Source | The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) |
Date | 27 Jan 2020 |
This is the 12th edition of the Democracy Index, which began in 2006, and it records how global democracy fared in 2019. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s measure of democracy, almost one-half (48.4%) of the world’s population live in a democracy of some sort, although only 5.7% reside in a "full democracy", down from 8.9% in 2015 as a result of the US being demoted from a "full democracy" to a "flawed democracy" in 2016. More than one-third of the world’s population live under authoritarian rule, with a large share being in China.
According to the 2019 Democracy Index, 76 of the 167 countries covered by the model, or 45.5% of all countries, can be considered to be democracies. The number of "full democracies" increased to 22 in 2019, up from 20 in 2018, as Chile, France and Portugal joined the top-ranked countries (those scoring more than 8.00), while Malta was relegated to the "flawed democracy" category. The number of "flawed democracies" fell by one to 54 in 2019. 54 are "authoritarian regimes", up from 52 in 2018, and 37 are classified as "hybrid regimes", down from 39 in 2018.
In the 2019 Democracy Index the average global score for democracy fell from 5.48 in 2018 to 5.44 (on a scale of 0-10). This is the worst average global score since the index was first produced in 2006. Countries in western Europe occupy seven of the top ten places in the global democracy ranking, including the top three spots, and the region boasts the largest number of "full democracies" of anywhere in the world, with a total of 15. There are 3 "full democracy" countries in Latin America, two in Australasia (but no Asian ones) one each in North America and Africa.
Norway is at top, with a score of 9.87 (on a scale of 0-10), and North Korea was at the bottom of the global rankings, with a score of 1.08. In 2019 some 68 countries experienced a decline in their total score compared with 2018, but almost as many (65) recorded an improvement. The other 34 stagnated, with their scores remaining unchanged compared with 2018. Some of the more notable moves up and down the rankings were recorded by Thailand, which registered the biggest improvement in score and ranking, and by China, which registered the greatest decline. Following the first election since the military coup in 2014, Thailand’s score improved by 1.69 points and it moved up 38 places in the rankings, from a "hybrid regime" to a "flawed democracy". China’s regression resulted in a decline in score of 1.06 points and a fall of 23 places down the rankings.
The Democracy Index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; the functioning of government; political participation; political culture; and civil liberties. Based on its scores on a range of indicators within these categories, each country is then itself classified as one of four types of regime: "full democracy", "flawed democracy", "hybrid regime" or "authoritarian regime".
Economy | Democracy Index (2019) | Democracy Index (2018) | Change | Region | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Score | Rank | Score | Rank | Score | ||
Norway | 1 | 9.87 | 1 | 9.87 | 0 | 0.00 | Western Europe |
Iceland | 2 | 9.58 | 2 | 9.58 | 0 | 0.00 | Western Europe |
Sweden | 3 | 9.39 | 3 | 9.39 | 0 | 0.00 | Western Europe |
New Zealand | 4 | 9.26 | 4 | 9.26 | 0 | 0.00 | Asia & Australasia |
Finland | 5 | 9.25 | 8 | 9.14 | +3 | +0.11 | Western Europe |
Ireland | 6 | 9.24 | 7 | 9.15 | +1 | +0.09 | Western Europe |
Canada | 7 | 9.22 | 6 | 9.15 | -1 | +0.07 | North America |
Denmark | 8 | 9.22 | 5 | 9.22 | -3 | 0.00 | Western Europe |
Australia | 9 | 9.09 | 9 | 9.09 | 0 | 0.00 | Asia & Australasia |
Switzerland | 10 | 9.03 | 10 | 9.03 | 0 | 0.00 | Western Europe |
Netherlands | 11 | 9.01 | 11 | 8.89 | 0 | +0.12 | Western Europe |
Luxembourg | 12 | 8.81 | 12 | 8.81 | 0 | 0.00 | Western Europe |
Germany | 13 | 8.68 | 13 | 8.68 | 0 | 0.00 | Western Europe |
United Kingdom | 14 | 8.52 | 14 | 8.53 | 0 | -0.01 | Western Europe |
Uruguay | 15 | 8.38 | 15 | 8.38 | 0 | 0.00 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Austria | 16 | 8.29 | 16 | 8.29 | 0 | 0.00 | Western Europe |
Mauritius | 17 | 8.22 | 17 | 8.22 | 0 | 0.00 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Spain | 18 | 8.18 | 19 | 8.08 | +1 | +0.10 | Western Europe |
Costa Rica | 19 | 8.13 | 20 | 8.07 | +1 | +0.06 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
France | 20 | 8.12 | 29 | 7.80 | +9 | +0.32 | Western Europe |
Chile | 21 | 8.08 | 23 | 7.97 | +2 | +0.11 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Portugal | 22 | 8.03 | 27 | 7.84 | +5 | +0.19 | Western Europe |
South Korea | 23 | 8.00 | 21 | 8.00 | -2 | 0.00 | Asia & Australasia |
Japan | 24 | 7.99 | 22 | 7.99 | -2 | 0.00 | Asia & Australasia |
US | 25 | 7.96 | 25 | 7.96 | 0 | 0.00 | North America |
Malta | 26 | 7.95 | 18 | 8.21 | -8 | -0.26 | Western Europe |
Estonia | 27 | 7.90 | 24 | 7.97 | -3 | -0.07 | Eastern Europe |
Israel | 28 | 7.86 | 30 | 7.79 | +2 | +0.07 | Middle East & North Africa |
Botswana | 29 | 7.81 | 28 | 7.81 | -1 | 0.00 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Cabo Verde | 30 | 7.78 | 26 | 7.88 | -4 | -0.10 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Taiwan | 31 | 7.73 | 32 | 7.73 | +1 | 0.00 | Asia & Australasia |
Czech Republic | 32 | 7.69 | 34 | 7.69 | +2 | 0.00 | Eastern Europe |
Belgium | 33 | 7.64 | 31 | 7.78 | -2 | -0.14 | Western Europe |
Cyprus | 34 | 7.59 | 35 | 7.59 | +1 | 0.00 | Western Europe |
Italy | 35 | 7.52 | 33 | 7.71 | -2 | -0.19 | Western Europe |
Slovenia | 36 | 7.50 | 36 | 7.50 | 0 | 0.00 | Eastern Europe |
Lithuania | 37 | 7.50 | 37 | 7.50 | 0 | 0.00 | Eastern Europe |
Latvia | 38 | 7.49 | 38 | 7.38 | 0 | +0.11 | Eastern Europe |
Greece | 39 | 7.43 | 39 | 7.29 | 0 | +0.14 | Western Europe |
South Africa | 40 | 7.24 | 40 | 7.24 | 0 | 0.00 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Timor-Leste | 41 | 7.19 | 42 | 7.19 | +1 | 0.00 | Asia & Australasia |
Slovakia | 42 | 7.17 | 44 | 7.10 | +2 | +0.07 | Eastern Europe |
Malaysia | 43 | 7.16 | 52 | 6.88 | +9 | +0.28 | Asia & Australasia |
Trinidad and Tobago | 44 | 7.16 | 43 | 7.16 | -1 | 0.00 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Colombia | 45 | 7.13 | 51 | 6.96 | +6 | +0.17 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Panama | 46 | 7.05 | 45 | 7.05 | -1 | 0.00 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Bulgaria | 47 | 7.03 | 46 | 7.03 | -1 | 0.00 | Eastern Europe |
Argentina | 48 | 7.02 | 48 | 7.02 | 0 | 0.00 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Suriname | 49 | 6.98 | 49 | 6.98 | 0 | 0.00 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Jamaica | 50 | 6.96 | 47 | 7.02 | -3 | -0.06 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
India | 51 | 6.90 | 41 | 7.23 | -10 | -0.33 | Asia & Australasia |
Brazil | 52 | 6.86 | 50 | 6.97 | -2 | -0.11 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Tunisia | 53 | 6.72 | 64 | 6.41 | +11 | +0.31 | Middle East & North Africa |
Philippines | 54 | 6.64 | 53 | 6.71 | -1 | -0.07 | Asia & Australasia |
Ghana | 55 | 6.63 | 58 | 6.63 | +3 | 0.00 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Hungary | 56 | 6.63 | 57 | 6.63 | +1 | 0.00 | Eastern Europe |
Poland | 57 | 6.62 | 55 | 6.67 | -2 | -0.05 | Eastern Europe |
Peru | 58 | 6.60 | 59 | 6.60 | +1 | 0.00 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Croatia | 59 | 6.57 | 60 | 6.57 | +1 | 0.00 | Eastern Europe |
Lesotho | 60 | 6.54 | 56 | 6.64 | -4 | -0.10 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Dominican Republic | 61 | 6.54 | 61 | 6.54 | 0 | 0.00 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Mongolia | 62 | 6.50 | 62 | 6.50 | 0 | 0.00 | Asia & Australasia |
Romania | 63 | 6.49 | 66 | 6.38 | +3 | +0.11 | Eastern Europe |
Indonesia | 64 | 6.48 | 65 | 6.39 | +1 | +0.09 | Asia & Australasia |
Namibia | 65 | 6.43 | 69 | 6.25 | +4 | +0.18 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Serbia | 66 | 6.41 | 63 | 6.41 | -3 | 0.00 | Eastern Europe |
Ecuador | 67 | 6.33 | 68 | 6.27 | +1 | +0.06 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Thailand | 68 | 6.32 | 107 | 4.63 | +39 | +1.69 | Asia & Australasia |
Sri Lanka | 69 | 6.27 | 72 | 6.19 | +3 | +0.08 | Asia & Australasia |
Paraguay | 70 | 6.24 | 70 | 6.24 | 0 | 0.00 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
El Salvador | 71 | 6.15 | 77 | 5.96 | +6 | +0.19 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Guyana | 72 | 6.15 | 54 | 6.67 | -18 | -0.52 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Mexico | 73 | 6.09 | 71 | 6.19 | -2 | -0.10 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Papua New Guinea | 74 | 6.03 | 75 | 6.03 | +1 | 0.00 | Asia & Australasia |
Hong Kong | 75 | 6.02 | 74 | 6.15 | -1 | -0.13 | Asia & Australasia |
Singapore | 76 | 6.02 | 67 | 6.38 | -9 | -0.36 | Asia & Australasia |
North Macedonia | 77 | 5.97 | 78 | 5.87 | +1 | +0.10 | Eastern Europe |
Ukraine | 78 | 5.90 | 84 | 5.69 | +6 | +0.21 | Eastern Europe |
Albania | 79 | 5.89 | 76 | 5.98 | -3 | -0.09 | Eastern Europe |
Bangladesh | 80 | 5.88 | 88 | 5.57 | +8 | +0.31 | Asia & Australasia |
Fiji | 81 | 5.85 | 80 | 5.85 | -1 | 0.00 | Asia & Australasia |
Senegal | 82 | 5.81 | 73 | 6.15 | -9 | -0.34 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Moldova | 83 | 5.75 | 79 | 5.85 | -4 | -0.10 | Eastern Europe |
Montenegro | 84 | 5.65 | 82 | 5.74 | -2 | -0.09 | Eastern Europe |
Madagascar | 85 | 5.64 | 95 | 5.22 | +10 | +0.42 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Armenia | 86 | 5.54 | 103 | 4.79 | +17 | +0.75 | Eastern Europe |
Malawi | 87 | 5.50 | 90 | 5.49 | +3 | +0.01 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Liberia | 88 | 5.45 | 93 | 5.35 | +5 | +0.10 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Honduras | 89 | 5.42 | 85 | 5.63 | -4 | -0.21 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Georgia | 90 | 5.42 | 89 | 5.50 | -1 | -0.08 | Eastern Europe |
Bhutan | 91 | 5.30 | 94 | 5.30 | +3 | 0.00 | Asia & Australasia |
Nepal | 92 | 5.28 | 97 | 5.18 | +5 | +0.10 | Asia & Australasia |
Guatemala | 93 | 5.26 | 87 | 5.60 | -6 | -0.34 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Kenya | 94 | 5.18 | 98 | 5.11 | +4 | +0.07 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Tanzania | 95 | 5.16 | 92 | 5.41 | -3 | -0.25 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Morocco | 96 | 5.10 | 100 | 4.99 | +4 | +0.11 | Middle East & North Africa |
Benin | 97 | 5.09 | 81 | 5.74 | -16 | -0.65 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Zambia | 98 | 5.09 | 86 | 5.61 | -12 | -0.52 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Uganda | 99 | 5.02 | 96 | 5.20 | -3 | -0.18 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Mali | 100 | 4.92 | 91 | 5.41 | -9 | -0.49 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Kyrgyz Republic | 101 | 4.89 | 99 | 5.11 | -2 | -0.22 | Eastern Europe |
Sierra Leone | 102 | 4.86 | 105 | 4.66 | +3 | +0.20 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Bosnia and Hercegovina | 103 | 4.86 | 101 | 4.98 | -2 | -0.12 | Eastern Europe |
Bolivia | 104 | 4.84 | 83 | 5.70 | -21 | -0.86 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Haiti | 105 | 4.57 | 102 | 4.91 | -3 | -0.34 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Lebanon | 106 | 4.36 | 106 | 4.63 | 0 | -0.27 | Middle East & North Africa |
Gambia | 107 | 4.33 | 111 | 4.31 | +4 | +0.02 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Pakistan | 108 | 4.25 | 112 | 4.17 | +4 | +0.08 | Asia & Australasia |
Nigeria | 109 | 4.12 | 108 | 4.44 | -1 | -0.32 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Turkey | 110 | 4.09 | 110 | 4.37 | 0 | -0.28 | Western Europe |
Côte d’Ivoire | 111 | 4.05 | 113 | 4.15 | +2 | -0.10 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Burkina Faso | 112 | 4.04 | 104 | 4.75 | -8 | -0.71 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Algeria | 113 | 4.01 | 126 | 3.50 | +13 | +0.51 | Middle East & North Africa |
Jordan | 114 | 3.93 | 115 | 3.93 | +1 | 0.00 | Middle East & North Africa |
Kuwait | 115 | 3.93 | 116 | 3.85 | +1 | +0.08 | Middle East & North Africa |
Mauritania | 116 | 3.92 | 119 | 3.82 | +3 | +0.10 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Palestine | 117 | 3.89 | 109 | 4.39 | -8 | -0.50 | Middle East & North Africa |
Iraq | 118 | 3.74 | 114 | 4.06 | -4 | -0.32 | Middle East & North Africa |
Angola | 119 | 3.72 | 123 | 3.62 | +4 | +0.10 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Mozambique | 120 | 3.65 | 117 | 3.85 | -3 | -0.20 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Gabon | 121 | 3.61 | 124 | 3.61 | +3 | 0.00 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Nicaragua | 122 | 3.55 | 122 | 3.63 | 0 | -0.08 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Myanmar | 123 | 3.55 | 118 | 3.83 | -5 | -0.28 | Asia & Australasia |
Cambodia | 124 | 3.53 | 125 | 3.59 | +1 | -0.06 | Asia & Australasia |
Ethiopia | 125 | 3.44 | 129 | 3.35 | +4 | +0.09 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Togo | 126 | 3.30 | 138 | 3.10 | +12 | +0.20 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Niger | 127 | 3.29 | 120 | 3.76 | -7 | -0.47 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Qatar | 128 | 3.19 | 133 | 3.19 | +5 | 0.00 | Middle East & North Africa |
Rwanda | 129 | 3.16 | 128 | 3.35 | -1 | -0.19 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Zimbabwe | 130 | 3.16 | 134 | 3.16 | +4 | 0.00 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Comoros | 131 | 3.15 | 121 | 3.71 | -10 | -0.56 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Guinea | 132 | 3.14 | 136 | 3.14 | +4 | 0.00 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
eSwatini | 133 | 3.14 | 141 | 3.03 | +8 | +0.11 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Congo (Brazzaville) | 134 | 3.11 | 131 | 3.31 | -3 | -0.20 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Russia | 135 | 3.11 | 144 | 2.94 | +9 | +0.17 | Eastern Europe |
Vietnam | 136 | 3.08 | 139 | 3.08 | +3 | 0.00 | Asia & Australasia |
Oman | 137 | 3.06 | 140 | 3.04 | +3 | +0.02 | Middle East & North Africa |
Egypt | 138 | 3.06 | 127 | 3.36 | -11 | -0.30 | Middle East & North Africa |
Kazakhstan | 139 | 2.94 | 145 | 2.94 | +6 | 0.00 | Eastern Europe |
Venezuela | 140 | 2.88 | 135 | 3.16 | -5 | -0.28 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Belarus | 141 | 2.88 | 137 | 3.13 | -4 | -0.25 | Eastern Europe |
Cameroon | 142 | 2.85 | 132 | 3.28 | -10 | -0.43 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Afghanistan | 143 | 2.85 | 143 | 2.97 | 0 | -0.12 | Asia & Australasia |
Cuba | 144 | 2.84 | 142 | 3.00 | -2 | -0.16 | Latin America & the Caribbean |
Djibouti | 145 | 2.77 | 146 | 2.87 | +1 | -0.10 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
United Arab Emirates | 146 | 2.76 | 147 | 2.76 | +1 | 0.00 | Middle East & North Africa |
Azerbaijan | 147 | 2.75 | 149 | 2.65 | +2 | +0.10 | Eastern Europe |
Sudan | 148 | 2.70 | 155 | 2.15 | +7 | +0.55 | Middle East & North Africa |
Guinea-Bissau | 149 | 2.63 | 157 | 1.98 | +8 | +0.65 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Bahrain | 150 | 2.55 | 148 | 2.71 | -2 | -0.16 | Middle East & North Africa |
Iran | 151 | 2.38 | 150 | 2.45 | -1 | -0.07 | Middle East & North Africa |
Eritrea | 152 | 2.37 | 151 | 2.37 | -1 | 0.00 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
China | 153 | 2.26 | 130 | 3.32 | -23 | -1.06 | Asia & Australasia |
Burundi | 154 | 2.15 | 153 | 2.33 | -1 | -0.18 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Laos | 155 | 2.14 | 152 | 2.37 | -3 | -0.23 | Asia & Australasia |
Libya | 156 | 2.02 | 154 | 2.19 | -2 | -0.17 | Middle East & North Africa |
Uzbekistan | 157 | 2.01 | 156 | 2.01 | -1 | 0.00 | Eastern Europe |
Yemen | 158 | 1.95 | 158 | 1.95 | 0 | 0.00 | Middle East & North Africa |
Tajikistan | 159 | 1.93 | 159 | 1.93 | 0 | 0.00 | Eastern Europe |
Saudi Arabia | 160 | 1.93 | 160 | 1.93 | 0 | 0.00 | Middle East & North Africa |
Equatorial Guinea | 161 | 1.92 | 161 | 1.92 | 0 | 0.00 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Turkmenistan | 162 | 1.72 | 162 | 1.72 | 0 | 0.00 | Eastern Europe |
Chad | 163 | 1.61 | 163 | 1.61 | 0 | 0.00 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Syria | 164 | 1.43 | 166 | 1.43 | +2 | 0.00 | Middle East & North Africa |
Central African Republic | 165 | 1.32 | 164 | 1.52 | -1 | -0.20 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Democratic Republic of Congo | 166 | 1.13 | 165 | 1.49 | -1 | -0.36 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
North Korea | 167 | 1.08 | 167 | 1.08 | 0 | 0.00 | Asia & Australasia |
World | 5.44 | 5.48 | -0.04 |