Democracy Index
The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The index measures the state of democracy in 167 countries, of which 166 are sovereign states and 164 are UN member states. The index was first published in 2006 and 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 categorizes each country in one of four regime types:
- Full Democracies - Nations where civil liberties and fundamental 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, an independent judiciary whose decisions are enforced, governments that function adequately, and diverse and independent media. These nations have only limited problems in democratic functioning.
- Flawed Democracies - Nations where elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are honored but may have issues (e.g. media freedom infringement and minor suppression of political opposition and critics). 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 - Nations with regular electoral frauds, preventing them from being fair and free democracy. These nations commonly have governments that apply pressure on political opposition, non-independent judiciaries, widespread corruption, harassment and pressure placed on the media, anaemic 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 - 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 meagre 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 there are omnipresent censorship and suppression of governmental criticism.
The report is widely cited in the international press as well as in peer reviewed academic journals.
The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The index measures the state of democracy in 167 countries, of which 166 are sovereign states and 164 are UN member states. The index was first published in 2006 and 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 categorizes each country in one of four regime types:
- Full Democracies - Nations where civil liberties and fundamental 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, an independent judiciary whose decisions are enforced, governments that function adequately, and diverse and independent media. These nations have only limited problems in democratic functioning.
- Flawed Democracies - Nations where elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are honored but may have issues (e.g. media freedom infringement and minor suppression of political opposition and critics). 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 - Nations with regular electoral frauds, preventing them from being fair and free democracy. These nations commonly have governments that apply pressure on political opposition, non-independent judiciaries, widespread corruption, harassment and pressure placed on the media, anaemic 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 - 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 meagre 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 there are omnipresent censorship and suppression of governmental criticism.
The report is widely cited in the international press as well as in peer reviewed academic journals.
SUBJECT Variables
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
The overall score is a composite average of 5 Performance Factors. The scores in each year's index are based on observations made in the preceding year.
- India is currently classified as a "Flawed Democracy" based on its performance on the Index in 2023. India has held the status of a Flawed Democracy since 2010.
- India is placed at 41st position amongst 167 countries on the Index in 2023.
- India's performance level is at 71% on the Democracy Index in 2023, compared to a performance level of 79% in 2014.
- As quoted in the Democracy Index report of 2021, " The world’s biggest democracy, India, is suffering from internal conflicts involving secessionist regions and religious minorities, often with communal roots, which have resulted in hundreds of deaths annually in recent years. No other “flawed democracy” was engaged in an inter-state conflict in 2022-23, although several suffer from frozen conflict".
- While India's performance has been consistently higher than the world average, it has been on a steady decline falling from a level of 79% in 2014 to 71% in 2023.
- In comparison to its benchmarked G20 peers, India's overall performance in 2022 is better than that of Turkey, Russia, China, Indonesia, and Brazil.
- Norway has maintained its hold on the top spot on the Democracy Index in 2023 with an overall performance level of 98%
ELECTORAL PROCESS & PLURALISM
This performance factor consider answers to questions such as - (1) Are elections for the national legislature, municipal elections and head of government free and fair?, (2) Can citizens cast their vote free of significant threats to their security, (3) Do laws provide for broadly equal campaigning opportunities?, (4) Is the process of financing political parties transparent and generally accepted?, (5) Are citizens free to form political parties that are independent of the government?, (6) Do opposition parties have a realistic prospect of achieving government?, (7) Is potential access to public office open to all citizens?, (8) Are citizens allowed to form political and civic organizations, free of state interference and surveillance?.
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