Democracy is perhaps the best political system that humanity has come up with so far because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing everyone to have a say in how society is run. However, there are many nations that fail to live up to democratic norms. Based on data revealed by the Economic Intelligence Unit, just 8% of the world’s population currently lives in countries that are fully democratic.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that around 37% live in democracies that are flawed to some extent. A report compiled by the EIU ranked various countries in the Global Democracy Index, and this showed the state of democracy in the present age.
This index was created by assessing democracies based on five categories which incorporated around sixty separate indicators. It turns out that Norway is the most democratic country of all, with an amazing score of 9.81 out of 10. On the other end of the spectrum is Afghanistan, with a democracy score of just 0.32 out of 10 with all things having been considered and taken into account.
Europe’s democratic systems are widely thought to be the strongest of all, and this is proven in the index. Apart from Norway, other Scandinavian nations such as Sweden, Denmark and Finland received scores of 9.39, 9.28 and 9.29 apiece. The worst performers in Europe turned out to be Russia and Belarus, whose scores of 2.28 and 1.99 make them firmly authoritarian regimes.
The US is often considered to be the strongest bastion of democracy in the world, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it only managed a score of 7.85. This is due to significant cultural and political polarization that can be seen in the American democratic process which led to it being labelled democracy at best.
Meanwhile, its northern neighbor Canada fared a lot better with a score of 8.88. This makes Canada one of just three fully functioning democracies across both North and South America, with Costa Rica and Uruguay also getting scored of 8.29 and 8.91 respectively.
Asia has a troubled relationship with democracy, with only Taiwan, Japan and South Korea’s respective scores of 8.99, 8.33 and 8.03 granting them full democracy labels. India is not far behind with a decently impressive score of 7.04, with its subcontinental neighbors Pakistan and Bangladesh only managing scores of 4.13 and 5.99 respectively.
However, many Asian nations are taking great strides in strengthening their democracies. Thailand managed to increase its score by 0.63 points to bring it up to 6.67, and Sri Lanka saw a 0.33 point uptick as well which brought its total score to 6.47.
Once we move to the Middle East, it becomes clear that democracy is in dire straits in the region. Only Israel managed to receive even a flawed democracy label with a score of 7.93. Iran’s score of 1.96, Saudi Arabia’s 2.08 and the UAE’s 2.9 further show that this region is struggling to come to terms with the democratic political system.
All in all, there are few countries that are properly adhering to democratic systems. Most nations range from flawed democracies to outright authoritarianism which is something that will need to change.
H/T: Visualcapitalist
Read next: 8 in 10 Americans believe small, meaningful changes can have a positive global impact
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that around 37% live in democracies that are flawed to some extent. A report compiled by the EIU ranked various countries in the Global Democracy Index, and this showed the state of democracy in the present age.
This index was created by assessing democracies based on five categories which incorporated around sixty separate indicators. It turns out that Norway is the most democratic country of all, with an amazing score of 9.81 out of 10. On the other end of the spectrum is Afghanistan, with a democracy score of just 0.32 out of 10 with all things having been considered and taken into account.
Europe’s democratic systems are widely thought to be the strongest of all, and this is proven in the index. Apart from Norway, other Scandinavian nations such as Sweden, Denmark and Finland received scores of 9.39, 9.28 and 9.29 apiece. The worst performers in Europe turned out to be Russia and Belarus, whose scores of 2.28 and 1.99 make them firmly authoritarian regimes.
The US is often considered to be the strongest bastion of democracy in the world, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it only managed a score of 7.85. This is due to significant cultural and political polarization that can be seen in the American democratic process which led to it being labelled democracy at best.
Meanwhile, its northern neighbor Canada fared a lot better with a score of 8.88. This makes Canada one of just three fully functioning democracies across both North and South America, with Costa Rica and Uruguay also getting scored of 8.29 and 8.91 respectively.
Asia has a troubled relationship with democracy, with only Taiwan, Japan and South Korea’s respective scores of 8.99, 8.33 and 8.03 granting them full democracy labels. India is not far behind with a decently impressive score of 7.04, with its subcontinental neighbors Pakistan and Bangladesh only managing scores of 4.13 and 5.99 respectively.
However, many Asian nations are taking great strides in strengthening their democracies. Thailand managed to increase its score by 0.63 points to bring it up to 6.67, and Sri Lanka saw a 0.33 point uptick as well which brought its total score to 6.47.
Once we move to the Middle East, it becomes clear that democracy is in dire straits in the region. Only Israel managed to receive even a flawed democracy label with a score of 7.93. Iran’s score of 1.96, Saudi Arabia’s 2.08 and the UAE’s 2.9 further show that this region is struggling to come to terms with the democratic political system.
All in all, there are few countries that are properly adhering to democratic systems. Most nations range from flawed democracies to outright authoritarianism which is something that will need to change.
H/T: Visualcapitalist
Read next: 8 in 10 Americans believe small, meaningful changes can have a positive global impact
