Only 6.6% of humanity lives in full democracy — the worst figure in almost 20 years

Democracy around the world is in its worst state in the last two decades.

This is evidenced by the data of the new Democracy Index ranking, which is compiled annually by The Economist.

What is this index?

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has been conducting this study annually since 2006. The latest report, for 2024, covers 167 countries and territories, which were rated on a scale of zero to ten across five criteria:

• electoral process and pluralism;
• the functioning of government;
• political participation;
• political culture;
• civil liberties.

According to the results of the assessment, states fall into one of four categories: full democracy, imperfect democracy, transitional regime, and authoritarian regime.

What is the situation with democracy in Ukraine?

Ukraine has dropped one position compared to 2023 — from 91st to 92nd place (it was 5.06 points, now it is 4.90). The country is currently among the countries of the "transitional" or "hybrid" regime.

The ratingʼs authors write that the situation in Ukraine has worsened due to the centralization of power in the Office of the President, the reduction of the role of parliament, government, media, and opposition, and the forced cancellation of elections. They also emphasize that war fatigue has undermined citizensʼ trust in the state and the president personally.

At the same time, EIU experts admit that organizing free and fair elections in Ukraine would be impossible at this time. Among the reasons: the occupation of 20% of the country, a large number of refugees abroad, the inability to guarantee security for voters and provide equal conditions for all political parties.

What is the state of global democracy in 2024?

Norway is the most democratic country in the world for the 16th year in a row, with a score of 9.81, followed by New Zealand (9.61) and Sweden (9.39).

Afghanistan is at its lowest position in the ranking since 2021, with just 0.25 points. The biggest change was in Bangladesh, which changed power last year after a government uprising. The country fell from 75th to 100th place.

The global average democracy score has fallen to a new record low of 5.17, down from a high of 5.55 in 2015. Only 6.6% of the world’s population now lives in a full democracy, down from 12.5% a decade ago. And a significant portion of the world’s population—two in five people—live under authoritarian rule.

In particular, in Pakistan, a wave of attacks on parliamentary candidates swept through the week before the election, leaving at least three dead, and the country’s most popular politician, Imran Khan, imprisoned shortly before the election. The country’s score fell from 3.25 in 2023 to 2.84. In Russia, another sham election gave Vladimir Putin a fifth presidential term, giving the country a score of just 2.03 on the index. In other countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Qatar, elections were canceled altogether.

Even in Europe, home to nine of the top ten countries, there have been notable declines. France was downgraded from full democracy to imperfect democracy. This largely reflects a deterioration in government trust after snap parliamentary elections failed to secure a legislative majority for any party or bloc.

Romaniaʼs rating was also downgraded after allegations of Russian interference, illegal election campaigning on social media, and campaign financing irregularities forced the Constitutional Court to annul the results of the presidential election and order a new vote.

In Asia, South Korea fell out of the category of countries with full democracies after President Yoon Seok Yeol declared — and then hastily lifted — martial law, plunging the country into crisis.

The United States remains a flawed democracy, having only moved slightly from its position in 2023 (rising from 29th to 28th). But as the ranking authors note, the country may face bigger problems this year: the first month of President Donald Trumpʼs second term has already called into question the political independence of the civil service and triggered a flurry of executive orders with questionable legal force.

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