Democracy Index

The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research division of the Economist Group, a UK-based private company which publishes the weekly newspaper The Economist. The index is self-described as intending to measure the state of democracy in 167 countries, of which 166 are sovereign states and 164 are UN member states.

The Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index map for 2020

Full democracies   9.01–10   8.01–9

Flawed democracies   7.01–8   6.01–7

Hybrid regimes   5.01–6   4.01–5

Authoritarian regimes   3.01–4   2.01–3   0–2.00

No data

The index is based on 60 indicators grouped in five different categories, measuring pluralism, civil liberties and political culture. In addition to a numeric score and a ranking, the index categorises each country into one of four regime types: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes.

The Economist has published reports with updated versions of the Democracy Index for 2006,[1] 2008,[2] 2010,[3] 2011,[4] 2012,[5] 2013,[6] 2014,[7] 2015,[8] 2016,[9] 2017,[10] 2018,[11] 2019,[12] and 2020.[13] The 2020 report was published in February 2021 and is not yet fully reflected in this article.

Method

As described in the report,[5] the democracy index is a weighted average based on the answers of 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, and 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:

1. "Whether national elections are free and fair";
2. "The security of voters";
3. "The influence of foreign powers on government";
4. "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).[3][1]

The report is widely cited in the international press as well as in peer reviewed academic journals.[14]

Classification 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.[8]

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 have significant faults in other democratic aspects, including underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance.[8]

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.[8]

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 and free, 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.[8]

Democracy Index 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 2020[13]

Type of regime	Colors		Score	Countries	Countries (%)	World population (%)
Full democracies			8.01–10	23	13.8%	8.4%
Flawed democracies			6.01–8	52	31.1%	41.0%
Hybrid regimes			4.01–6	35	21.0%	15.0%
Authoritarian regimes			0–4	57	34.1%	35.6%

Democracy Index 2020

The 2020 report was published in February 2021 with the title Democracy Index 2020: In sickness and in health? The front page depicts the Statue of Liberty with a medical face mask. The Economist Intelligence Unit says about the report:[13]

Democracy was dealt a major blow in 2020. Almost 70% of countries covered by The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index recorded a decline in their overall score, as country after country locked down to protect lives from a novel coronavirus. The global average score fell to its lowest level since the index began in 2006.

It refers to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus which caused the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in many lockdowns and human rights issues.

The following table shows the five parameters that made up the score of each nation in 2020 and the changes that had occurred since 2019.

Regime types

• Full democracies
• Flawed democracies
• Hybrid regimes
• Authoritarian regimes

Δ Rank is the change in ranking from the previous year, Δ Score is the change in the nation's overall score from the previous year.

2020 Democracy Index

Rank	Δ Rank	Country	Regime type	Elec­toral pro­cess and plura­lism	Func­tioning of govern­ment	Poli­tical partici­pation	Poli­tical cul­ture	Civil liber­ties	Overall score	Δ Score
Full democracies
1		Norway	Full democracy	10.00	9.64	10.00	10.00	9.41	9.81	0.06
2		Iceland	Full democracy	10.00	8.57	8.89	10.00	9.41	9.37	0.21
3		Sweden	Full democracy	9.58	9.29	8.33	10.00	9.12	9.26	0.13
4		New Zealand	Full democracy	10.00	8.93	8.89	8.75	9.71	9.25	0.01
5	2	Canada	Full democracy	9.58	8.93	8.89	9.38	9.41	9.24	0.02
6	1	Finland	Full democracy	10.00	8.93	8.89	8.75	9.41	9.20	0.05
7		Denmark	Full democracy	10.00	8.93	8.33	9.38	9.12	9.15	0.07
8	2	Ireland	Full democracy	10.00	7.86	8.33	9.38	9.71	9.05	0.19
9		Australia	Full democracy	10.00	8.57	7.78	8.75	9.71	8.96	0.13
9	2	Netherlands	Full democracy	9.58	9.29	8.33	8.75	8.82	8.96	0.05
11	20	Taiwan	Full democracy	10.00	9.64	7.22	8.13	9.71	8.94	1.21
12	2	Switzerland	Full democracy	9.58	8.57	7.78	9.38	8.82	8.83	0.20
13	1	Luxembourg	Full democracy	10.00	8.57	6.67	8.75	9.71	8.68	0.13
14	1	Germany	Full democracy	9.58	8.21	8.33	8.13	9.12	8.67	0.01
15		Uruguay	Full democracy	10.00	8.57	6.67	8.13	9.71	8.61	0.23
16	2	United Kingdom	Full democracy	10.00	7.50	8.89	7.50	8.82	8.54	0.02
17	4	Chile	Full democracy	9.58	8.21	6.67	8.13	8.82	8.28	0.20
18	2	Austria	Full democracy	9.58	7.50	8.33	6.88	8.53	8.16	0.13
18	1	Costa Rica	Full democracy	9.58	6.79	7.22	7.50	9.71	8.16	0.03
20	2	Mauritius	Full democracy	9.17	7.86	6.11	8.75	8.82	8.14	0.08
21	3	Japan	Full democracy	8.75	8.57	6.67	8.13	8.53	8.13	0.14
22	6	Spain	Full democracy	9.58	7.14	7.22	8.13	8.53	8.12	0.17
23		South Korea	Full democracy	9.17	8.21	7.22	7.50	7.94	8.01	0.01
Flawed democracies
24	4	France	Flawed democracy	9.58	7.50	7.78	6.88	8.24	7.99	0.13
25		United States	Flawed democracy	9.17	6.79	8.89	6.25	8.53	7.92	0.04
26	4	Portugal	Flawed democracy	9.58	7.50	6.11	7.50	8.82	7.90	0.13
27		Estonia	Flawed democracy	9.58	7.86	6.67	6.88	8.24	7.84	0.06
27	1	Israel	Flawed democracy	9.17	7.50	9.44	7.50	5.59	7.84	0.02
29	6	Italy	Flawed democracy	9.58	6.43	7.22	7.50	7.94	7.74	0.22
30	4	Malta	Flawed democracy	9.17	6.79	6.11	8.13	8.24	7.68	0.27
31	1	Czech Republic	Flawed democracy	9.58	6.07	6.67	7.50	8.53	7.67	0.02
32	2	Cape Verde	Flawed democracy	9.17	7.00	6.67	6.88	8.53	7.65	0.13
33	4	Botswana	Flawed democracy	9.17	6.79	6.11	7.50	8.53	7.62	0.19
34		Cyprus	Flawed democracy	9.17	5.36	7.22	7.50	8.53	7.56	0.03
35	1	Slovenia	Flawed democracy	9.58	6.43	7.22	6.25	8.24	7.54	0.04
36	3	Belgium	Flawed democracy	9.58	7.86	5.00	6.88	8.24	7.51	0.13
37	2	Greece	Flawed democracy	9.58	5.21	6.11	7.50	8.53	7.39	0.04
38		Latvia	Flawed democracy	9.58	6.07	6.67	5.63	8.24	7.24	0.25
39	4	Malaysia	Flawed democracy	9.58	7.86	6.67	6.25	5.59	7.19	0.03
40	6	Panama	Flawed democracy	9.58	6.43	7.22	5.00	7.65	7.18	0.13
41	2	Trinidad and Tobago	Flawed democracy	9.58	7.14	6.11	5.63	7.35	7.16
42	8	Jamaica	Flawed democracy	8.75	7.14	5.00	6.25	8.53	7.13	0.17
42	6	Lithuania	Flawed democracy	9.58	6.07	5.56	5.63	8.82	7.13	0.37
44	3	Timor-Leste	Flawed democracy	9.58	5.93	5.56	6.88	7.35	7.06	0.13
45	5	South Africa	Flawed democracy	7.42	7.14	8.33	5.00	7.35	7.05	0.19
46	1	Colombia	Flawed democracy	9.17	6.43	6.67	5.00	7.94	7.04	0.09
47	5	Slovakia	Flawed democracy	9.58	6.43	5.56	5.63	7.65	6.97	0.20
48		Argentina	Flawed democracy	9.17	5.36	6.67	5.63	7.94	6.95	0.07
49	3	Brazil	Flawed democracy	9.58	5.36	6.11	5.63	7.94	6.92	0.04
50	7	Poland	Flawed democracy	9.17	5.71	6.67	5.63	7.06	6.85	0.23
51	2	Suriname	Flawed democracy	9.58	6.07	6.11	5.00	7.35	6.82	0.16
52	5	Bulgaria	Flawed democracy	9.17	5.71	7.22	4.38	7.06	6.71	0.32
53	2	India	Flawed democracy	8.67	7.14	6.67	5.00	5.59	6.61	0.29
54	1	Tunisia	Flawed democracy	9.17	5.36	7.22	5.63	5.59	6.59	0.13
55	1	Philippines	Flawed democracy	9.17	5.00	7.78	4.38	6.47	6.56	0.08
55		Hungary	Flawed democracy	8.33	6.43	5.00	6.25	6.76	6.56	0.07
57	1	Peru	Flawed democracy	8.75	5.36	5.56	5.63	7.35	6.53	0.07
58	7	Namibia	Flawed democracy	7.00	5.36	6.67	5.63	7.94	6.52	0.09
59		Croatia	Flawed democracy	9.17	6.07	6.11	4.38	6.76	6.50	0.07
59	4	Ghana	Flawed democracy	8.33	5.36	6.67	6.25	5.88	6.50	0.13
61	1	Mongolia	Flawed democracy	8.75	5.71	5.56	5.63	6.76	6.48	0.02
62	1	Romania	Flawed democracy	9.17	5.36	6.67	3.75	7.06	6.40	0.09
63	3	Dominican Republic	Flawed democracy	9.17	4.29	6.11	5.00	7.06	6.32	0.22
64	4	Lesotho	Flawed democracy	9.17	4.14	6.11	5.63	6.47	6.30	0.24
64		Indonesia	Flawed democracy	7.92	7.50	6.11	4.38	5.59	6.30	0.18
66		Serbia	Flawed democracy	8.25	5.36	6.67	3.75	7.06	6.22	0.19
67	3	Paraguay	Flawed democracy	8.75	5.71	5.00	4.38	7.06	6.18	0.06
68	1	Sri Lanka	Flawed democracy	7.00	5.71	5.56	6.25	6.18	6.14	0.13
69	2	Ecuador	Flawed democracy	8.75	5.00	6.67	3.75	6.47	6.13	0.20
70	4	Papua New Guinea	Flawed democracy	6.92	6.07	3.33	6.25	7.94	6.10	0.07
71	8	Albania	Flawed democracy	7.00	5.36	4.44	6.25	7.35	6.08	0.19
72	1	Mexico	Flawed democracy	7.83	5.71	7.78	3.13	5.88	6.07	0.02
73	5	Thailand	Flawed democracy	7.00	5.00	6.67	6.25	5.29	6.04	0.28
74	1	Singapore	Flawed democracy	4.83	7.86	4.44	6.25	6.76	6.03	0.01
75	4	Guyana	Flawed democracy	6.50	5.36	6.11	5.00	7.06	6.01	0.14
Hybrid regimes
76	4	Bangladesh	Hybrid regime	7.42	6.07	6.11	5.63	4.71	5.99	0.11
77	6	El Salvador	Hybrid regime	9.17	4.29	6.11	3.75	6.18	5.90	0.25
78	1	North Macedonia	Hybrid regime	7.42	5.71	6.11	3.13	7.06	5.89	0.08
79	1	Ukraine	Hybrid regime	8.25	2.71	7.22	5.00	5.88	5.81	0.09
80	3	Moldova	Hybrid regime	7.00	4.64	6.11	4.38	6.76	5.78	0.03
81	3	Montenegro	Hybrid regime	7.42	5.71	6.11	3.13	6.47	5.77	0.12
82	5	Malawi	Hybrid regime	7.00	4.29	5.00	6.25	6.18	5.74	0.24
83	2	Fiji	Hybrid regime	6.58	5.00	6.11	5.63	5.29	5.72	0.13
84	7	Bhutan	Hybrid regime	8.75	6.79	3.33	5.00	4.71	5.71	0.41
85		Madagascar	Hybrid regime	7.92	3.57	6.67	5.63	4.71	5.70	0.06
86	4	Senegal	Hybrid regime	6.08	5.71	4.44	6.25	5.88	5.67	0.18
87	12	Hong Kong	Hybrid regime	3.17	3.64	5.00	7.50	8.53	5.57	0.45
88	1	Honduras	Hybrid regime	7.83	4.29	4.44	4.38	5.88	5.36	0.06
89	3	Armenia	Hybrid regime	7.50	5.00	6.11	3.13	5.00	5.35	0.19
90	2	Liberia	Hybrid regime	7.42	2.71	5.56	5.63	5.29	5.32	0.13
91	2	Georgia	Hybrid regime	7.83	3.57	6.11	3.75	5.29	5.31	0.11
92		Nepal	Hybrid regime	4.83	5.36	5.00	5.63	5.29	5.22	0.06
93	2	Tanzania	Hybrid regime	4.83	5.00	5.00	6.25	4.41	5.10	0.06
94	10	Bolivia	Hybrid regime	6.08	3.57	6.11	3.75	5.88	5.08	0.24
95	1	Kenya	Hybrid regime	3.50	5.36	6.67	5.63	4.12	5.05	0.13
96		Morocco	Hybrid regime	5.25	4.64	5.56	5.63	4.12	5.04	0.06
97	4	Guatemala	Hybrid regime	6.92	3.93	5.00	3.13	5.88	4.97	0.29
98	1	Uganda	Hybrid regime	4.33	3.21	5.00	6.88	5.29	4.94	0.08
99	2	Zambia	Hybrid regime	4.75	2.93	3.89	6.88	5.88	4.86	0.23
99	3	Sierra Leone	Hybrid regime	6.58	2.86	3.33	6.25	5.29	4.86
101	1	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Hybrid regime	7.00	2.93	5.56	3.13	5.59	4.84	0.02
102	5	Benin	Hybrid regime	3.33	5.36	3.89	5.63	4.71	4.58	0.51
103	4	Gambia	Hybrid regime	4.00	4.29	4.44	5.63	4.12	4.49	0.16
104	6	Turkey	Hybrid regime	3.50	5.36	5.56	5.63	2.35	4.48	0.39
105	3	Pakistan	Hybrid regime	5.67	5.36	3.33	2.50	4.71	4.31	0.06
106	1	Haiti	Hybrid regime	4.75	1.71	2.78	6.25	5.59	4.22	0.35
107	6	Kyrgyzstan	Hybrid regime	4.75	2.93	5.56	3.13	4.71	4.21	0.67
108	2	Lebanon	Hybrid regime	3.50	1.50	6.67	5.00	4.12	4.16	0.20
109	2	Ivory Coast	Hybrid regime	4.33	2.86	3.89	5.63	3.82	4.11	0.06
110	1	Nigeria	Hybrid regime	5.17	3.57	3.89	3.75	4.12	4.10	0.02
Authoritarian regimes
111	11	Mali	Authoritarian	5.17	0.00	4.44	5.63	4.41	3.93	0.99
112	4	Mauritania	Authoritarian	3.50	3.57	5.00	3.13	4.41	3.92
113	4	Palestine	Authoritarian	3.33	0.14	7.78	4.38	3.53	3.83	0.06
114		Kuwait	Authoritarian	3.58	3.93	3.89	4.38	3.24	3.80	0.13
115	2	Algeria	Authoritarian	3.08	2.50	4.44	5.00	3.82	3.77	0.24
116	4	Burkina Faso	Authoritarian	3.00	2.36	4.44	5.00	3.82	3.73	0.31
117	2	Angola	Authoritarian	2.25	2.86	5.56	5.00	2.65	3.66	0.06
118		Iraq	Authoritarian	5.25	0.00	6.67	5.00	1.18	3.62	0.12
118	4	Jordan	Authoritarian	2.67	3.93	3.89	4.38	3.24	3.62	0.31
120	2	Nicaragua	Authoritarian	0.42	2.86	5.00	5.63	4.12	3.60	0.05
121		Gabon	Authoritarian	2.58	1.86	4.44	5.00	3.82	3.54	0.07
122	2	Mozambique	Authoritarian	2.58	1.43	5.00	5.00	3.53	3.51	0.14
123	2	Ethiopia	Authoritarian	0.42	3.57	5.56	5.00	2.35	3.38	0.06
124	10	Russia	Authoritarian	2.17	2.14	5.00	3.13	4.12	3.31	0.20
125	2	Niger	Authoritarian	2.92	1.14	3.33	4.38	4.71	3.29
126	2	Qatar	Authoritarian	0.00	4.29	2.78	5.63	3.53	3.24	0.05
127	2	Zimbabwe	Authoritarian	0.00	2.50	4.44	5.63	3.24	3.16
128	11	Kazakhstan	Authoritarian	0.50	3.21	5.00	3.75	3.24	3.14	0.20
129	5	Republic of the Congo	Authoritarian	2.17	2.50	3.89	3.75	3.24	3.11
130	6	Cambodia	Authoritarian	0.00	3.93	3.89	5.63	2.06	3.10	0.43
130	1	Rwanda	Authoritarian	1.42	4.29	2.78	4.38	2.65	3.10	0.06
132	1	Comoros	Authoritarian	2.08	2.21	3.89	3.75	3.53	3.09	0.06
133	1	Eswatini	Authoritarian	0.92	2.86	2.78	5.63	3.24	3.08	0.06
133	4	Guinea	Authoritarian	3.50	0.43	4.44	4.38	2.65	3.08	0.06
135	13	Myanmar	Authoritarian	1.75	3.93	2.78	4.38	2.35	3.04	0.51
136	1	Oman	Authoritarian	0.08	3.93	2.78	4.38	3.82	3.00	0.06
137	1	Vietnam	Authoritarian	0.00	2.86	3.89	5.63	2.35	2.94	0.14
138	1	Egypt	Authoritarian	1.33	3.21	3.33	5.00	1.76	2.93	0.13
139	2	Afghanistan	Authoritarian	3.42	0.64	3.89	2.50	3.82	2.85
140	3	Cuba	Authoritarian	0.00	3.57	3.33	4.38	2.94	2.84
141	15	Togo	Authoritarian	3.17	1.79	3.33	5.00	3.24	2.80	0.50
142	1	Cameroon	Authoritarian	1.67	2.14	3.33	4.38	2.35	2.77	0.08
143	3	Venezuela	Authoritarian	0.00	1.79	5.00	4.38	2.65	2.76	0.04
144		Djibouti	Authoritarian	0.42	1.29	3.89	5.63	2.35	2.71	0.06
145		United Arab Emirates	Authoritarian	0.00	3.93	2.22	5.00	2.65	2.70	0.06
146		Azerbaijan	Authoritarian	0.50	2.86	3.33	3.75	2.94	2.68	0.07
147	1	Guinea-Bissau	Authoritarian	4.92	0.00	2.78	3.13	2.35	2.63
148	2	Belarus	Authoritarian	0.00	2.00	3.89	5.00	2.06	2.59	0.11
149	2	Sudan	Authoritarian	0.00	1.79	4.44	5.00	1.47	2.54	0.16
150	1	Bahrain	Authoritarian	0.83	2.71	2.78	4.38	1.76	2.49	0.06
151	2	China	Authoritarian	0.00	4.29	2.78	3.13	1.18	2.27	0.01
152	1	Iran	Authoritarian	0.00	2.50	3.89	3.13	1.47	2.20	0.18
153	1	Eritrea	Authoritarian	0.00	2.14	0.56	6.88	1.18	2.15	0.22
154		Burundi	Authoritarian	0.00	0.00	3.33	5.00	2.35	2.14	0.01
155	2	Uzbekistan	Authoritarian	0.08	1.86	2.78	5.00	0.88	2.12	0.11
156	3	Saudi Arabia	Authoritarian	0.00	3.57	2.22	3.13	1.47	2.08	0.15
157	1	Libya	Authoritarian	0.00	0.00	3.33	3.75	2.65	1.95	0.07
157		Yemen	Authoritarian	0.00	0.00	3.89	5.00	0.88	1.95
159		Tajikistan	Authoritarian	0.00	2.21	2.22	4.38	0.88	1.94	0.01
160	1	Equatorial Guinea	Authoritarian	0.00	0.43	3.33	4.38	1.47	1.92
161	6	Laos	Authoritarian	0.00	2.86	1.67	3.75	0.59	1.77	0.37
162		Turkmenistan	Authoritarian	0.00	0.79	2.22	5.00	0.59	1.72
163		Chad	Authoritarian	0.00	0.00	1.67	3.75	2.35	1.55	0.06
164		Syria	Authoritarian	0.00	0.00	2.78	4.38	0.00	1.43
165		Central African Republic	Authoritarian	1.25	0.00	1.11	1.88	2.35	1.32
166		Democratic Republic of the Congo	Authoritarian	0.00	0.00	1.67	3.13	0.88	1.13
167		North Korea	Authoritarian	0.00	2.50	1.67	1.25	0.00	1.08

Democracy Index by region

The following table lists the average score for each geographic area.

Rank	Region	Coun­tries	2006	2008	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
1	North America	2	8.64	8.64	8.63	8.59	8.59	8.59	8.59	8.56	8.56	8.56	8.56	8.59	8.58
2	Western Europe	21	8.60	8.61	8.45	8.40	8.44	8.41	8.41	8.42	8.40	8.38	8.35	8.35	8.29
3	Latin America and the Caribbean	24	6.37	6.43	6.37	6.35	6.36	6.38	6.36	6.37	6.33	6.26	6.24	6.13	6.09
4	Asia and Australasia	28	5.44	5.58	5.53	5.51	5.56	5.61	5.70	5.74	5.74	5.63	5.67	5.67	5.62
5	Central and Eastern Europe	28	5.76	5.67	5.55	5.50	5.51	5.53	5.58	5.55	5.43	5.40	5.42	5.42	5.36
6	Sub-Saharan Africa	44	4.24	4.28	4.23	4.32	4.33	4.36	4.34	4.38	4.37	4.35	4.36	4.26	4.16
7	Middle East and North Africa	20	3.54	3.48	3.52	3.62	3.73	3.68	3.65	3.58	3.56	3.54	3.54	3.53	3.44
	World	167	5.52	5.55	5.46	5.49	5.52	5.53	5.55	5.55	5.52	5.48	5.48	5.44	5.37

The following table lists the number of countries in each of the four democracy classifications in 2020.

Region	Autho­ritarian	Hybrid regime	Flawed demo­cracy	Full demo­cracy	Coun­tries	Average score
North America	0	0	1	1	2	8.58
Western Europe	0	1	7	13	21	8.29
Latin America and the Caribbean	3	5	13	3	24	6.09
Asia and Australasia	7	6	10	5	28	5.62
Central and Eastern Europe	7	8	13	0	28	5.36
Sub-Saharan Africa	24	13	6	1	44	4.16
Middle East and North Africa	16	2	2	0	20	3.44
World	57	35	52	23	167	5.37

Democracy Index by country

The following table shows each nation's score over the years. The regions are assigned by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Regions

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

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

Change from previous report

The following table shows the original 2006 score and the changes in each new report except 2020. Changes of regime type are marked with background color.

Regions

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

Country	2006	2008	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
North America
Canada	9.07		0.01						0.07			0.07
United States	8.22		0.04	0.07				0.06	0.07		0.02
Western Europe
Austria	8.69	0.20			0.13	0.14	0.06		0.13	0.01	0.13
Belgium	8.15	0.01	0.11				0.12		0.16	0.01		0.14
Cyprus	7.60	0.10	0.41				0.11	0.13	0.12	0.06
Denmark	9.52					0.14	0.27		0.09	0.02
Finland	9.25		0.06	0.13		0.03					0.11	0.11
France	8.07		0.30		0.11	0.04	0.12	0.12		0.12		0.32
Germany	8.82		0.44	0.04		0.03	0.33		0.01	0.02	0.07
Greece	8.13		0.21	0.27			0.20		0.22	0.06		0.14
Iceland	9.71	0.06					0.07		0.08	0.08
Ireland	9.01		0.22	0.23		0.12	0.04	0.13	0.30			0.09
Italy	7.73	0.25	0.15	0.09		0.11		0.13			0.27	0.19
Luxembourg	9.10		0.22						0.07
Malta	8.39		0.11				0.11			0.24	0.06	0.26
Netherlands	9.66	0.13	0.54			0.15	0.08		0.12	0.09		0.12
Norway	9.55	0.13	0.12		0.13					0.06
Portugal	8.16	0.11	0.03	0.21	0.11	0.27	0.14		0.07	0.02		0.19
Spain	8.34	0.11	0.29	0.14			0.03	0.25		0.22		0.21
Sweden	9.88		0.38		0.23			0.28	0.06
Switzerland	9.02	0.13	0.06							0.06
Turkey	5.70	0.01	0.04		0.03	0.13	0.51		0.08	0.16	0.51	0.28
United Kingdom	8.08	0.07	0.01		0.05	0.10			0.05	0.17		0.01
Central and Eastern Europe
Albania	5.91		0.05	0.05	0.14			0.24		0.07		0.09
Armenia	4.15	0.06				0.07	0.11	0.13	0.12	0.23	0.68	0.75
Azerbaijan	3.31	0.12	0.04			0.09	0.23	0.12	0.06			0.10
Belarus	3.34			0.18	0.12		0.65	0.07	0.08	0.41		0.65
Bosnia and Herzegovina	5.78	0.08	0.38	0.08	0.13	0.09	0.24	0.05	0.04		0.11	0.12
Bulgaria	7.10	0.08	0.18	0.06	0.06	0.11	0.10	0.41	0.13	0.02
Croatia	7.04		0.23	0.08	0.20				0.18	0.12	0.06
Czech Republic	8.17	0.02				0.13	0.12		0.12	0.20	0.07
Estonia	7.74	0.06		0.07			0.13	0.11		0.06	0.18	0.07
Georgia	4.90	0.28	0.03	0.15	0.79	0.42	0.13	0.06	0.05		0.43	0.08
Hungary	7.53	0.09	0.23	0.17	0.08		0.06	0.06	0.12	0.08	0.01
Kazakhstan	3.62	0.17	0.15	0.06	0.29	0.11	0.11	0.11			0.12
Kyrgyzstan	4.08	0.03	0.26	0.03	0.35		0.55	0.09	0.40	0.18		0.22
Latvia	7.37	0.14	0.18				0.43	0.11	0.06	0.06	0.13	0.11
Lithuania	7.43	0.07	0.12			0.30			0.07	0.06	0.09
Moldova	6.50		0.17	0.01				0.03	0.34	0.07	0.09	0.10
Montenegro	6.57	0.14	0.16	0.12	0.10	0.11		0.07	0.29	0.03	0.05	0.09
North Macedonia	6.33	0.12	0.05				0.09	0.23	0.79	0.34	0.30	0.10
Poland	7.30		0.25	0.07			0.35	0.38	0.26	0.16		0.05
Romania	7.06		0.46	0.06			0.14		0.06	0.18	0.06	0.11
Russia	5.02	0.54	0.22	0.34	0.18	0.15	0.20	0.08	0.07	0.07	0.23	0.17
Serbia	6.62	0.13	0.16			0.34	0.04		0.14	0.16
Slovakia	7.40	0.07	0.02					0.06		0.13	0.06	0.07
Slovenia	7.96		0.27	0.07	0.12		0.31		0.06	0.01
Tajikistan	2.45		0.06				0.14	0.42	0.06	0.04
Turkmenistan	1.83	0.11					0.11			0.11
Ukraine	6.94		0.64	0.36	0.03	0.07	0.42	0.28		0.01		0.21
Uzbekistan	1.85	0.11			0.02		0.73	0.50			0.06
Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentina	6.63		0.21					0.18	0.06		0.06
Bolivia	5.98	0.17	0.23	0.08		0.05		0.04	0.12	0.14	0.21	0.86
Brazil	7.38		0.26				0.26	0.42	0.06	0.04	0.11	0.11
Chile	7.89		0.22	0.13		0.26		0.04	0.06	0.06	0.13	0.11
Colombia	6.40	0.14	0.01	0.08		0.08		0.07	0.05		0.29	0.17
Costa Rica	8.04			0.06		0.07		0.07	0.08		0.19	0.06
Cuba	3.52								0.06	0.15	0.31	0.16
Dominican Republic	6.13	0.07			0.29	0.25	0.07			0.01	0.12
Ecuador	5.64		0.13	0.05	0.06	0.09			0.06	0.21	0.25	0.06
El Salvador	6.22	0.18	0.07			0.06		0.11		0.21	0.47	0.19
Guatemala	6.07		0.02	0.17		0.07		0.11		0.06	0.26	0.34
Guyana	6.15	0.03	0.07				0.14	0.14	0.20	0.21	0.21	0.52
Haiti	4.19		0.19		0.04	0.02	0.12	0.12	0.08	0.01	0.88	0.34
Honduras	6.25	0.07	0.42	0.08					0.08	0.20	0.09	0.21
Jamaica	7.34	0.13		0.08	0.26					0.10	0.27	0.06
Mexico	6.67	0.11	0.15		0.03	0.01	0.23	0.13	0.08	0.06	0.22	0.10
Nicaragua	5.68	0.39	0.34	0.17		0.10	0.14	0.06	0.45	0.15	1.03	0.08
Panama	7.35		0.20	0.07				0.11	0.06	0.05	0.03
Paraguay	6.16	0.24			0.14			0.07	0.06	0.04	0.07
Peru	6.11	0.20	0.09	0.19	0.12	0.07		0.04	0.07	0.16	0.11
Suriname	6.52	0.06	0.07			0.12				0.01	0.22
Trinidad and Tobago	7.18	0.03	0.05		0.17			0.11		0.06	0.12
Uruguay	7.96	0.12	0.02	0.07						0.05	0.26
Venezuela	5.42	0.08	0.16	0.10	0.07	0.08		0.07	0.32	0.81	0.71	0.28
Asia and Australasia
Afghanistan	3.06	0.04	0.54				0.29		0.22		0.42	0.12
Australia	9.09		0.13			0.09	0.12			0.08
Bangladesh	6.11	0.59	0.35	0.01			0.08	0.05		0.30	0.14	0.31
Bhutan	2.62	1.68	0.38	0.11	0.08	0.17	0.05	0.06		0.15	0.22
Cambodia	4.77	0.10			0.09	0.36	0.18	0.51		0.64	0.04	0.06
China	2.97	0.07	0.10		0.14			0.14	0.04	0.08	0.22	1.06
Fiji	5.66	0.55	1.49	0.05		0.06	2.00	0.08	0.05	0.21
Hong Kong	6.03	0.18	0.07		0.50		0.04	0.04	0.08	0.11	0.16	0.13
India	7.68	0.12	0.52	0.02	0.22	0.17	0.23	0.18	0.07	0.58		0.33
Indonesia	6.41	0.07	0.19		0.23	0.06	0.13	0.08	0.06	0.58		0.09
Japan	8.15	0.10	0.17					0.12	0.03	0.11	0.11
Laos	2.10				0.22	0.11			0.16			0.23
Malaysia	5.98	0.38	0.17		0.22	0.08		0.06	0.11		0.34	0.28
Mongolia	6.60		0.24	0.13	0.12	0.16	0.11			0.12
Myanmar	1.77				0.58	0.41	0.29	1.09	0.06	0.37		0.28
Nepal	3.42	0.63	0.19		0.08	0.61			0.09	0.32		0.10
New Zealand	9.01	0.18	0.07
North Korea	1.03	0.17	0.22
Pakistan	3.92	0.54	0.09		0.02	0.07		0.24	0.07	0.07	0.09	0.08
Papua New Guinea	6.54			0.22		0.04	0.33
Philippines	6.48	0.36			0.18	0.11	0.36	0.07	0.10	0.23		0.07
Singapore	5.89				0.01	0.04	0.11	0.11	0.24	0.06	0.06	0.36
South Korea	7.88	0.13	0.10	0.05	0.07	0.07		0.09	0.05	0.08
Sri Lanka	6.58	0.03	0.03	0.06	0.83	0.06		0.73	0.06		0.29	0.08
Taiwan	7.82		0.30	0.06	0.11		0.08	0.18	0.04	0.06
Thailand	5.67	1.14	0.26			0.30	0.86	0.30	0.17	0.29		1.69
Timor-Leste	6.41	0.81			0.06	0.08				0.05
Vietnam	2.75	0.22	0.41	0.02	0.07	0.40	0.12	0.12	0.15	0.30
Middle East and North Africa
Algeria	3.17	0.15	0.12		0.39			0.12	0.39		0.06	0.51
Bahrain	3.53	0.15	0.11	0.57	0.39	0.34		0.08		0.08		0.16
Egypt	3.90	0.01	0.82	0.88	0.61	1.29	0.11	0.02	0.13	0.05		0.30
Iran	2.93	0.10	0.89	0.04				0.18	0.18	0.11		0.07
Iraq	4.01	0.01		0.03	0.07		0.13	0.15		0.01	0.03	0.32
Israel	7.28	0.20		0.05			0.10	0.14	0.08	0.06		0.07
Jordan	3.92	0.01	0.19	0.15	0.13			0.10	0.10	0.09	0.06
Kuwait	3.09	0.30	0.49	0.14	0.04			0.07				0.08
Lebanon	5.82	0.20	0.20	0.50	0.27		0.07	0.26		0.14	0.09	0.27
Libya	1.84	0.16	0.06	1.61	1.60	0.33	1.02	1.55		0.07	0.13	0.17
Morocco	3.90	0.02	0.09	0.04	0.24		0.07	0.66	0.11	0.10	0.12	0.11
Oman	2.77	0.21	0.12	0.40			0.11	0.11				0.02
Palestine	6.01	0.18	0.39	0.47	0.17		0.08	0.15	0.08	0.03	0.07	0.50
Qatar	2.78	0.14	0.17	0.09						0.01
Saudi Arabia	1.92	0.02	0.06	0.07	0.06	0.11		0.11
Sudan	2.90	0.09	0.39	0.04		0.16		0.17		0.22		0.55
Syria	2.36	0.18	0.13	0.32	0.36	0.23	0.12	0.31
Tunisia	3.06	0.10	0.17	2.74	0.14	0.09	0.55	0.41	0.32	0.08	0.09	0.31
United Arab Emirates	2.42	0.18	0.08	0.06		0.06	0.12	0.11		0.06	0.07
Yemen	2.98	0.03	0.31	0.07	0.55	0.33		0.55	0.17		0.12
Sub-Saharan Africa
Angola	2.41	0.94	0.03		0.03				0.05	0.22		0.10
Benin	6.16	0.10	0.11	0.11	0.06	0.13	0.22	0.07	0.05	0.06	0.13	0.65
Botswana	7.60	0.13	0.16		0.22	0.13	0.11			0.06
Burkina Faso	3.72	0.12	0.01		0.07	0.63	0.06	0.61		0.05		0.71
Burundi	4.51		0.50		0.41	0.19	0.08	0.84	0.09	0.07		0.18
Cape Verde	7.43	0.38	0.13	0.02			0.11		0.13	0.06		0.10
Cameroon	3.27	0.19	0.05		0.03	0.03		0.25	0.20	0.15	0.33	0.43
Central African Republic	1.61	0.25	0.04		0.17	0.50		0.08	0.04	0.09		0.20
Chad	1.65	0.13		0.10		0.12					0.11
Comoros	3.90	0.32	0.17	0.11				0.19				0.56
Republic of the Congo	3.19	0.25	0.05					0.02		0.34	0.06	0.20
Ivory Coast	3.38	0.11	0.25	0.06	0.17		0.28	0.22	0.50	0.12	0.22	0.10
Democratic Republic of the Congo	2.76	0.48	0.13		0.23	0.09	0.08	0.36	0.18	0.32	0.12	0.36
Djibouti	2.37		0.17	0.48	0.06	0.22	0.03	0.09	0.07	0.07	0.11	0.10
Equatorial Guinea	2.09	0.10	0.35	0.07	0.06	0.06	0.11	0.11	0.07	0.11	0.11
Eritrea	2.31			0.03	0.06		0.04	0.07
Eswatini	2.93	0.11	0.14	0.36	0.06		0.11		0.06			0.11
Ethiopia	4.72	0.20	0.84	0.11	0.07	0.11	0.11	0.11	0.23	0.18	0.07	0.09
Gabon	2.72	0.28	0.29	0.19	0.08	0.20			0.02	0.13
Gambia	4.39	0.20	0.81		0.07		0.26	0.08	0.06	1.15	0.25	0.02
Ghana	5.35		0.67			0.31		0.53	0.11	0.06	0.06
Guinea	2.02	0.07	0.70			0.05	0.17	0.13
Guinea-Bissau	2.00	0.01			0.56	0.17	0.67		0.05			0.65
Kenya	5.08	0.29	0.08			0.42		0.20		0.22		0.07
Lesotho	6.48	0.19	0.27	0.31	0.33			0.07		0.05		0.10
Liberia	5.22	0.03	0.18		0.12				0.36	0.08	0.12	0.10
Madagascar	5.82	0.25	1.63	0.01		0.39	0.10	0.43	0.22	0.04	0.11	0.42
Malawi	4.97	0.16	0.71		0.24	0.08	0.34	0.11		0.06		0.01
Mali	5.99	0.12	0.14	0.35	1.24	0.78	0.11	0.09		0.06	0.23	0.49
Mauritania	3.12	0.79	0.05	0.31				0.21		0.14		0.10
Mauritius	8.04				0.13			0.10	0.01	0.06
Mozambique	5.28	0.21	0.59		0.02	0.11	0.11	0.06	0.58		0.17	0.20
Namibia	6.54	0.06	0.25	0.01				0.07			0.06	0.18
Niger	3.54	0.13	0.03	0.78		0.08	0.06	0.60	0.66	0.20		0.47
Nigeria	3.52	0.01	0.06	0.36	0.06		0.01	0.09	0.65	0.06		0.32
Rwanda	3.82	0.11	0.46		0.11	0.02	0.13	0.18		0.12	0.16	0.19
Senegal	5.37		0.10	0.24	0.58	0.06		0.07	0.13	0.06		0.34
Sierra Leone	3.57	0.54	0.40		0.20	0.07	0.08	0.01		0.11		0.20
South Africa	7.91		0.12			0.11	0.08	0.26	0.15	0.17
Tanzania	5.18	0.10	0.36		0.24	0.11		0.19	0.18	0.29	0.06	0.25
Togo	1.75	0.68	1.02					0.04	0.09	0.27	0.05	0.20
Uganda	5.14	0.11	0.02	0.08	0.03	0.06			0.04	0.17	0.11	0.18
Zambia	5.25		0.43	0.51	0.07		0.13	0.11	0.29	0.31	0.07	0.52
Zimbabwe	2.62	0.09	0.11	0.04	0.01		0.11	0.27		0.11

Recent changes

In 2016, the United States was downgraded from a full democracy to a flawed democracy;[15] its score, which had been declining for some years, crossed the threshold from 8.05 in 2015 to 7.98 in 2016. The report states that this was caused by a myriad of factors dating back to at least the late 1960s which have eroded Americans' trust in governmental institutions.[16][17]

The 2017 Democracy index registered 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.

Australia (ranked 8th) and Taiwan (ranked 33rd) both legalised same-sex marriage in 2017. In China, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, further entrenched his power by writing his contribution to the Chinese Communist Party'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 re-upgraded 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 democracy to full democracy. In fact, this is a re-upgrade 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 was re-upgraded from a hybrid regime to a flawed democracy.[12] Algeria was re-upgraded from an authoritarian regime to a hybrid regime.

Criticism

The Democracy Index has been criticised 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.[18]

See also

• Corruption Perceptions Index
• Democracy-Dictatorship Index
• Democracy promotion
• Democracy Ranking
• Freedom in the World
• List of freedom indices

Notes

References

1. "Democracy Index 2006" (PDF). The World in 2007. 15 November 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
2. "Democracy Index 2008" (PDF). Economist Intelligence Unit. 21 October 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
3. "Democracy Index 2010: Democracy in retreat" (PDF). Economist Intelligence Unit. 6 December 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
4. "Democracy Index 2011: Democracy under stress". Economist Intelligence Unit. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
5. "Democracy Index 2012: Democracy at a standstill" (PDF). Economist Intelligence Unit. 14 March 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
6. "Democracy Index 2013: Democracy in limbo". The Economist Intelligence Unit. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
7. "Democracy Index 2014:Democracy and its discontents" (PDF). The Economist Intelligence Unit. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
8. "Democracy Index 2015: Democracy in an age of anxiety" (PDF). The Economist Intelligence Unit. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
9. "Democracy Index 2016: Revenge of the "deplorables"". eiu.com. The Economist Intelligence Unit. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
10. "Democracy Index 2017: Free speech under attack". eiu.com. The Economist Intelligence Unit. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
11. "Democracy Index 2018: Me Too?". The Economist Intelligence Unit. 8 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
12. "Democracy Index 2019 A year of democratic setbacks and popular protest". EIU.com. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
13. "Democracy Index 2020: In sickness and in health?". EIU.com. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
14. "More State than Nation: Lukashenko's Belarus | JIA SIPA". Journal of International Affairs. 65 (1): 93–113. 1 December 2011. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
15. 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. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
16. Eshe Nelson (25 January 2017). "The US has been downgraded to a "flawed democracy," but not just because of Trump". Qz.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
17. "Declining trust in government is denting democracy". The Economist. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
18. "Peter Tasker: The flawed 'science' behind democracy rankings". asia.nikkei.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-23. Retrieved 2019-02-22.

External links

• The Economist Intelligence Unit's website
• EIU Democracy Index main page