Mapped: The State of Democracy Around the World

Mapped: The State of Democracy Around the World

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The state of global democracy is at 20-year lows, with 83 countries seeing downgrades to their Democracy Index scores in 2024, a historic election year.

In 2024, just 6.6% of the world population lived in “full democracies”, falling from 12.5% a decade ago. Overall, the vast majority of these countries are in Europe, with notable exceptions—such as Japan, Mauritius, and Costa Rica—across other global regions.

This graphic shows the state of democracy across 167 countries, based on data from the EIU’s Democracy Index 2024.

Norway Tops Democracy Index Rankings

Below, we show the Democracy Index rankings in 2024:

Scores have been rounded.

Norway retains its position as the world’s most democratic country for the 16th year in a row.

Overall, the Western European region had an average democracy score of 8.4, the highest globally. Going further, it was the sole region that saw its democracy score increase over 2024.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has remained a “flawed democracy” since 2016, ranking 28th out of 167 nations. Over the past year, its democracy score stood unchanged, at 7.9, which puts it below countries such as Canada, Japan, and Uruguay.

France and South Korea transitioned into “flawed democracies” given political turbulence and deteriorating public confidence in government. On the flip side, Portugal, Estonia, and the Czech Republic upgraded into “full democracies”. In Portugal’s case, fiscal discipline and a thriving tourism sector have supported the country’s improved score.

Breaking Down the State of Democracy in 2024

If we take a look at the world population according to political regime, we can see that authoritarian regimes were the most prevalent in 2024:

In the last decade, the number of authoritarian regimes has risen from 52 to 60 countries, covering 39.2% of the global population.

Today, several BRICS nations fall within this category, including China, Russia, Iran, and Ethiopia. Meanwhile, India is considered a “flawed democracy” given its generally free and fair electoral processes.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic from a global perspective, check out this graphic on satisfaction with democracy across 27 countries in 2024.