aHalf of the world’s population lives in the locations where the election was held in 2024. Approximately 16.5 billion votes have been held in more than 70 countries. But while the number of democratic elections in a year has never been higher than ever, 2024 has also posed a major challenge. Global democracy is in worse condition than at any point in the index’s nearly two-year history, according to the latest Democracy Index issued by sister company EIU on February 27th.
Since 2006, the EIU has acquired 167 countries and territory on a scale of 10 from zero, based on five criteria: election process and pluralism, government functioning, political participation, political culture and civil liberty. Countries are then grouped into four categories: complete democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime, authoritarian regime.
For the 16th consecutive year, Norway has been nominated as the world’s most democratic country with a score of 9.81. New Zealand and Sweden followed. Afghanistan is the lowest country since 2021, earning just 0.25 points. The biggest change came from Bangladesh, where 25 locations fell. The reconstruction of democracy comes with enormous work after the expulsion of Sheikh Hasina, the country’s longtime dictatorial ruler. However, there is a cause of optimism. The temporary technocratic government led by Nobel Peace recipient Muhammad Yunus restored order and stabilized the economy. For these reasons, we named Bangladesh the country of this year in 2024.
Chart: Economist
The global average fell from a high of 5.55 in 2015 to a new record low of 5.17. Only 6.6% of the world’s population lives in a complete democracy from 12.5% a decade ago. And the majority of the world’s population, that is, two in five — exists under authoritarian rules.
Despite the promise of global election luxury, some of the votes were farces. For example, the election day in Pakistan was undermined by violence. Imran Khan, the most popular politician, is suspected of his democratic qualifications, but was imprisoned just before the election was held. The national score fell to 2.84 from 3.25 in 2023. In Russia, Vladimir Putin gave him his fifth term as president in another false election. It scored just two points in the index. Other countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Catar have cancelled elections entirely.
Even Europe has shown some notable declines, even between nine and nine of the top 10 countries in the index. France was downgraded from a complete democracy to a flawed democracy. This primarily reflects the worsening government confidence score after President Emmanuel Macron’s snap election in June failed to secure a single party or bloc legislative majority. (At the year, four different prime ministers also had little to promote trust.) Romania was downgraded after allegations of Russian interference, illegal social media tactics and campaign finance violations. In Asia, South Korea was declared and quickly revoked by President Yoon Soo-Yeol – dropped out of the category of all democracy after declaring it put the country in crisis.
America remains a flawed democracy, shifting slightly from its position in 2023. However, this year could face more problems. The first month of President Donald Trump’s second term has already challenged the political independence of civil servants and saw a gust of executive orders from questionable legal authorities.
Trump’s victory in 2024 was part of a wider global backlash against incumbents. The next test of global democracy in 2025 is how these newly elected leaders choose how they govern.■
