The latest Democracy Index from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) shows that global democracy continues its retreat.
The Index provides a global snapshot of democracy and uses a number of pillars to determine how robust democracy is globally and in individual countries.
Countries are divided into four categories – full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes.
The latest report shows that thanks to a combination of continued restrictions of individual liberty due to Covid-19 and growing authoritarianism around the world there has been some significant democratic backsliding. The report asks: ‘The creeping authoritarianism that has accompanied the pandemic raises questions about whether, in what circumstances and for how long, governments and citizens are prepared to undermine democratic rights in the cause of public health.’
Measured out of 10, global democracy had a score of 5.28 in 2021, compared to 5.37 in 2020, the lowest recorded global index score since the Index was first introduced in 2006.
In addition, the proportion of the world’s population that lives in either a full or flawed democracy has fallen from 49.4% in 2020 to 45.7% in 2021.
South Africa is ranked as a flawed democracy. The only African country that is ranked as a ‘full democracy’ is Mauritius, while Botswana, Cape Verde, Namibia, Ghana, and Lesotho are the only other countries in Africa which are ranked as flawed democracies. All other African countries are either hybrid or authoritarian regimes.
The country with the highest score on the index is Norway, with the top five rounded out by New Zealand and three other Nordic countries – Finland, Sweden, and Iceland. On the other end of the scale, Afghanistan was ranked as the least free country on Earth, with the rest of the bottom five being made up of Myanmar, North Korea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic.