South Korea also lost its full democracy status and is now classified as a flawed democracy, according to the index, due to the sudden imposition of martial law and immediate reversal in late 2024 for which president Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached.
Norway is the world-leader in the Democracy Index with a perfect 10 score on electoral process and pluralism, political participation, and political culture.
The global democracy index score is at just 5.17 out of 10, its lowest point in the history of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual Democracy Index.
Countries are classified as full democracies (over 8 out of 10), flawed democracies (6-8 out of 10), hybrid regimes (4-6 out of 10), and authoritarian regimes (under 4 out of 10).
The EIU’s index has a score out of 10 ranked according to functioning of government, electoral process and pluralism, political culture, and civil liberties.
