Country rankings

Democracy Ranking by Country

Norway has the highest Overall Democracy Index Score in 2024 (9.81), followed by New Zealand (9.61) and Sweden (9.39). Afghanistan has the lowest (0.25).

Politics & Government167 countries · 2 metricsUpdated Apr 22, 2025Original page
2 sources
Overall Democracy Index ScoreBetter directionWhether a higher or a lower value is better. A green arrow means higher is better, a red arrow means lower is better, and no arrow means neither.More in the glossary →
167 of 235 countries
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Overall Democracy Index Score, 2024

Darker green is better (higher is better). Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Best first: the first 15 and last 5 of 167 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median
5.32
Middle half 2.82 – 7.19
Average
5.17
167 countries
Highest
9.81
Norway
Lowest
0.25
Afghanistan

Over time · 2006–2024

The top 5 in 2024, against the median.

  • Median of all countries
  • Norway
  • New Zealand
  • Sweden
  • Iceland
  • Switzerland

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

167 countries · # = rank by Overall Democracy Index Score
#
1Norway9.81Full Democracy
2New Zealand9.61Full Democracy
3Sweden9.39Full Democracy
4Iceland9.38Full Democracy
5Switzerland9.32Full Democracy
6Finland9.3Full Democracy
7Denmark9.28Full Democracy
8Ireland9.19Full Democracy
9Netherlands9Full Democracy
10Luxembourg8.88Full Democracy
11Australia8.85Full Democracy
12Taiwan8.78Full Democracy
13Germany8.73Full Democracy
14Canada8.69Full Democracy
15Uruguay8.67Full Democracy
16Japan8.48Full Democracy
17United Kingdom8.34Full Democracy
18Costa Rica8.29Full Democracy
19Austria8.28Full Democracy
20Mauritius8.23Full Democracy
21Spain8.13Full Democracy
21Estonia8.13Flawed Democracy
23Czechia8.08Flawed Democracy
23Portugal8.08Flawed Democracy
25Greece8.07Full Democracy
26France7.99Full Democracy
27Malta7.93Flawed Democracy
28United States7.85Flawed Democracy
29Chile7.83Flawed Democracy
30Slovenia7.82Flawed Democracy
31Israel7.8Flawed Democracy
32South Korea7.75Full Democracy
33Latvia7.66Flawed Democracy
34Belgium7.64Flawed Democracy
35Botswana7.63Flawed Democracy
36Lithuania7.59Flawed Democracy
37Italy7.58Flawed Democracy
37Cape Verde7.58Flawed Democracy
39Poland7.4Flawed Democracy
40Cyprus7.38Flawed Democracy
41India7.29Flawed Democracy
42Slovakia7.21Flawed Democracy
43South Africa7.16Flawed Democracy
44Malaysia7.11Flawed Democracy
45Trinidad and Tobago7.09Flawed Democracy
46Timor-Leste7.03Flawed Democracy
47Panama6.84Flawed Democracy
48Suriname6.79Flawed Democracy
49Jamaica6.74Flawed Democracy
50Montenegro6.73Flawed Democracy
51Philippines6.63Flawed Democracy
52Dominican Republic6.62Flawed Democracy
53Mongolia6.53Flawed Democracy
54Argentina6.51Flawed Democracy
54Hungary6.51Flawed Democracy
56Croatia6.5Flawed Democracy
57Brazil6.49Flawed Democracy
58Namibia6.48Flawed Democracy
59Indonesia6.44Flawed Democracy
60Colombia6.35Flawed Democracy
61Bulgaria6.34Flawed Democracy
62North Macedonia6.28Flawed Democracy
63Thailand6.27Flawed Democracy
64Serbia6.26Flawed Democracy
65Ghana6.24Flawed Democracy
66Albania6.2Flawed Democracy
67Sri Lanka6.19Flawed Democracy
68Singapore6.18Flawed Democracy
69Guyana6.11Flawed Democracy
70Lesotho6.06Flawed Democracy
71Moldova6.04Flawed Democracy
72Romania5.99Flawed Democracy
73Papua New Guinea5.97Flawed Democracy
74Senegal5.93Hybrid Regime
75Paraguay5.92Flawed Democracy
76Malawi5.85Hybrid Regime
77Zambia5.73Hybrid Regime
78Peru5.69Hybrid Regime
79Bhutan5.65Hybrid Regime
80Liberia5.57Hybrid Regime
81Fiji5.39Hybrid Regime
82Armenia5.35Hybrid Regime
83Madagascar5.33Hybrid Regime
84Mexico5.32Hybrid Regime
85Ecuador5.24Hybrid Regime
86Tanzania5.2Hybrid Regime
87Hong Kong5.09Hybrid Regime
88Bosnia and Herzegovina5.06Hybrid Regime
89Kenya5.05Hybrid Regime
90Honduras4.98Hybrid Regime
91Morocco4.97Hybrid Regime
92Ukraine4.9Hybrid Regime
93Tunisia4.71Hybrid Regime
94Georgia4.7Hybrid Regime
95El Salvador4.61Hybrid Regime
96Nepal4.6Hybrid Regime
97Guatemala4.55Hybrid Regime
98Uganda4.49Hybrid Regime
99Gambia4.47Hybrid Regime
100Bangladesh4.44Hybrid Regime
100Benin4.44Hybrid Regime
102Sierra Leone4.32Hybrid Regime
103Turkey4.26Hybrid Regime
103Bolivia4.26Hybrid Regime
105Ivory Coast4.22Hybrid Regime
106Nigeria4.16Hybrid Regime
107Angola4.05Hybrid Regime
108Mauritania3.96Hybrid Regime
109Lebanon3.56Authoritarian
110Algeria3.55Authoritarian
111Kyrgyzstan3.52Authoritarian
112Palestine3.44Authoritarian
113Mozambique3.38Authoritarian
114Rwanda3.34Authoritarian
115Jordan3.28Authoritarian
116Ethiopia3.24Authoritarian
117Qatar3.17Authoritarian
118Kazakhstan3.08Authoritarian
119United Arab Emirates3.07Authoritarian
120Oman3.05Authoritarian
121Togo2.99Authoritarian
122Zimbabwe2.98Authoritarian
123Cambodia2.94Authoritarian
124Pakistan2.84Authoritarian
124Comoros2.84Authoritarian
126Iraq2.8Authoritarian
126Azerbaijan2.8Authoritarian
128Egypt2.79Authoritarian
128Republic of the Congo2.79Authoritarian
130Kuwait2.78Authoritarian
131Haiti2.74Authoritarian
132Djibouti2.7Authoritarian
133Vietnam2.62Authoritarian
134Eswatini2.6Authoritarian
135Cuba2.58Authoritarian
136Cameroon2.56Authoritarian
137Burkina Faso2.55Authoritarian
138Bahrain2.45Authoritarian
139Mali2.4Authoritarian
140Libya2.31Authoritarian
141Niger2.26Authoritarian
142Venezuela2.25Authoritarian
143Gabon2.18Authoritarian
144Burundi2.13Authoritarian
145China2.11Authoritarian
146Uzbekistan2.1Authoritarian
147Nicaragua2.09Authoritarian
148Saudi Arabia2.08Authoritarian
149Guinea2.04Authoritarian
150Russia2.03Authoritarian
150Guinea-Bissau2.03Authoritarian
152Belarus1.99Authoritarian
153Eritrea1.97Authoritarian
154Iran1.96Authoritarian
155Yemen1.95Authoritarian
156DR Congo1.92Authoritarian
156Equatorial Guinea1.92Authoritarian
158Chad1.89Authoritarian
159Tajikistan1.83Authoritarian
160Laos1.71Authoritarian
161Turkmenistan1.66Authoritarian
162Sudan1.46Authoritarian
163Syria1.32Authoritarian
164Central African Republic1.18Authoritarian
165North Korea1.08Authoritarian
166Myanmar0.96Authoritarian
167Afghanistan0.25Authoritarian

What correlates with Overall Democracy Index Score (2024)?

Pearson r against 1,472 other country metrics sharing at least 101 countries, 1 near-identical series hidden. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Overall Democracy Index Score tend to score higher on these

  1. Global Freedom ScoreFreedom Index by Country
    r = +0.96 · very strong · n = 166
    Plot
  2. EIU Civil Liberties ScoreDemocracy Index by Country
    r = +0.95 · very strong · n = 162
    Plot
  3. V-Dem LDI ScoreV Dem Democracy Index by Country
    r = +0.94 · very strong · n = 163
    Plot
  4. EIU Function of Govt ScoreDemocracy Index by Country
    r = +0.93 · very strong · n = 153
    Plot
  5. V-Dem EDI ScoreV Dem Democracy Index by Country
    r = +0.92 · very strong · n = 167
    Plot
  6. Rights & RulesSocial Progress Index by Country
    r = +0.92 · very strong · n = 161
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Overall Democracy Index Score tend to score lower on these

  1. Political Rights Freedom RatingVoting Rights by Country
    r = −0.93 · very strong · n = 159
    Plot
  2. Civil Liberties Freedom RatingVoting Rights by Country
    r = −0.93 · very strong · n = 159
    Plot
  3. State LegitimacyFailed States
    r = −0.91 · very strong · n = 164
    Plot
  4. Human RightsFailed States
    r = −0.87 · very strong · n = 164
    Plot
  5. Vulnerability ScoreGlobal Slavery Index by Country
    r = −0.82 · very strong · n = 156
    Plot
  6. Vulnerability Score (lower is better)Countries that Still Have Slavery
    r = −0.82 · very strong · n = 157
    Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Overall Democracy Index Score?
Norway has the highest Overall Democracy Index Score in 2024, at 9.81, followed by New Zealand (9.61) and Sweden (9.39).
Which country has the lowest Overall Democracy Index Score?
Afghanistan has the lowest Overall Democracy Index Score in 2024, at 0.25.
What is the median Overall Democracy Index Score across countries?
The median is 5.32 across the 167 countries with data in 2024.
Where does this democracy ranking by country data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Democracy Index 2022 - The Economist Intelligence Unit; Democracy Index 2023 - The Economist Intelligence Unit.

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