In recent years the number of democratic governments in the world has decreasedmarking a worrying trend globally. According to the Global Democracy Index 2024on 167 countries analyzed Only 25 can be considered “full” democracieswhile another 46, including Italy, fall into the category of “imperfect” democracies. Although 2024 has been called “the year of the elections” for the record number of electoral consultations all over the world, the global index of democracy has reached a historical minimum: the medium world score has fallen from 5.52 in 2006 a 5.17 In 2024. 130 countries recorded a drop or did not show any improvement in the score, reflecting the crisis of the representative democracy and the rise of authoritarian regimeswhich today govern more than a third of the world population.
Recently, the growing political polarization and the distrust in the institutions have fueled consent towards populist and anti-system parties, contributing to the erosion of democratic processes. In fact, the report underlines that 20% of countries saw a decrease in the credibility of the elections, with a lowering of the electoral participation.
The map of countries in the world that are a democracy: the Global Democracy Index
Every year theEconomist Intelligence UnitBusiness Intelligence Division of the homonymous British newspaper, elaborates a report that photographs The state of democracy all over the world. Each country receives a score from 0 to 10 and is classified in one of the four types: “full” democracies, “imperfect” democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes.
In 2024 alone 25 countries out of 167 (15% of the total) reached a score greater than 8 and were indicated as full democraciesrepresenting about 6.6% of the world population. The imperfect democracieswith a score between 6 and 8, cover about 38.4% of the world population, with 46 out of 167 countries (27.5%). Unlike the full ones, imperfect democracies, while maintaining free and right elections and guaranteeing civil freedoms, they can present some weaknessesas less effective governance, limited political participation or occasional restrictions on civil freedoms.
The index also identifies two categories of non -democratic systems: i hybrid regimes (score 4-6) and those authoritarian (score 0-4), which represent over 54% of the countries analyzed, the majority in the world. By “hybrid” regime (15.7%) we mean a country, such as the Mexico or Romania, which combines regular elections with authoritarian practices, such as limited independence of the judiciary, widespread corruption and repression of the opposition. Authoritarian regimes (39.2%), such as Afghanistan O Venezuela, instead they present an almost total absence of political pluralism, with non -free elections, violations of civil and media freedoms controlled by the state.
How democracy changed: what are the most democratic and risk countries
Scrolling the ranking, it is possible to notice The supremacy of the countries of northern Europe: In the first 10 positions we find Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark, all with a vote greater than 9.
In particular, Norwegian democracy remains a model of stability and inclusiveness, with a score of 9.88 out of 10 which reflects the excellence of the Scandinavian country in all key indicators. This important position has also been confirmed by other studies, such as the Global State of Democracy Report 2024 of International Idea, which positioned Norway in 4th place, together with Finland.
To draw up this ranking, the index monitor 60 indicators divided into five categoriesevaluated from 0 to 10:
- Electoral process and pluralism: presence of free, fair and competitive elections.
- Civil liberties: protection of civil and political rights and independence of the judicial system.
- Political participation: degree of direct involvement of citizens in political life, not only through the vote, but also through forms of civic commitment.
- Political culture: diffusion and support of democratic values in society.
- Operation of the Government: concrete ability of governments to translate the will of citizens into policies and actions.
Based on these criteria, Italy is positioned among imperfect democraciesplacing itself in 37th place with a total score of 7.58 out of 10. To penalize our country were factors such as poor political culture, disaffection towards democratic institutions and the inefficiency of the government. Those of the Economist are not isolated concerns: according to an investigation by Civil Liberties Union for EuropeItaly has been identified as one of the five European countries that are significantly weakening the state of law. Despite that, A very high score in other categories of the index attenuates the concerns about the state of Italian democracy.
Among the countries most at risk of democratic regression instead We find Hungary, Türkiye and Polandall with decreases and below 5. With the leadership of Viktor Orbánthe Budapest government has seen a progressive decrease in its score, due to limitations to civil society and the judiciary, media control and centralization of power.
Similar dynamics are observed in Türkiye, with the strengthening of the presidential power of Recep Tayyip Erdoganand in Poland, where The Sovereign Party Pis He reduced the independence of the judiciary, limited the freedom of the media and increased political polarization. Finally, outside Europe, the location stands out of the entire Latin Americaa region that has recorded a worsening of democratic conditions, with an increase in hybrid and authoritarian regimes.
