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The number of countries classified as democracies increased by two in 2023, to 74, but the global average index score fell to a new low of 5.23 (on a 0-10 scale).
This deterioration in the state of democracy globally was driven mainly by negative developments in non-democracies, including an upsurge of violent conflict and authoritarian crackdowns.
Western Europe was the only region to improve its index score. Scores for every other region deteriorated, with the worst performers being in Latin America & the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, all of which suffered from a rise in crime, insecurity and violent conflict.
Greece was among the winners in the 2023 index, being reclassified as a “full democracy”, while Papua New Guinea and Paraguay progressed from “hybrid regimes” to become “flawed democracies”, and Angola was upgraded from an “authoritarian regime” to a “hybrid regime”. Pakistan was downgraded to an “authoritarian regime”.
Some of the worst-performing countries were in the Sahel and West Africa: Niger (-1.36), Gabon (-1.22), Sierra Leone (-0.71) and Mali (-0.65) all registered sharp reversals as the region slipped further into instability and conflict. The scores for Sudan and Pakistan also plummeted on the back of a new civil war in the former and a political crackdown in the latter.
EIU’s 2023 Democracy Index, launched today, sheds light on trends in democracy globally in 2023, as war and conflict spread across the globe, reinforcing existing negative trends in many countries. The annual index, which provides a snapshot of the state of global democracy, registered a decline in its total score from 5.29 in 2022 to 5.23. The increasing incidence of violent conflict has badly dented the global democracy score.
Democracy Index 2023, by regime type
| No. of countries | % of countries | % of world population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full democracies | 24.0 | 14.4 | 7.8 |
| Flawed democracies | 50.0 | 29.9 | 37.6 |
| Hybrid regimes | 34.0 | 20.4 | 15.2 |
| Authoritarian regimes | 59.0 | 35.3 | 39.4 |
Note. “World” population refers to the total population of the 167 countries covered by the Index. Since this excludes only micro states, this is nearly equal to the entire estimated world population.
Source: EIU.
According to EIU’s measure of democracy, almost half of the world’s population live in a democracy of some sort (45.4%), but only 7.8% reside in a “full democracy” (scores above 8.00). Substantially more than one-third of the world’s population live under authoritarian rule (39.4%). The good news is that the number of democracies increased by two in 2023, with Paraguay and Papua New Guinea being upgraded from “hybrid regimes” to “flawed democracies”. Greece became a “full democracy”, but Chile was reclassified as a “flawed democracy”. Pakistan was downgraded to an “authoritarian regime”, while Angola was upgraded to a “hybrid regime”.
Three years after the covid-19 pandemic, which led to a rollback of freedoms around the globe, the results for 2023 point to a continuing democratic malaise and lack of forward momentum. Only 32 countries improved their index score in 2023, while 68 countries registered a decline. The scores for 67 countries stayed the same, painting a global picture of stagnation and regression. Most of the regression globally occurred among non-democracies, as “authoritarian regimes” became more entrenched and countries classified as “hybrid regimes” struggled to democratise.
The decline in the overall index score was driven by reversals in every region of the world except for western Europe, whose average index score improved by the smallest margin possible (0.01 points). The biggest regressions occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa. Countries in the Sahel and West Africa were also among the worst performers in the 2023 index, as coups and conflicts spread across the region. Adverse developments in Canada drove a decline in North America’s score to 8.27, below that of western Europe (8.37), marking the first time that North America has not placed as the world’s highest-scoring region since the Democracy Index launched in 2006.
The political landscape in the Americas and Europe has become increasingly polarised. More countries are experiencing declining levels of trust in mainstream political parties and leaders, and succumbing to “culture wars” of the sort that have long characterised the US. Western Europe is plagued by low levels of trust in government and is polarised around the issue of immigration. Many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are also exhibiting increased political polarisation. Rising levels of violent crime have also encouraged voters to accept an erosion of democratic norms and civil liberties in return for security at the hands of authoritarian-leaning leaders. In El Salvador, the president, Nayib Bukele, leveraged his success in reducing crime to increase his authoritarian grip on power and erode civil liberties. Ecuador’s score declined sharply as a crime wave related to organised crime led to the assassination of politicians during the 2023 presidential election, putting political stability and democracy at grave risk.
Democratic backsliding in Asia and Australasia stems from other sources, although violent conflict and political crises have played a role in undermining public trust in political institutions, as developments in Afghanistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka attest. The region registered a decline in its average index score in 2023, to 5.41, a new low since the launch of the index in 2006. Of the 28 countries in the region, 15 recorded a decline in their score. In places such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Thailand the dominance of one political party or the outsized influence of the military are such that elections are far from being free, fair or competitive. Elsewhere, governments that have an incumbency advantage, having delivered economic growth and improved living standards, have taken advantage of strong public support to restrict media freedoms or minority rights. India is one such example.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia registered the mildest regression of any region in the world, despite the incidence of war and conflict, and now sits only marginally below Asia and Australasia based on its average score.. Montenegro, on the path to EU accession, registered the biggest improvement in the region. Meanwhile, many countries in the lowest-scoring regions in the world--Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa—are struggling to make any progress in democratisation as they face a seemingly inexorable increase in the incidence of coups, conflict and war.
EIU's Democracy Index 2023 is available free of charge at eiu.com/democracy-index
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