Democracy isn’t making much progress globally

Three years after the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a rollback of freedoms across the globe, the results of a 2023 study point to a “continuing democratic malaise and lack of forward momentum.”

That’s the core finding by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) of The Economist Group in London. Since 2006, the EIU has been issuing annually a global Democracy Index, or DI. Based on 60 indicators grouped in five categories, the Index is drawn up by 750 country experts worldwide. It provides a snapshot of the current state of democracy in 165 independent countries – including the Philippines – and two territories.

The electoral process and pluralism, the functioning of government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties – these were the categories that were examined.

In 2023, only 32 of 167 countries/territories studied improved their DI scores, while 68 nations registered declines. The scores for 67 countries remained the same. The global score fell to 5.23, a new low since 2006, resulting in a “global picture of stagnation and regression,” the EIU reported.

The countries were listed under four types: 1) “Full democracies” numbering 24, comprising 14.4 percent of the total and 7.8 percent of the global population; 2) “Flawed democracies” 50 in all, 29.9 percent of the total, 37.16 percent of global population; 3) “Hybrid regimes” numbering 34, 20.4 percent of the total, 15.2 percent of world population and 4) “Authoritarian regimes” 59 in all, 35.3 percent of the total, 39.4 percent of global population.

The Democracy Index is measured from 0 to 10. Asia and Australasia (Oceania) region’s score slipped from 5.46 to 5.41. Of the region’s 23 countries, 15 recorded declines, only eight improved. However, the region outperformed Eastern Europe, Sub-Sahara Africa and the Middle East and North Africa regions. Five “full democracies” are in this region, namely Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

The top 15 “full democracies” with their corresponding overall scores are the following:

Norway (9.81), New Zealand (9.61), Iceland (9.45), Sweden (9.39), Finland (9.30), Denmark (9.28), Ireland (9.15), Switzerland (9.14), Netherlands