EIU’s “Democracy Index” – India at 53rd position

EIU’s “Democracy Index” – India at 53rd position

Recently The Democracy Index, 2020 has been released by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

What is The Democracy Index?

The Democracy Index is the research division of the Economist Group, a UK-based private company which publishes the weekly newspaper The Economist. The index is self-described as intending to measure the state of democracy in 167 countries, of which 166 are sovereign states and 164 are UN member states.

What is the Aim of The Democracy Index?

The Global Democracy Ranking through The Democracy Index aims to measures the quality of democracy using a political dimension (civil liberties, gender political equality, press freedom, transparency and alternation of power) for 50 percent of the score, then tabulates five non-political dimensions for the other half of the score.

What is the Significance of The Democracy Index?

Democracy index measures the democratic performance introduced by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The EIU calculated democracy index since 2006 for 167 countries covering almost the entire population of the world.

What are the indicators of The Democracy Index?

There is a range of indicators within the five categories on which the Democracy Index is based. These five indicators of the index are:

• Electoral Process and Pluralism
• The Functioning of the Government
• Political Participation
• Political Culture
• Civil Liberties

Classification of countries based on Score in The Democracy Index

Based on their scores, each country is then classified into any one of the four types of regime. Such as,

• Full democracy,
• Flawed democracy,
• Hybrid regime,
• Authoritarian regime.

The Democracy Index 2020

• EIU released the 13th edition of the Democracy Index 2020 in February 2021. It has scored 165 countries and two territories by evaluating their state of democracy based on five categories. The first index was out in 2006. In 2020, the index focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on democracy and freedom across the world.
• Norway is the most democratic nation in the world ranking at 1 in Democracy Index 2020; while North Korea was ranked at the bottom at 167.
• The percentage of the world’s population living in full democracy has increased from 5.7 percent in 2019 to 8.4 percent in 2020. However, still only half of the world’s population lives in a democracy of some sort.
• 6 percent of the world’s population lives in the authoritarian regime which is more than one-third of its population. The number of authoritarian regimes has increased from 54 in 2019 to 57 in 2020.
• The number of full democracies increased to 23 from 22 in 2019; whereas the number of flawed democracies decreased to 52 from 54 in 2019.
• Hybrid regimes have decreased to 35 from 37 in 2019.
• El Salvador and Hong Kong are now Hybrid Regimes while Algeria, Burkina Faso and Mali which were hybrid regimes are now classified as Authoritarian Regimes in 2020.
• There was not a significant decline in the overall score of ‘Electoral Process and Pluralism’ in 2020.
• Political participation saw an increase in the global scores.

India’s Position in The Democracy Index 2020

• As per the latest report of the Economist Intelligence Union (EIU), the South Asian giant fell another two spots to 53rd position in the Democracy Index 2020.
• India is the world's largest democracy but its 1.38 billion citizens do not seem to be enjoying various freedoms.
• India's overall score fell from 6.9 in 2019 to 6.61 in the index.
• According to the EIU, the democratic backsliding authorities and crackdowns on civil liberties have led to a further decline in India’s ranking on the globe.

What is the The Economist Intelligence Unit?

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of Economist Group providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, country risk service reports, and industry reports.

What is the significance of the The Economist Intelligence Unit?

The EIU provides country, industry, and management analysis worldwide and incorporates the former Business International Corporation, a UK company acquired by its parent company in 1986. The EIU provides forecasting and advisory services to assist entrepreneurs, financiers, and government officials. The EIU offers its clients detailed analyses and forecasts for 205 countries.