.67	6.88	8.53
36			Flawed democracy	7.64		9.58	8.21	5.00	6.88	8.53
37			Flawed democracy	7.38		9.17	5.36	6.67	6.88	8.82
38	1		Flawed democracy	7.38	0.01	9.58	6.43	6.11	6.25	8.53
39			Flawed democracy	7.31		9.58	6.43	6.11	5.63	8.82
40			Flawed democracy	7.29	0.01	9.58	7.50	7.22	6.25	5.88
41	5		Flawed democracy	7.18	0.14	8.67	7.86	7.22	6.25	5.88
42			Flawed democracy	7.18	0.14	9.58	6.07	6.67	6.25	7.35
43	2		Flawed democracy	7.16		9.58	7.14	6.11	5.63	7.35
44	1		Flawed democracy	7.05		7.42	7.14	8.33	5.00	7.35
45	3		Flawed democracy	7.06	0.07	8.75	6.79	5.00	6.25	8.53
data-sort-value="45"	46	1		Flawed democracy	7.06		9.58	5.93	5.56	6.88	7.35
47	2		Flawed democracy	7.05		7.42	7.14	8.33	5.00	7.35
48	1		Flawed democracy	6.91		9.58	6.07	7.22	3.75	7.94
49	1		Flawed democracy	6.88	0.07	9.58	6.07	6.11	5.00	7.65
50	6		Flawed democracy	6.72	0.08	8.75	6.79	4.44	6.88	6.76
51			Flawed democracy	6.68	0.10	9.58	5.36	6.11	5.00	7.35
52	9		Flawed democracy	6.67	0.22	8.75	7.14	6.67	3.75	7.06
53	1		Flawed democracy	6.66	0.07	9.17	4.64	7.78	4.38	7.35
54	4		Flawed democracy	6.62	0.23	9.17	5.00	7.22	3.75	7.94
55	2		Flawed democracy	6.55	0.18	9.17	6.07	6.11	3.75	7.65
56	2		Flawed democracy	6.53	0.18	7.92	7.86	7.22	4.38	5.29
57	1		Flawed democracy	6.52		7.00	5.36	6.67	5.63	7.94
58	1		Flawed democracy	6.50		9.17	6.07	6.11	4.38	6.76
59	7		Flawed democracy	6.48	0.13	8.75	5.71	6.11	5.63	6.18
60	1		Flawed democracy	6.45		9.17	6.43	5.56	3.75	7.35
61	4		Flawed democracy	6.44	0.05	9.17	5.36	7.22	3.13	7.35
62	5		Flawed democracy	6.41	0.08	8.75	5.71	5.56	4.38	7.65
63	8		Flawed democracy	6.35	0.32	7.00	6.07	7.78	5.00	5.88
64	4		Flawed democracy	6.33		7.83	6.07	6.67	3.75	7.35
65	2		Flawed democracy	6.30	0.13	8.33	5.00	6.67	5.63	5.88
66	2		Flawed democracy	6.28	0.13	7.00	6.07	5.00	6.25	7.06
67			Flawed democracy	6.26	0.08	7.33	6.07	6.11	5.00	6.76
68	1		Flawed democracy	6.23		7.42	5.36	7.22	4.38	6.76
69	1		Flawed democracy	6.18	0.04	5.33	7.14	4.44	7.50	6.47
70	10		Flawed democracy	6.17	0.30	6.58	4.64	7.22	6.25	6.18
71			Flawed democracy	6.06	0.13	9.17	3.79	5.56	5.63	6.18
72			Flawed democracy	6.03	0.07	7.83	5.71	6.11	3.13	7.35
73	2		Flawed democracy	6.03	0.06	6.92	6.07	3.89	5.63	7.35
74	3		Flawed democracy	6.00	0.12	8.75	5.36	6.67	1.88	7.35
Hybrid regimes
75	2		Hybrid regime	5.87		7.42	6.07	5.56	5.63	4.71
76			Hybrid regime	5.85	0.06	7.00	4.29	5.56	6.25	6.18
77	2		Hybrid regime	5.81	0.09	8.75	5.71	5.00	3.13	6.47
78			Hybrid regime	5.80		7.92	3.64	5.00	6.88	5.59
79	7		Hybrid regime	5.57	0.14	7.83	2.71	6.11	5.63	5.59
80	3		Hybrid regime	5.55		6.58	5.00	5.56	5.63	5.00
81	3		Hybrid regime	5.54		8.75	5.93	3.33	5.00	4.71
82	3		Hybrid regime	5.51		6.17	4.64	6.11	5.63	5.00
83	4		Hybrid regime	5.48	0.24	6.58	5.71	3.89	5.63	5.59
84	2		Hybrid regime	5.42	0.21	7.92	4.64	6.11	3.13	5.29
85	4		Hybrid regime	5.41	0.28	8.75	5.00	5.56	1.88	5.88
86	6		Hybrid regime	5.35	0.25	4.83	5.36	5.00	6.88	4.71
87	7		Hybrid regime	5.26	0.44	6.58	3.57	6.11	5.63	4.41
88			Hybrid regime	5.24	0.04	2.75	3.64	5.00	6.88	7.94
89	1		Hybrid regime	5.20		7.00	3.57	6.11	3.75	5.59
90	1		Hybrid regime	5.14	0.09	6.92	4.64	6.67	1.88	5.59
91	4		Hybrid regime	5.06	0.36	5.58	3.07	7.22	5.00	4.41
92	2		Hybrid regime	5.05		3.50	5.36	6.67	5.63	4.12
93	2		Hybrid regime	5.02	0.02	5.25	4.64	5.56	5.63	4.12
94	3		Hybrid regime	5.00		7.00	4.00	5.00	3.13	5.88
95	4		Hybrid regime	4.98	0.17	8.75	3.93	4.44	2.50	5.29
96	3		Hybrid regime	4.71	0.35	6.67	3.21	5.56	3.13	5.00
97	7		Hybrid regime	4.68	0.40	2.58	5.71	4.44	6.25	4.41
98	3		Hybrid regime	4.60	0.11	4.83	5.36	5.00	2.50	5.29
99			Hybrid regime	4.49	0.06	3.42	3.57	3.89	6.88	4.71
100	2		Hybrid regime	4.47		4.42	4.29	3.89	5.63	4.12
101	2		Hybrid regime	4.47	0.21	5.67	3.93	5.00	1.88	5.88
102	1		Hybrid regime	4.33	0.02	3.50	5.00	6.11	5.00	2.06
103	7		Hybrid regime	4.32	0.71	4.83	2.86	3.89	5.00	5.00
104	1		Hybrid regime	4.23		5.17	3.93	3.89	3.75	4.41
105	1		Hybrid regime	4.22		4.33	2.86	4.44	5.63	3.82
106	6		Hybrid regime	4.20	0.31	4.33	4.29	5.56	1.25	5.59
107	2		Hybrid regime	4.18	0.22	4.50	3.21	5.56	5.00	2.65
108			Hybrid regime	4.14	0.11	3.50	3.57	6.11	3.13	4.41
Authoritarian regimes
109	7		Authoritarian regime	3.70	0.08	4.33	1.86	3.89	3.13	5.29
110	3		Authoritarian regime	3.66		3.08	2.50	3.89	5.00	3.82
111	3		Authoritarian regime	3.65		1.50	4.29	3.33	5.63	3.53
112	3		Authoritarian regime	3.56	0.08	3.08	0.79	6.67	3.13	4.12
113	4		Authoritarian regime	3.51		2.58	1.43	5.00	5.00	3.53
114			Authoritarian regime	3.50	0.33	3.17	3.93	2.78	4.38	3.24
115	5		Authoritarian regime	3.47	0.39	1.58	0.14	8.33	3.75	3.53
116	6		Authoritarian regime	3.37	0.20	0.42	3.21	6.11	5.63	1.47
117	9		Authoritarian regime	3.30	0.20	1.42	4.64	2.78	5.00	2.65
118	11		Authoritarian regime	3.25	0.88	2.58	4.29	2.78	2.50	4.12
119	6		Authoritarian regime	3.12		0.08	3.92	2.78	5.00	3.82
120	7		Authoritarian regime	3.08		0.50	3.21	5.00	3.75	2.94
121			Authoritarian regime	3.05	0.13	0.00	3.21	5.00	5.00	2.06
122	2		Authoritarian regime	3.04	0.16	1.25	2.21	4.44	3.75	3.53
data-sort-value="122"	123			Authoritarian regime	3.04	0.13	2.67	3.21	3.89	2.50	2.94
data-sort-value="122"	124	10		Authoritarian regime	3.04	0.12	0.00	2.50	4.44	5.00	3.24
125	8		Authoritarian regime	3.01	0.09	0.00	4.29	2.78	5.63	2.35
126	4		Authoritarian regime	2.99		0.92	2.14	3.33	5.63	2.94
127	4		Authoritarian regime	2.93		1.33	3.21	3.33	5.00	1.76
128	4		Authoritarian regime	2.88	0.25	5.25	0.00	6.11	1.88	1.18
129	6		Authoritarian regime	2.81		0.00	0.00	2.78	6.25	5.00
130	4		Authoritarian regime	2.80	0.07	0.50	2.50	3.33	5.00	2.65
131	1		Authoritarian regime	2.79		0.00	2.50	4.44	3.75	3.24
132	3		Authoritarian regime	2.78	0.23	0.92	1.64	2.78	5.63	2.94
133	6		Authoritarian regime	2.73	0.35	0.00	2.50	3.89	3.75	3.53
134	3		Authoritarian regime	2.70	0.04	0.00	1.64	3.89	5.63	2.35
135	4		Authoritarian regime	2.65		0.00	3.21	3.33	3.75	2.94
136	2		Authoritarian regime	2.62	0.03	0.00	3.93	2.78	3.75	2.65
137	18		Authoritarian regime	2.58	0.65	0.00	0.00	5.00	4.38	3.53
138	2		Authoritarian regime	2.56		0.33	2.14	3.89	4.38	2.06
139	3		Authoritarian regime	2.52		0.42	2.71	3.33	4.38	1.76
140			Authoritarian regime	2.45	0.11	4.00	0.00	2.78	3.13	2.35
141	29		Authoritarian regime	2.37	1.36	0.33	1.14	2.22	3.75	4.41
142	5		Authoritarian regime	2.31	0.08	0.00	1.07	5.00	3.13	2.35
143			Authoritarian regime	2.26	0.24	0.00	2.14	2.78	3.75	2.65
144	2		Authoritarian regime	2.22	0.06	0.92	2.14	2.22	3.75	2.06
145			Authoritarian regime	2.21	0.11	0.83	0.43	3.33	4.38	2.06
146	28		Authoritarian regime	2.18	1.22	0.83	1.14	2.22	3.75	2.94
147	1		Authoritarian regime	2.13		0.00	0.00	3.89	5.00	1.76
148	8		Authoritarian regime	2.12	0.18	0.00	3.57	3.33	3.13	0.59
149	1		Authoritarian regime	2.12		0.08	1.86	2.78	5.00	0.88
150			Authoritarian regime	2.08		0.00	3.57	2.22	3.13	1.47
151	2		Authoritarian regime	1.99		0.00	0.79	3.33	4.38	1.47
152			Authoritarian regime	1.97	0.06	0.00	2.14	0.56	6.88	0.29
153	1		Authoritarian regime	1.96		0.00	2.50	3.33	2.50	1.47
154	1		Authoritarian regime	1.95		0.00	0.00	3.89	5.00	0.88
155	1		Authoritarian regime	1.94		0.00	2.21	2.22	4.38	0.88
156	2		Authoritarian regime	1.92		0.00	0.43	3.33	4.38	1.47
157	6		Authoritarian regime	1.78	0.28	0.00	0.00	2.78	3.75	2.35
158	14		Authoritarian regime	1.76	0.71	0.00	0.07	2.22	5.63	0.88
159			Authoritarian regime	1.71	0.06	0.00	2.86	1.67	3.75	0.29
160	2		Authoritarian regime	1.68	0.20	1.17	0.43	2.78	3.13	0.88
161	1		Authoritarian regime	1.67		0.00	0.00	2.22	3.75	2.35
162	1		Authoritarian regime	1.66		0.00	0.79	2.22	5.00	0.29
163			Authoritarian regime	1.43		0.00	0.00	2.78	4.38	0.00
164	2		Authoritarian regime	1.18	0.17	0.00	0.00	1.67	1.88	2.35
165			Authoritarian regime	1.08		0.00	2.50	1.67	1.25	0.00
166			Authoritarian regime	0.85	0.11	0.00	0.00	1.11	3.13	0.00
167			Authoritarian regime	0.26	0.06	0.00	0.07	0.00	1.25	0.00

Unincluded countries

Below is a list of every UN member state that is currently not included in the Democracy Index.^[2]

Recent changes

In 2016, the United States was downgraded from a full democracy to a flawed democracy; 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. Nigeria was also upgraded from an authoritarian regime to a hybrid regime.

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. 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. 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,^[3] 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". 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.

In 2022, the global average score stagnated, with the lifting of COVID-related restrictions being largely canceled out by other negative developments globally.

In 2023, the global average score deteriorated further, with most declines occurring in authoritarian and hybrid regimes, with the former becoming more entrenched and the latter struggling to democratize. The threshold for each color has also been changed from greater than the integer to greater than or equal to.^[4]

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.

Notes and References

Geissel . Brigitte . Kneuer . Marianne . Lauth . Hans-Joachim . Measuring the quality of democracy: Introduction . International Political Science Review . Sage Publications . 37 . 5 . 2016 . 0192-5121. 26556872 . 571–579 . 10.1177/0192512116669141 . 151808737 . 2023-04-03.
Web site: Member States . UN . United Nations . 27 April 2024.
Web site: Taiwan most democratic country in East Asia: The Economist. 3 February 2021. 8 February 2021.
https://www.economistgroup.com/group-news/economist-intelligence/eius-2023-democracy-index-conflict-and-polarisation-drive-a-new-low-for