How democratic is the world?
The state of democracy around the world is a pressing concern. The Democracy Index 2024, paints a bleak picture, with the overall global Democracy Index score declining from 5.23 in 2023 to 5.23 in 2024.
This downward trend is alarming, with 130 countries experiencing a decline in their score or making no improvement. The global average score has fallen from 5.52 in 2006 to a historic low of 5.23 in 2024. More than one-third of the world's population, approximately 39.2%, live under authoritarian rule, with 60 countries classified as "authoritarian regimes".
The report highlights significant declines in civil liberties, electoral process and pluralism since 2008. However, there is a glimmer of hope, with the global average score for political participation improving by 0.74 between 2008 and 2024.
The EIU classifies countries into four categories:
Full Democracies: 24 countries (14.4% of the total population)
Flawed Democracies: 48 countries
Hybrid Regimes: 36 countries
Authoritarian Regimes: 59 countries (accounting for over 37% of the global population)
The Democracy Index reveals significant regional variations. Western Europe has the highest index score, with an average of 8.38, and was the only region to improve its overall score in 2024. The Nordic countries continue to dominate the top spots with Norway scoring the highest: 9.81. Iceland, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark all feature in the top 10.
The United States remains in the “flawed democracy” category, ranked 30th globally. Issues such as political polarisation, declining trust in institutions, and electoral system weaknesses continue to prevent it from returning to “full democracy” status.
India, the world's largest democracy, also remains a "flawed democracy", ranked 41st. Concerns include restrictions on press freedom, increasing centralisation of power, and erosions of minority rights.
Under authoritarian regimes, China ranks 148th, showing no signs of political liberalisation. Russia, following the war in Ukraine and increased repression, ranks 149th, while Iran, North Korea, and Afghanistan are among the lowest-ranked.
The Democracy Index assesses the democratic health of 167 countries based on electoral processes, civil liberties, political participation, functioning of government, and political culture.
