Democracy Index - wikipedia Democracy Index The Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index map for 2017. Bluer colours represent more democratic countries as reported by the company. The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the UK - based company the Economist Intelligence Unit ( EIU ) that intends to measure the state of democracy in 167 countries, of which 166 are sovereign states and 165 are UN member states. The index was first produced in 2006, with updates for 2008, 2010 and the following years since then. The index is based on 60 indicators grouped in five different categories measuring pluralism, civil liberties and political culture. In addition to a numeric score and a ranking, the index categorises countries as one of four regime types : full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes. Contents 1 Method 2 Classification definitions 3 Democracy Index by country ( 2017 ) 4 Changes from 2010 onwards 5 Democracy Index by regime type 6 Democracy Index by region 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Method Part of the Politics series Democracy History Types Anticipatory Athenian Cellular Consensus Cosmopolitan Defensive Delegative Deliberative Direct Economic Electronic Empowered Ethnic Grassroots Guided Inclusive Industrial Interactive Jacksonian Jeffersonian Liberal / Illiberal Media Multiparty New Non-partisan Participatory People 's Popular Procedural Radical Representative Religious Christian Islamic Jewish Mormon Sectarian Semi Semi-direct Social Socialist Sociocracy Sovereign Soviet Substantive Totalitarian Workplace Related topics Anarchism Kleroterion Democratic capitalism Democratic centralism Democratic confederalism Democratic republic Democratic socialism Democratization Democracy and economic growth Democracy in Marxism Democracy promotion Liberalism Libertarianism Majoritarianism Motion Ochlocracy People 's democratic dictatorship Polyarchy Sortition Tyranny of the majority Voting Wars between democracies Wave of democracy Politics portal As described in the report, the democracy index is a weighted average based on the answers of 60 questions, each one with either two or three permitted alternative answers. Most answers are `` experts ' assessments '' ; the report does not indicate what kinds of experts, nor their number, nor whether the experts are employees of the Economist Intelligence Unit or independent scholars, nor the nationalities of the experts. Some answers are provided by public - opinion surveys from the respective countries. In the case of countries for which survey results are missing, survey results for similar countries and expert assessments are used in order to fill in gaps. The questions are distributed in the five categories : electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation, and political culture. Each answer is translated to a mark, either 0 or 1, or for the three - answer alternative questions, 0.5. With the exceptions mentioned below, the sums are added within each category, multiplied by ten, and divided by the total number of questions within the category. There are a few modifying dependencies, which are explained much more precisely than the main rule procedures. In a few cases, an answer yielding zero for one question voids another question ; e.g., if the elections for the national legislature and head of government are not considered free ( question 1 ), then the next question, `` Are elections... fair ? '' is not considered, but automatically marked zero. Likewise, there are a few questions considered so important that a low score on them yields a penalty on the total score sum for their respective categories, namely : `` Whether national elections are free and fair '' ; `` The security of voters '' ; `` The influence of foreign powers on government '' ; `` The capability of the civil servants to implement policies ''. The five category indices, which are listed in the report, are then averaged to find the Democracy Index for a given country. Finally, the Democracy Index, rounded to two decimals, decides the regime type classification of the country. The report discusses other indices of democracy, as defined e.g. by Freedom House, and argues for some of the choices made by the team from the Economist Intelligence Unit. In this comparison, a higher emphasis has been put on the public opinion and attitudes, as measured by surveys, but on the other hand, economic living standard has not been weighted as one criterion of democracy ( as seemingly some other investigators have done ). The report is widely cited in the international press as well as in peer reviewed academic journals. Classification definitions Full democracies are nations where civil liberties and basic political freedoms are not only respected, but also reinforced by a political culture conducive to the thriving of democratic principles. These nations have a valid system of governmental checks and balances, independent judiciary whose decisions are enforced, governments that function adequately, and media that is diverse and independent. These nations have only limited problems in democratic functioning. Flawed democracies are nations where elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are honored but may have issues ( e.g. media freedom infringement ). Nonetheless, these nations have significant faults in other democratic aspects, including underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance. Hybrid regimes are nations where consequential irregularities exist in elections regularly preventing them from being fair and free. These nations commonly have governments that apply pressure on political opponents, non independent judiciaries, and have widespread corruption, harassment and pressure placed on the media, anemic rule of law, and more pronounced faults than flawed democracies in the realms of underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance. Authoritarian regimes are nations where political pluralism has vanished or is extremely limited. These nations are often absolute monarchies or dictatorships, may have some conventional institutions of democracy but with meager significance, infringements and abuses of civil liberties are commonplace, elections ( if they take place ) are not fair and free, the media is often state - owned or controlled by groups associated with the ruling regime, the judiciary is not independent, and they are characterised by the presence of omnipresent censorship and suppression of governmental criticism. Democracy Index by country ( 2017 ) Listing by country is available on The Economist website. Democracy Index 2017 Rank Country Score Electoral process and pluralism Functioning of government Political participation Political culture Civil liberties Category Norway 9.87 10.00 9.64 10.00 10.00 9.71 Full democracy Iceland 9.58 10.00 9.29 8.89 10.00 9.71 Full democracy Sweden 9.39 9.58 9.64 8.33 10.00 9.41 Full democracy New Zealand 9.26 10.00 9.29 8.89 8.13 10.00 Full democracy 5 Denmark 9.22 10.00 9.29 8.33 9.38 9.12 Full democracy = 6 Ireland 9.15 9.58 7.86 8.33 10.00 10.00 Full democracy = 6 Canada 9.15 9.58 9.64 7.78 8.75 10.00 Full democracy 8 Australia 9.09 10.00 8.93 7.78 8.75 10.00 Full democracy = 9 Finland 9.03 10.00 8.93 7.78 8.75 9.71 Full democracy = 9 Switzerland 9.03 9.58 9.29 7.78 9.38 9.12 Full democracy 11 Netherlands 8.89 9.58 9.29 8.33 8.13 9.12 Full democracy 12 Luxembourg 8.81 10.00 8.93 6.67 8.75 9.71 Full democracy 13 Germany 8.61 9.58 8.21 8.33 7.50 9.41 Full democracy 14 United Kingdom 8.53 9.58 7.50 8.33 8.13 9.12 Full democracy 15 Austria 8.42 9.58 8.21 8.33 6.88 9.12 Full democracy 16 Mauritius 8.22 9.17 8.21 5.56 8.75 9.41 Full democracy 17 Malta 8.15 9.17 8.21 6.11 8.75 8.53 Full democracy 18 Uruguay 8.12 10.00 8.93 4.44 7.50 9.71 Full democracy 19 Spain 8.08 9.17 7.14 7.78 7.50 8.82 Full democracy Rank Country Score Electoral process and pluralism Functioning of government Political participation Political culture Civil liberties Category 20 South Korea 8.00 9.17 7.89 7.22 7.50 8.24 Flawed democracy = 21 United States 7.98 9.17 7.14 7.22 8.13 8.24 Flawed democracy = 21 Italy 7.98 9.58 6.43 7.22 8.13 8.53 Flawed democracy = 23 Japan 7.88 8.75 8.21 6.11 7.50 8.82 Flawed democracy = 23 Cape Verde 7.88 9.17 7.86 6.67 6.88 9.12 Flawed democracy = 23 Costa Rica 7.88 9.58 7.14 6.67 6.88 9.12 Flawed democracy = 26 Chile 7.84 9.58 8.57 4.44 7.50 9.12 Flawed democracy = 26 Portugal 7.84 9.58 7.50 6.11 6.88 9.12 Flawed democracy 28 Botswana 7.81 9.17 7.14 6.11 7.50 9.12 Flawed democracy 29 France 7.80 9.58 7.50 7.78 5.63 8.53 Flawed democracy = 30 Estonia 7.79 9.58 7.86 6.11 6.88 8.53 Flawed democracy = 30 Israel 7.79 9.17 7.50 8.89 7.50 5.88 Flawed democracy 32 Belgium 7.78 9.58 8.93 5.00 6.88 8.53 Flawed democracy 33 Taiwan 7.73 9.58 8.21 6.11 5.63 9.12 Flawed democracy 34 Czech Republic 7.62 9.58 6.43 6.67 6.88 8.53 Flawed democracy 35 Cyprus 7.59 9.17 6.43 6.67 6.88 8.82 Flawed democracy 36 Slovenia 7.50 9.58 6.79 6.67 6.25 8.24 Flawed democracy 37 Lithuania 7.41 9.58 5.71 6.11 6.25 9.41 Flawed democracy = 38 Greece 7.29 9.58 5.36 6.11 6.88 8.53 Flawed democracy = 38 Jamaica 7.29 9.17 7.14 4.44 6.88 8.82 Flawed democracy 40 Latvia 7.25 9.58 5.71 5.56 6.88 8.53 Flawed democracy 41 South Africa 7.24 7.42 7.50 8.33 5.00 7.94 Flawed democracy 42 India 7.23 9.17 6.97 7.22 5.63 7.35 Flawed democracy 43 Timor - Leste 7.19 9.08 6.97 5.56 6.88 7.65 Flawed democracy 44 Slovakia 7.16 9.58 6.97 5.56 5.63 8.24 Flawed democracy 45 Panama 7.08 9.58 6.97 6.11 5.00 7.94 Flawed democracy 46 Trinidad and Tobago 7.04 9.58 7.14 5.56 5.00 7.94 Flawed democracy 47 Bulgaria 7.03 9.17 6.43 7.22 4.38 7.94 Flawed democracy 48 Argentina 6.96 9.17 5.00 6.11 6.88 7.65 Flawed democracy 49 Brazil 6.86 9.58 5.36 6.11 3.75 8.24 Flawed democracy 50 Suriname 6.76 9.17 6.43 5.56 5.00 7.65 Flawed democracy 51 Philippines 6.71 9.17 5.71 7.22 4.38 7.06 Flawed democracy 52 Ghana 6.69 8.33 5.71 6.67 6.25 6.47 Flawed democracy = 53 Poland 6.67 9.17 6.07 6.11 4.38 7.65 Flawed democracy = 53 Colombia 6.67 9.17 6.79 4.44 4.38 7.94 Flawed democracy 55 Dominican Republic 6.66 9.17 5.36 6.11 6.25 7.06 Flawed democracy = 56 Lesotho 6.64 9.17 5.00 6.67 5.63 6.76 Flawed democracy = 56 Hungary 6.64 8.75 6.07 4.44 6.88 7.06 Flawed democracy 58 Croatia 6.63 9.17 5.36 5.56 5.00 6.76 Flawed democracy 59 Malaysia 6.54 6.92 7.14 6.11 6.25 7.06 Flawed democracy 60 Mongolia 6.50 9.17 5.71 5.56 5.00 6.76 Flawed democracy 61 Peru 6.49 9.17 5.36 5.56 5.00 7.35 Flawed democracy 62 Sri Lanka 6.48 7.83 7.14 5.00 6.25 6.18 Flawed democracy 63 Guyana 6.46 8.75 5.71 6.11 4.38 7.35 Flawed democracy 64 Romania 6.44 9.17 5.71 5.00 4.38 7.94 Flawed democracy 65 El Salvador 6.43 9.17 5.36 4.44 5.00 7.06 Flawed democracy = 66 Serbia 6.41 8.25 5.36 6.67 5.00 7.35 Flawed democracy = 66 Mexico 6.41 7.83 6.43 7.22 4.38 6.18 Flawed democracy 68 Indonesia 6.39 6.92 7.14 6.67 5.63 5.59 Flawed democracy = 69 Tunisia 6.32 6.00 5.71 7.78 6.25 5.88 Flawed democracy = 69 Singapore 6.32 4.33 7.86 6.11 6.25 7.06 Flawed democracy = 71 Hong Kong 6.31 3.92 6.07 5.56 7.50 8.53 Flawed democracy = 71 Namibia 6.31 5.67 5.36 6.67 5.63 8.24 Flawed democracy = 71 Paraguay 6.31 8.75 6.07 5.00 4.38 7.35 Flawed democracy 74 Senegal 6.15 7.50 6.07 4.44 6.25 6.47 Flawed democracy 75 Papua New Guinea 6.03 6.92 6.07 3.89 5.63 7.65 Flawed democracy 76 Ecuador 6.02 8.75 4.64 5.56 4.38 6.76 Flawed democracy Rank Country Score Electoral process and pluralism Functioning of government Political participation Political culture Civil liberties Category 77 Albania 5.98 7.00 4.71 5.56 5.00 7.65 Hybrid regime 78 Moldova 5.94 7.50 4.64 6.11 4.38 7.06 Hybrid regime 79 Georgia 5.93 8.67 4.29 6.11 5.00 5.59 Hybrid regime 80 Guatemala 5.86 7.92 5.71 3.89 5.00 6.76 Hybrid regime 81 Fiji 5.85 6.58 5.36 6.11 5.63 5.59 Hybrid regime 82 Honduras 5.72 8.25 5.36 4.44 4.38 6.18 Hybrid regime = 83 Ukraine 5.69 6.17 3.21 6.67 6.25 6.18 Hybrid regime = 83 Montenegro 5.69 6.08 5.36 5.56 4.38 7.06 Hybrid regime 85 Zambia 5.68 6.17 5.00 3.89 6.88 6.47 Hybrid regime 86 Mali 5.64 7.42 3.93 4.44 6.25 6.18 Hybrid regime 87 Benin 5.61 6.50 5.36 5.00 5.63 5.59 Hybrid regime 88 Macedonia 5.57 6.50 5.00 5.56 3.75 7.06 Hybrid regime = 89 Bolivia 5.49 7.00 4.64 5.00 3.75 7.06 Hybrid regime = 89 Malawi 5.49 6.58 4.29 4.44 6.25 5.88 Hybrid regime 91 Tanzania 5.47 7.00 5.00 5.00 5.63 4.71 Hybrid regime 92 Bangladesh 5.43 7.42 5.07 5.00 4.38 5.29 Hybrid regime 93 Liberia 5.23 7.42 2.57 5.56 5.00 5.59 Hybrid regime 94 Nepal 5.18 4.33 5.36 5.00 5.63 5.59 Hybrid regime = 95 Kenya 5.11 3.50 5.36 6.67 5.63 4.41 Hybrid regime = 95 Kyrgyzstan 5.11 6.58 2.93 6.67 4.38 5.00 Hybrid regime = 95 Madagascar 5.11 6.08 3.57 5.56 5.63 4.71 Hybrid regime 98 Uganda 5.09 5.25 3.57 3.89 6.88 5.88 Hybrid regime 99 Bhutan 5.08 8.33 6.07 2.78 4.38 3.82 Hybrid regime 100 Turkey 4.88 5.33 6.07 5.00 5.63 2.35 Hybrid regime = 101 Morocco 4.87 5.25 4.64 4.44 5.63 4.41 Hybrid regime = 101 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4.87 6.50 2.93 5.00 3.75 6.18 Hybrid regime 103 Burkina Faso 4.75 4.42 4.29 4.44 5.63 5.00 Hybrid regime 104 Lebanon 4.72 3.50 2.57 7.22 5.63 4.71 Hybrid regime = 105 Sierra Leone 4.66 6.58 1.86 3.33 6.25 5.29 Hybrid regime = 105 Nicaragua 4.66 3.42 3.29 3.89 5.63 7.06 Hybrid regime 107 Thailand 4.63 3.00 4.29 5.00 5.00 5.88 Hybrid regime 108 Palestine 4.46 3.83 2.50 7.78 4.38 3.82 Hybrid regime 109 Nigeria 4.44 6.08 4.64 3.33 3.75 4.41 Hybrid regime 110 Pakistan 4.26 6.50 5.36 2.22 2.50 4.71 Hybrid regime 111 Armenia 4.11 5.25 2.86 5.00 1.88 5.59 Hybrid regime 112 Iraq 4.09 4.33 0.07 7.22 5.00 3.82 Hybrid regime 113 Gambia 4.06 4.48 3.93 3.33 5.63 2.94 Hybrid regime 114 Haiti 4.03 5.17 2.21 2.22 4.38 6.18 Hybrid regime 115 Mozambique 4.02 4.42 2.14 5.00 5.00 3.53 Hybrid regime Rank Country Score Electoral process and pluralism Functioning of government Political participation Political culture Civil liberties Category 116 Ivory Coast 3.93 4.42 2.14 3.33 5.63 4.12 Authoritarian = 117 Jordan 3.87 3.58 4.29 3.89 4.38 3.24 Authoritarian = 117 Venezuela 3.87 2.17 2.86 6.11 4.38 3.82 Authoritarian 119 Kuwait 3.85 3.17 4.29 3.89 4.38 3.53 Authoritarian 120 Myanmar 3.83 3.67 3.93 3.89 5.63 2.06 Authoritarian 121 Mauritania 3.82 3.00 3.57 5.00 3.13 4.41 Authoritarian 122 Niger 3.76 5.25 1.14 3.33 4.38 4.71 Authoritarian 123 Comoros 3.71 4.33 2.21 4.44 3.75 3.82 Authoritarian 124 Cambodia 3.63 1.33 5.71 2.22 5.63 3.24 Authoritarian 125 Angola 3.62 1.75 2.86 5.56 5.00 2.94 Authoritarian = 126 Gabon 3.61 2.58 2.21 4.44 5.00 3.82 Authoritarian = 126 Cameroon 3.61 4.00 2.86 3.89 4.38 2.94 Authoritarian 128 Algeria 3.56 2.58 2.21 3.89 5.00 4.12 Authoritarian 129 Ethiopia 3.42 0.00 3.57 5.56 5.63 2.35 Authoritarian 130 Egypt 3.36 3.58 3.21 3.33 3.75 2.94 Authoritarian 131 Cuba 3.31 1.33 4.29 3.89 4.38 2.65 Authoritarian 132 Republic of the Congo 3.25 3.17 2.50 3.89 3.75 2.94 Authoritarian = 133 Qatar 3.19 0.00 4.29 2.22 5.63 3.82 Authoritarian = 133 Rwanda 3.19 0.83 5.00 2.78 4.38 2.94 Authoritarian 135 Russia 3.17 2.17 1.79 5.00 2.50 4.41 Authoritarian 136 Zimbabwe 3.16 0.50 2.00 4.44 5.63 3.24 Authoritarian 137 Guinea 3.14 3.50 0.43 4.44 4.38 2.94 Authoritarian 138 Belarus 3.13 0.92 2.86 3.89 5.63 2.35 Authoritarian 139 China 3.10 0.00 5.00 2.78 6.25 1.47 Authoritarian 140 Vietnam 3.08 0.00 3.21 3.89 5.63 2.65 Authoritarian 141 Kazakhstan 3.06 0.50 2.14 4.44 4.38 3.82 Authoritarian 142 Togo 3.05 3.17 0.79 2.78 5.00 3.53 Authoritarian 143 Oman 3.04 0.00 3.93 2.78 4.38 4.12 Authoritarian 144 Swaziland 3.03 0.92 2.86 2.22 5.63 3.53 Authoritarian 145 Djibouti 2.76 0.42 1.79 3.33 5.63 2.65 Authoritarian 146 Bahrain 2.71 0.83 3.21 2.78 4.38 2.35 Authoritarian 147 United Arab Emirates 2.69 0.00 3.57 2.22 5.00 2.65 Authoritarian 148 Azerbaijan 2.65 0.50 2.14 3.33 3.75 3.53 Authoritarian 149 Afghanistan 2.55 2.50 1.14 2.78 2.50 3.82 Authoritarian 150 Iran 2.45 0.00 3.21 4.44 3.13 1.47 Authoritarian = 151 Eritrea 2.37 0.00 2.14 1.67 6.88 1.18 Authoritarian = 151 Laos 2.37 0.83 2.86 1.67 5.00 1.47 Authoritarian 153 Burundi 2.33 0.00 0.43 3.89 5.00 2.35 Authoritarian 154 Libya 2.32 1.00 0.36 1.67 5.63 2.94 Authoritarian 155 Sudan 2.15 0.00 1.79 2.78 5.00 1.18 Authoritarian 156 Yemen 2.07 0.00 0.00 4.44 5.00 0.88 Authoritarian 157 Guinea - Bissau 1.98 1.67 0.00 2.78 3.13 2.35 Authoritarian 158 Uzbekistan 1.95 0.08 1.86 2.22 5.00 0.59 Authoritarian = 159 Saudi Arabia 1.93 0.00 2.86 2.22 3.13 1.47 Authoritarian = 159 Tajikistan 1.93 0.08 0.79 1.67 6.25 0.88 Authoritarian 161 Equatorial Guinea 1.81 0.00 0.43 2.78 4.38 1.47 Authoritarian 162 Turkmenistan 1.72 0.00 0.79 2.22 5.00 0.59 Authoritarian 163 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1.61 0.50 0.71 2.22 3.75 0.88 Authoritarian 164 Central African Republic 1.52 2.25 0.00 1.11 1.88 2.35 Authoritarian 165 Chad 1.50 0.00 0.00 1.11 3.75 2.65 Authoritarian 166 Syria 1.43 0.00 0.00 2.78 4.38 0.00 Authoritarian 167 North Korea 1.08 0.00 2.50 1.67 1.25 0.00 Authoritarian Rank Country Score Electoral process and pluralism Functioning of government Political participation Political culture Civil liberties Category Changes from 2010 onwards According to the issue of the index for 2012, Norway scored a total of 9.93 on a scale from zero to ten, keeping the first - place position it has held since 2010, when it replaced Sweden as the highest - ranked country in the index. North Korea scored the lowest with 1.08, remaining at the bottom in 167th place, the same as in 2010 and 2011. There was no significant improvement or regression in democracy between 2011 and 2012. In 2012 the index score stayed the same for 73 out of 167 countries, improved for 54 countries, and declined for 40. Libya experienced the biggest increase of any country in its score in 2012. Average regional scores in 2012 were very similar to scores in 2011. An exception is the Middle East and North Africa ( MENA ) where the average score increased by more than a tenth of a point, from 3.62 to 3.73 and three countries moved from authoritarian to hybrid regimes ( Egypt, Libya, Morocco ). The Democracy Index for 2011 highlighted the impact of the Arab Spring and the greater effects it might have, as well as the impact of the global financial crisis in 2007 -- 08 on politics throughout most of Europe. The Democracy Index score was lower in 2011 than in 2010 in 48 countries out of the 167 that are covered. It was higher in 41 ranked countries, and it stayed the same in 78. In nine countries there was a change in regime type between 2010 and 2011 ; in four of these there was regression. Russia was downgraded from a hybrid regime to an authoritarian regime, which the report attributes to concerns over the December 4 legislative election and Vladimir Putin 's decision to run again in the 2012 presidential election. Portugal was also downgraded to the flawed democracy category, attributed to the effects of the global financial crisis. Tunisia, Mauritania, Egypt, and Niger were all upgraded to hybrid regimes, and Zambia moved up to the flawed democracy category. In 2016, the United States was downgraded from a full democracy to a flawed democracy ; its score, which had been experiencing a persistent downward trend, crossed the threshold from 8.05 in 2015 to 7.98 in 2016. The report states that this was not due only to the election of Donald Trump, but was caused by other factors as well -- dating back to the late 1960s -- that led to his election. The 2017 Democracy index registered the worst year for global democracy since 2010 - 11 in the aftermath of the global economic and financial crisis. 89 countries experienced a decline in their total score compared with 2016, more than three times as many as the countries that recorded an improvement ( 27 ). Asia was the worst performing region overall, while Venezuela was downgraded from a `` hybrid regime '' to an `` authoritarian regime '' and Armenia was reupgraded from an `` authoritarian regime '' to a `` hybrid regime ''. Australia ( ranked 8th ) and Taiwan ( ranked 33rd ) both legalised gay marriage in 2017. In China, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, further entrenched his power by writing his theoretical contribution to the Chinese Communist Party 's ideology, dubbed `` Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era '' ( or `` Xi Jinping Thought '' ), into the party 's constitution. Moldova was downgraded from a `` flawed democracy '' to a `` hybrid regime '' as a result of problematic elections. By contrast, Armenia moved from the authoritarian category to a `` hybrid regime '' as a result of constitutional changes that shifted power from the presidency to parliament. Democracy Index by regime type The following table gives the number and percentage of countries and the percentage of the world population for each regime type in 2017 : Type of regime Scores ( s ) Number of countries Percentage of countries Percentage of world population Full democracies 8 ≤ s ≤ 10 19 11.4 4.4 Flawed democracies 6 ≤ s < 8 57 34.1 44.3 Hybrid regimes 4 ≤ s < 6 39 23.4 17.7 Authoritarian regimes 0 ≤ s < 4 52 31.1 32.3 World population refers to the total population of the 167 countries covered by the Index. Since this excludes only micro-states, this is nearly equal to the entire estimated world population. Democracy Index by region The following table gives the index average by world region, and the number of covered countries in 2017. Note that some regional groups ( e.g. Eastern Europe ) are very heterogeneous and composed of full democracies as well as authoritarian regimes : Rank Region Countries 2006 2008 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Northern America 8.64 8.64 8.63 8.59 8.59 8.59 8.59 8.56 8.56 8.56 Western Europe 21 8.60 8.61 8.45 8.40 8.44 8.41 8.41 8.42 8.40 8.38 Latin America and the Caribbean 24 6.37 6.43 6.37 6.35 6.36 6.38 6.36 6.37 6.33 6.26 Asia and Australasia 28 5.44 5.58 5.53 5.51 5.56 5.61 5.70 5.74 5.74 5.63 5 Central and Eastern Europe 28 5.76 5.67 5.55 5.50 5.51 5.53 5.58 5.55 5.43 5.40 6 Sub-Saharan Africa 44 4.24 4.28 4.23 4.32 4.33 4.36 4.34 4.38 4.37 4.35 7 Middle East and North Africa 20 3.54 3.48 3.52 3.62 3.73 3.68 3.65 3.58 3.56 3.54 World 167 5.52 5.55 5.46 5.49 5.52 5.53 5.55 5.55 5.52 5.48 See also Democracy promotion Democracy Ranking Freedom in the World List of freedom indices References ^ Jump up to : `` Democracy Index 2017 : Free speech under attack ''. eiu.com. The Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved 31 January 2018. ^ Jump up to : `` Democracy index 2012 : Democracy at a standstill '' ( PDF ). Economist Intelligence Unit. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Democracy Index 2010 : Democracy in retreat '' ( PDF ). Economist Intelligence Unit. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2017. ^ Jump up to : Laza Kekic, director, country forecasting services ( 15 November 2006 ). `` The Economist Intelligence Unit 's index of democracy '' ( PDF ). The World in 2007. Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved 26 January 2017. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ `` More State than Nation : Lukashenko 's Belarus JIA SIPA ''. Journal of International Affairs. 65 ( 1 ) : 93 -- 113. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Democracy Index 2015 : Democracy in an age of anxiety '' ( PDF ). The Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved 26 January 2017. Jump up ^ `` Democracy Index 2017 - Economist Intelligence Unit '' ( PDF ). EIU.com. Retrieved 17 February 2018. ^ Jump up to : `` Democracy index 2011 : Democracy under stress ''. Economist Intelligence Unit. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2017. ^ Jump up to : Karlis, Nicole ( 31 January 2018 ). `` New report classifies US as a `` flawed democracy '' - Partisanship and Trump were to blame for the US 's dismal ranking in the Economist 's annual Democracy Index report ``. Salon. Retrieved 17 February 2018. Jump up ^ Eshe Nelson ( 2017 - 01 - 25 ). `` The US has been downgraded to a `` flawed democracy, '' but not just because of Trump ``. Quartz. Jump up ^ `` Declining trust in government is denting democracy ''. The Economist. 25 January 2017. Jump up ^ `` Democracy Index 2017 ''. www.eiu.com. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 31. Jump up ^ `` Democracy Index 2017 : Free Speech Under Attack '' ( PDF ). www.eiu.com. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018. Jump up ^ `` Index of Democracy 2008 '' ( PDF ). Economist Intelligence Unit. 21 October 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2017. Jump up ^ `` Democracy Index 2013 : Democracy in limbo ''. The Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved 26 January 2017. Jump up ^ `` Democracy Index 2014 : Democracy and its discontents '' ( PDF ). The Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved 26 January 2017. Jump up ^ `` Democracy Index 2016 : Revenge of the `` deplorables '' ``. eiu.com. The Economist Intelligence Unit. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2017. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Democracy Index. The Economist Intelligence Unit 's website EIU Democracy Index main page Lists of countries by political rankings Freedom Political Freedom in the World Democracy Ranking Press Freedom House Reporters Without Borders Economic Fraser Institute The Heritage Foundation / The Wall Street Journal Trade Corruption Bribes Corruption barometer Corruption perceptions Competitiveness Composite Index of National Capability History Empire size First human settlement Flag adoption date Formation date Geopolitical changes Rights Rule of Law Index Privacy Property rights Democracy Index Democracy - Dictatorship Index Gender Gap Index LGBT rights Other Discrimination and violence against minorities List of countries by Fragile States Index Government transparency Ease of Doing Business Index Environmental Performance Index Fragile States Index Good Country Index Globalization Index Global Peace Index Global Terrorism Index Global Liveability Ranking Prosperity Index Incarceration rate Political terror scale Global Slavery Index OECD Better Life Index Satisfaction with Life Index List of international rankings List of top international rankings by country Lists by country Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Democracy_Index&oldid=836573396 '' Categories : Democracy Research International rankings Economist Intelligence Unit Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list All articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases Articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases from November 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Brezhoneg Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Hrvatski Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша ລາວ मराठी Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Polski Português Română Русский Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 中文 30 more Edit links This page was last edited on 15 April 2018, at 16 : 29. 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Question: which country tops the annual global democracy index compiled by the economist intelligence unit
Answer: Norway