Democracy Index

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 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 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]

Methodology

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:

"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).^[3]^[1]

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

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]

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	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%

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.

Year 2020
Rank	Region	Countries	Authoritarian	Hybrid regime	Flawed democracy	Full democracy	Average score
1	North America	2	0	0	1	1	8.58
2	Western Europe	21	0	1	7	13	8.29
3	Latin America and the Caribbean	24	3	5	13	3	6.09
4	Asia and Australasia	28	7	6	10	5	5.62
5	Central and Eastern Europe	28	7	8	13	0	5.36
6	Sub-Saharan Africa	44	24	13	6	1	4.16
7	Middle East and North Africa	20	16	2	2	0	3.44
	World	167	57	35	52	23	5.37

By country

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

Region	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
North America	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

Score changes

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

Country	2006	2008	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020


North America
Canada	9.07		0.01						0.07			0.07	0.02
United States	8.22		0.04	0.07				0.06	0.07		0.02		0.04
Western Europe
Austria	8.69	0.20			0.13	0.14	0.06		0.13	0.01	0.13		0.13
Belgium	8.15	0.01	0.11				0.12		0.16	0.01		0.14	0.13
Cyprus	7.60	0.10	0.41				0.11	0.13	0.12	0.06			0.03
Denmark	9.52					0.14	0.27		0.09	0.02			0.07
Finland	9.25		0.06	0.13		0.03					0.11	0.11	0.05
France	8.07		0.30		0.11	0.04	0.12	0.12		0.12		0.32	0.13
Germany	8.82		0.44	0.04		0.03	0.33		0.01	0.02	0.07		0.01
Greece	8.13		0.21	0.27			0.20		0.22	0.06		0.14	0.04
Iceland	9.71	0.06					0.07		0.08	0.08			0.21
Ireland	9.01		0.22	0.23		0.12	0.04	0.13	0.30			0.09	0.19
Italy	7.73	0.25	0.15	0.09		0.11		0.13			0.27	0.19	0.22
Luxembourg	9.10		0.22						0.07				0.13
Malta	8.39		0.11				0.11			0.24	0.06	0.26	0.27
Netherlands	9.66	0.13	0.54			0.15	0.08		0.12	0.09		0.12	0.05
Norway	9.55	0.13	0.12		0.13					0.06			0.06
Portugal	8.16	0.11	0.03	0.21	0.11	0.27	0.14		0.07	0.02		0.19	0.13
Spain	8.34	0.11	0.29	0.14			0.03	0.25		0.22		0.21	0.17
Sweden	9.88		0.38		0.23			0.28	0.06				0.13
Switzerland	9.02	0.13	0.06							0.06			0.20
Turkey	5.70	0.01	0.04		0.03	0.13	0.51		0.08	0.16	0.51	0.28	0.39
United Kingdom	8.08	0.07	0.01		0.05	0.10			0.05	0.17		0.01	0.02
Central and Eastern Europe
Albania	5.91		0.05	0.05	0.14			0.24		0.07		0.09	0.19
Armenia	4.15	0.06				0.07	0.11	0.13	0.12	0.23	0.68	0.75	0.19
Azerbaijan	3.31	0.12	0.04			0.09	0.23	0.12	0.06			0.10	0.07
Belarus	3.34			0.18	0.12		0.65	0.07	0.08	0.41		0.65	0.11
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	0.02
Bulgaria	7.10	0.08	0.18	0.06	0.06	0.11	0.10	0.41	0.13	0.02			0.32
Croatia	7.04		0.23	0.08	0.20				0.18	0.12	0.06		0.07
Czech Republic	8.17	0.02				0.13	0.12		0.12	0.20	0.07		0.02
Estonia	7.74	0.06		0.07			0.13	0.11		0.06	0.18	0.07	0.06
Georgia	4.90	0.28	0.03	0.15	0.79	0.42	0.13	0.06	0.05		0.43	0.08	0.11
Hungary	7.53	0.09	0.23	0.17	0.08		0.06	0.06	0.12	0.08	0.01		0.07
Kazakhstan	3.62	0.17	0.15	0.06	0.29	0.11	0.11	0.11			0.12		0.20
Kyrgyzstan	4.08	0.03	0.26	0.03	0.35		0.55	0.09	0.40	0.18		0.22	0.67
Latvia	7.37	0.14	0.18				0.43	0.11	0.06	0.06	0.13	0.11	0.25
Lithuania	7.43	0.07	0.12			0.30			0.07	0.06	0.09		0.37
Moldova	6.50		0.17	0.01				0.03	0.34	0.07	0.09	0.10	0.03
Montenegro	6.57	0.14	0.16	0.12	0.10	0.11		0.07	0.29	0.03	0.05	0.09	0.12
North Macedonia	6.33	0.12	0.05				0.09	0.23	0.79	0.34	0.30	0.10	0.08
Poland	7.30		0.25	0.07			0.35	0.38	0.26	0.16		0.05	0.23
Romania	7.06		0.46	0.06			0.14		0.06	0.18	0.06	0.11	0.09
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	0.20
Serbia	6.62	0.13	0.16			0.34	0.04		0.14	0.16			0.19
Slovakia	7.40	0.07	0.02					0.06		0.13	0.06	0.07	0.20
Slovenia	7.96		0.27	0.07	0.12		0.31		0.06	0.01			0.04
Tajikistan	2.45		0.06				0.14	0.42	0.06	0.04			0.01
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	0.09
Uzbekistan	1.85	0.11			0.02		0.73	0.50			0.06		0.11
Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentina	6.63		0.21					0.18	0.06		0.06		0.07
Bolivia	5.98	0.17	0.23	0.08		0.05		0.04	0.12	0.14	0.21	0.86	0.24
Brazil	7.38		0.26				0.26	0.42	0.06	0.04	0.11	0.11	0.04
Chile	7.89		0.22	0.13		0.26		0.04	0.06	0.06	0.13	0.11	0.20
Colombia	6.40	0.14	0.01	0.08		0.08		0.07	0.05		0.29	0.17	0.09
Costa Rica	8.04			0.06		0.07		0.07	0.08		0.19	0.06	0.03
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		0.22
Ecuador	5.64		0.13	0.05	0.06	0.09			0.06	0.21	0.25	0.06	0.20
El Salvador	6.22	0.18	0.07			0.06		0.11		0.21	0.47	0.19	0.25
Guatemala	6.07		0.02	0.17		0.07		0.11		0.06	0.26	0.34	0.29
Guyana	6.15	0.03	0.07				0.14	0.14	0.20	0.21	0.21	0.52	0.14
Haiti	4.19		0.19		0.04	0.02	0.12	0.12	0.08	0.01	0.88	0.34	0.35
Honduras	6.25	0.07	0.42	0.08					0.08	0.20	0.09	0.21	0.06
Jamaica	7.34	0.13		0.08	0.26					0.10	0.27	0.06	0.17
Mexico	6.67	0.11	0.15		0.03	0.01	0.23	0.13	0.08	0.06	0.22	0.10	0.02
Nicaragua	5.68	0.39	0.34	0.17		0.10	0.14	0.06	0.45	0.15	1.03	0.08	0.05
Panama	7.35		0.20	0.07				0.11	0.06	0.05	0.03		0.13
Paraguay	6.16	0.24			0.14			0.07	0.06	0.04	0.07		0.06
Peru	6.11	0.20	0.09	0.19	0.12	0.07		0.04	0.07	0.16	0.11		0.07
Suriname	6.52	0.06	0.07			0.12				0.01	0.22		0.16
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		0.23
Venezuela	5.42	0.08	0.16	0.10	0.07	0.08		0.07	0.32	0.81	0.71	0.28	0.04
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			0.13
Bangladesh	6.11	0.59	0.35	0.01			0.08	0.05		0.30	0.14	0.31	0.11
Bhutan	2.62	1.68	0.38	0.11	0.08	0.17	0.05	0.06		0.15	0.22		0.41
Cambodia	4.77	0.10			0.09	0.36	0.18	0.51		0.64	0.04	0.06	0.43
China	2.97	0.07	0.10		0.14			0.14	0.04	0.08	0.22	1.06	0.01
Fiji	5.66	0.55	1.49	0.05		0.06	2.00	0.08	0.05	0.21			0.13
Hong Kong	6.03	0.18	0.07		0.50		0.04	0.04	0.08	0.11	0.16	0.13	0.45
India	7.68	0.12	0.52	0.02	0.22	0.17	0.23	0.18	0.07	0.58		0.33	0.29
Indonesia	6.41	0.07	0.19		0.23	0.06	0.13	0.08	0.06	0.58		0.09	0.18
Japan	8.15	0.10	0.17					0.12	0.03	0.11	0.11		0.14
Laos	2.10				0.22	0.11			0.16			0.23	0.37
Malaysia	5.98	0.38	0.17		0.22	0.08		0.06	0.11		0.34	0.28	0.03
Mongolia	6.60		0.24	0.13	0.12	0.16	0.11			0.12			0.02
Myanmar	1.77				0.58	0.41	0.29	1.09	0.06	0.37		0.28	0.51
Nepal	3.42	0.63	0.19		0.08	0.61			0.09	0.32		0.10	0.06
New Zealand	9.01	0.18	0.07										0.01
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	0.06
Papua New Guinea	6.54			0.22		0.04	0.33						0.07
Philippines	6.48	0.36			0.18	0.11	0.36	0.07	0.10	0.23		0.07	0.08
Singapore	5.89				0.01	0.04	0.11	0.11	0.24	0.06	0.06	0.36	0.01
South Korea	7.88	0.13	0.10	0.05	0.07	0.07		0.09	0.05	0.08			0.01
Sri Lanka	6.58	0.03	0.03	0.06	0.83	0.06		0.73	0.06		0.29	0.08	0.13
Taiwan	7.82		0.30	0.06	0.11		0.08	0.18	0.04	0.06			1.21
Thailand	5.67	1.14	0.26			0.30	0.86	0.30	0.17	0.29		1.69	0.28
Timor-Leste	6.41	0.81			0.06	0.08				0.05			0.13
Vietnam	2.75	0.22	0.41	0.02	0.07	0.40	0.12	0.12	0.15	0.30			0.14
Middle East and North Africa
Algeria	3.17	0.15	0.12		0.39			0.12	0.39		0.06	0.51	0.24
Bahrain	3.53	0.15	0.11	0.57	0.39	0.34		0.08		0.08		0.16	0.06
Egypt	3.90	0.01	0.82	0.88	0.61	1.29	0.11	0.02	0.13	0.05		0.30	0.13
Iran	2.93	0.10	0.89	0.04				0.18	0.18	0.11		0.07	0.18
Iraq	4.01	0.01		0.03	0.07		0.13	0.15		0.01	0.03	0.32	0.12
Israel	7.28	0.20		0.05			0.10	0.14	0.08	0.06		0.07	0.02
Jordan	3.92	0.01	0.19	0.15	0.13			0.10	0.10	0.09	0.06		0.31
Kuwait	3.09	0.30	0.49	0.14	0.04			0.07				0.08	0.13
Lebanon	5.82	0.20	0.20	0.50	0.27		0.07	0.26		0.14	0.09	0.27	0.20
Libya	1.84	0.16	0.06	1.61	1.60	0.33	1.02	1.55		0.07	0.13	0.17	0.07
Morocco	3.90	0.02	0.09	0.04	0.24		0.07	0.66	0.11	0.10	0.12	0.11	0.06
Oman	2.77	0.21	0.12	0.40			0.11	0.11				0.02	0.06
Palestine	6.01	0.18	0.39	0.47	0.17		0.08	0.15	0.08	0.03	0.07	0.50	0.06
Qatar	2.78	0.14	0.17	0.09						0.01			0.05
Saudi Arabia	1.92	0.02	0.06	0.07	0.06	0.11		0.11					0.15
Sudan	2.90	0.09	0.39	0.04		0.16		0.17		0.22		0.55	0.16
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	0.13
United Arab Emirates	2.42	0.18	0.08	0.06		0.06	0.12	0.11		0.06	0.07		0.16
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	0.06
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	0.51
Botswana	7.60	0.13	0.16		0.22	0.13	0.11			0.06			0.19
Burkina Faso	3.72	0.12	0.01		0.07	0.63	0.06	0.61		0.05		0.71	0.31
Burundi	4.51		0.50		0.41	0.19	0.08	0.84	0.09	0.07		0.18	0.01
Cape Verde	7.43	0.38	0.13	0.02			0.11		0.13	0.06		0.10	0.13
Cameroon	3.27	0.19	0.05		0.03	0.03		0.25	0.20	0.15	0.33	0.43	0.08
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		0.06
Comoros	3.90	0.32	0.17	0.11				0.19				0.56	0.06
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	0.06
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	0.06
Equatorial Guinea	2.09	0.10	0.35	0.07	0.06	0.06	0.11	0.11	0.07	0.11	0.11

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