About a century ago, there were far fewer democracies than the present day. The aftermath of the Second World War brought about the creation of multiple new democracies, but in spite of the fact that this is the case there have been cases of democratic backsliding. This makes a country less democratic and free than might have been the case otherwise, and the data from V-DEM’s Electoral Democratic Index was used to reveal the state of democracy around the world.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Hungary has seen the most democratic backsliding out of any country on this list. Back in 2010, it had a score of 0.8, but in the years since it has lost 34 points to land at just 0.46 as of 2022. Other countries around it have not fared much better, with Poland going from 0.89 to 0.59 in the same period, Serbia’s score declining from 0.61 to 0.34 and Turkey plummeting from 0.55 to 0.28.
Elsewhere in the world, India has seen a concerning decline in democracy within its borders. It had reached an impressive score of 0.71 in 2010, but by 2022 this had declined to just 0.44 with all things having been considered and taken into account. Afghanistan’s makeshift democracy had managed to score 0.38, but after the Fall of Kabul it has seen its score drop to 0.16 which is among the lowest scores on this list.
However, there are countries that have become more democratic as well. Armenia has managed to bring its score from 0.34 in 2010 to 0.74 in 2022. The African nation of Gambia doubled its score from 0.25 to 0.5, with Tunisia seeing a similar trend up north by going from 0.4 to 0.56.
Also, while India’s decline in democracy is a concerning trend for South Asia, its island neighbor Sri Lanka saw its democracy index rise from 0.42 to 0.57 in the same period. It will be interesting to see where things go from here on out, since the past few years have been a serious stress test for democracies.
H/T: Visualcapitalist
Read next: China and India at the Greatest Risk of Water Scarcity and Sinking Economies
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Hungary has seen the most democratic backsliding out of any country on this list. Back in 2010, it had a score of 0.8, but in the years since it has lost 34 points to land at just 0.46 as of 2022. Other countries around it have not fared much better, with Poland going from 0.89 to 0.59 in the same period, Serbia’s score declining from 0.61 to 0.34 and Turkey plummeting from 0.55 to 0.28.
Elsewhere in the world, India has seen a concerning decline in democracy within its borders. It had reached an impressive score of 0.71 in 2010, but by 2022 this had declined to just 0.44 with all things having been considered and taken into account. Afghanistan’s makeshift democracy had managed to score 0.38, but after the Fall of Kabul it has seen its score drop to 0.16 which is among the lowest scores on this list.
However, there are countries that have become more democratic as well. Armenia has managed to bring its score from 0.34 in 2010 to 0.74 in 2022. The African nation of Gambia doubled its score from 0.25 to 0.5, with Tunisia seeing a similar trend up north by going from 0.4 to 0.56.
Also, while India’s decline in democracy is a concerning trend for South Asia, its island neighbor Sri Lanka saw its democracy index rise from 0.42 to 0.57 in the same period. It will be interesting to see where things go from here on out, since the past few years have been a serious stress test for democracies.
H/T: Visualcapitalist
Read next: China and India at the Greatest Risk of Water Scarcity and Sinking Economies
