Global

0.49Democracy IndexGlobal Average

0.38Liberal Democracy IndexGlobal Average

6.75Human Freedom IndexGlobal Average

54.6Press Freedom ScoreGlobal Average

Democracy Index 2024

0.010.92

1	Denmark	0.92
2	Estonia	0.9
2	Ireland	0.9
4	Switzerland	0.89
4	Belgium	0.89
6	Sweden	0.88
6	Norway	0.88
8	France	0.87
8	Czech Republic	0.87
8	Luxembourg	0.87
11	New Zealand	0.86
11	Costa Rica	0.86
11	Australia	0.86
14	Uruguay	0.85
14	Finland	0.85
16	Canada	0.84
16	Latvia	0.84
16	Chile	0.84
16	Iceland	0.84
16	Austria	0.84
16	United States	0.84
16	Germany	0.84
23	Portugal	0.83
23	Spain	0.83
23	United Kingdom	0.83
26	Japan	0.82
26	Netherlands	0.82
28	Vanuatu	0.8
28	Jamaica	0.8
28	Italy	0.8
28	Brazil	0.8
28	Taiwan	0.8
28	Lithuania	0.8
34	Barbados	0.79
35	Malta	0.78
36	Cyprus	0.77
36	Suriname	0.77
38	Trinidad and Tobago	0.76
38	Cape Verde	0.76
40	Greece	0.75
40	Slovakia	0.75
42	Seychelles	0.74
43	Panama	0.73
43	South Korea	0.73
43	South Africa	0.73
43	Timor Leste	0.73
43	Poland	0.73
48	Croatia	0.72
48	Slovenia	0.72
48	Israel	0.72
51	Argentina	0.71
52	Dominican Republic	0.7
52	Colombia	0.7
54	Ghana	0.67
54	Nepal	0.67
54	Sao Tome and Principe	0.67
57	Lesotho	0.66
57	Solomon Islands	0.66
57	Sri Lanka	0.66
60	Ecuador	0.65
60	Bulgaria	0.65
62	Romania	0.63
62	Gambia	0.63
62	Moldova	0.63
62	Peru	0.63
66	Senegal	0.62
66	Montenegro	0.62
66	Armenia	0.62
66	Namibia	0.62
70	Liberia	0.61
71	Guatemala	0.6
72	Botswana	0.59
73	Paraguay	0.58
73	Malawi	0.58
73	Bolivia	0.58
76	Bhutan	0.56
76	Maldives	0.56
76	North Macedonia	0.56
79	Kenya	0.55
80	Honduras	0.54
81	Fiji	0.52
81	Malaysia	0.52
83	Zambia	0.51
83	Albania	0.51
83	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.51
86	Benin	0.5
86	Nigeria	0.5
86	Mexico	0.5
86	Mongolia	0.5
90	Guyana	0.49
90	Mauritius	0.49
92	Indonesia	0.48
92	Georgia	0.48
94	Papua New Guinea	0.46
95	Sierra Leone	0.44
95	Philippines	0.44
95	Hungary	0.44
98	Tunisia	0.43
98	Ivory Coast	0.43
100	Tanzania	0.42
100	Madagascar	0.42
102	Singapore	0.41
103	India	0.4
104	Thailand	0.39
104	Ukraine	0.39
106	Togo	0.36
107	Iraq	0.35
107	Lebanon	0.35
109	El Salvador	0.34
109	Angola	0.34
111	Kyrgyzstan	0.33
111	DR Congo	0.33
111	Mauritania	0.33
114	Serbia	0.32
115	Pakistan	0.31
116	Central African Republic	0.3
116	Mozambique	0.3
118	Kuwait	0.29
118	Cameroon	0.29
118	Turkey	0.29
121	Comoros	0.28
121	Guinea Bissau	0.28
123	Uganda	0.27
123	Zimbabwe	0.27
123	Kazakhstan	0.27
123	Jordan	0.27
127	Morocco	0.26
127	Algeria	0.26
127	Ethiopia	0.26
130	Republic of the Congo	0.25
130	Djibouti	0.25
132	Niger	0.24
133	Gabon	0.23
134	Uzbekistan	0.22
134	Haiti	0.22
136	Mali	0.2
136	Libya	0.2
136	Bangladesh	0.2
136	Venezuela	0.2
136	Rwanda	0.2
136	Chad	0.2
142	Egypt	0.19
142	Cambodia	0.19
144	Equatorial Guinea	0.18
144	Cuba	0.18
146	Russia	0.17
146	Oman	0.17
146	Tajikistan	0.17
146	Vietnam	0.17
146	Azerbaijan	0.17
146	Somalia	0.17
146	Iran	0.17
146	Hong Kong	0.17
146	Burundi	0.17
155	South Sudan	0.16
155	Belarus	0.16
155	Burkina Faso	0.16
155	Guinea	0.16
159	Nicaragua	0.15
159	Turkmenistan	0.15
161	Sudan	0.14
161	Syria	0.14
163	Laos	0.13
163	Eswatini	0.13
163	Yemen	0.13
166	Bahrain	0.12
167	United Arab Emirates	0.1
167	Palestine	0.1
169	Qatar	0.09
170	Myanmar	0.08
170	Afghanistan	0.08
170	North Korea	0.08
173	Eritrea	0.07
173	China	0.07
175	Saudi Arabia	0.01

Table of Contents↑

Interactive Map
Introduction
Top 10
Source

Last updated February 28, 2026

Democracies Around the Globe

Every year, the Association for Development and Advancement of the Democracy Award puts forth a comprehensive global ranking of liberal democracies, the Democracy Index. This index measures not only the quality of democracy as a political entity but also integrates other social dimensions such as gender, economy, knowledge, health, and environmental performance to present a richer, more dynamic view of global democratic systems. The data reveals patterns, variations, and intriguing findings in the state of global democracies.

Norway leads the pack with a Democracy Index score of 9.8, closely followed by New Zealand and Finland, both performing extraordinarily well in political and non-political dimensions.
Despite being the birthplace of modern democracy, the United States ranks 26th with a score of 7.9.
Taiwan, despite the political instability around its international recognition, managed a high score of 9 and thus ranks 8th, demonstrating that domestic democratic structures can thrive amidst international challenges.
Across the globe, regions with tumultuous political environments and conflicts, such as Afghanistan, North Korea, and Myanmar, sit at the bottom of the Democracy Index, demonstrating that peace and stability are crucial for a functioning democracy.

All Metrics

Region ↕	Democracy Index 2024↕	Liberal Democracy Index 2024↕	Human Freedom Index 2023↕	Press Freedom Score 2025↕
Denmark	0.92	0.88	8.83	86,9
Estonia	0.9	0.85	8.75	89,5
Ireland	0.9	0.83	8.79	86,9
Switzerland	0.89	0.85	9.01	84
Belgium	0.89	0.8	8.33	80,1
Sweden	0.88	0.84	8.75	88,1
Norway	0.88	0.84	8.58	92,3
France	0.87	0.8	7.86	76,6
Czech Republic	0.87	0.82	8.38	84
Luxembourg	0.87	0.78	8.71	83
New Zealand	0.86	0.81	8.88	81,4
Costa Rica	0.86	0.8	8.04	73,1
Australia	0.86	0.81	8.52	75,2
Uruguay	0.85	0.77	7.96	65,2
Finland	0.85	0.8	8.7	87,2
Canada	0.84	0.74	8.55	78,8
Latvia	0.84	0.76	8.45	81,8
Chile	0.84	0.79	8.16	62,3
Iceland	0.84	0.76	8.73	81,4
Austria	0.84	0.76	8.24	78,1
United States	0.84	0.75	8.39	65,5
Germany	0.84	0.79	8.37	83,8
Portugal	0.83	0.75	8.27	84,3
Spain	0.83	0.74	8.03	77,3
United Kingdom	0.83	0.75	8.39	78,9
Japan	0.82	0.73	8.4	63,1
Netherlands	0.82	0.76	8.57	88,6
Vanuatu	0.8	0.69
Jamaica	0.8	0.68	7.56	75,8
Italy	0.8	0.7	7.95	68
Brazil	0.8	0.71	6.92	63,8
Taiwan	0.8	0.7	8.56	77
Lithuania	0.8	0.73	8.39	82,3
Barbados	0.79	0.67	7.72
Malta	0.78	0.64	8.2	63
Cyprus	0.77	0.65	8.15	59
Suriname	0.77	0.64	7.07	74,5
Trinidad and Tobago	0.76	0.63	7.45	79,7
Cape Verde	0.76	0.65	8	75
Greece	0.75	0.58	7.49	55,4
Slovakia	0.75	0.58	8.04	71,9
Seychelles	0.74	0.66	7.85	68,6
Panama	0.73	0.58	7.57	66,8
South Korea	0.73	0.63	8.12	64,1
South Africa	0.73	0.65	6.92	75,7
Timor Leste	0.73	0.55		71,8
Poland	0.73	0.62	7.69	74,8
Croatia	0.72	0.62	7.96	64,2
Slovenia	0.72	0.62	7.9	74,1
Israel	0.72	0.62	7.43	51,1
Argentina	0.71	0.55	6.85	56,1
Dominican Republic	0.7	0.45	7.56	69,9
Colombia	0.7	0.56	6.54	49,8
Ghana	0.67	0.57	7.19	67,1
Nepal	0.67	0.52	6.71	55,2
Sao Tome and Principe	0.67	0.56
Lesotho	0.66	0.52	6.49	52,1
Solomon Islands	0.66	0.52
Sri Lanka	0.66	0.49	6.13	39,9
Ecuador	0.65	0.45	7.03	53,8
Bulgaria	0.65	0.51	7.68	60,8
Romania	0.63	0.44	7.9	66,4
Gambia	0.63	0.51	6.64	65,5
Moldova	0.63	0.52	7.66	73,4
Peru	0.63	0.49	7.56	42,9
Senegal	0.62	0.46	6.71	59,4
Montenegro	0.62	0.48	7.8	72,8
Armenia	0.62	0.41	7.99	74
Namibia	0.62	0.52	7.31	75,3
Liberia	0.61	0.4	6.39	66,6
Guatemala	0.6	0.47	7.09	40,3
Botswana	0.59	0.48	7.31	57,6
Paraguay	0.58	0.39	7.06	56,8
Malawi	0.58	0.48	6.83	59,2
Bolivia	0.58	0.31	6.83	54,1
Bhutan	0.56	0.45	6.69	32,6
Maldives	0.56	0.42		52,5
North Macedonia	0.56	0.37	7.64	70,4
Kenya	0.55	0.43	6.57	49,4
Honduras	0.54	0.38	6.72	38,5
Fiji	0.52	0.41	7.16
Malaysia	0.52	0.36	6.66	56,1
Zambia	0.51	0.39	6.21	57,3
Albania	0.51	0.4	7.67	58,2
Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.51	0.34	7.33	56,3
Benin	0.5	0.33	6.86	54,6
Nigeria	0.5	0.32	5.96	46,8
Mexico	0.5	0.25	6.55	45,5
Mongolia	0.5	0.39	7.43	52,6
Guyana	0.49	0.32	6.74	60,1
Mauritius	0.49	0.37	7.61	67,3
Indonesia	0.48	0.33	6.62	44,1
Georgia	0.48	0.33	7.8	50,5
Papua New Guinea	0.46	0.38	6.88	58,4
Sierra Leone	0.44	0.35	6.51	66,4
Philippines	0.44	0.31	6.46	49,6
Hungary	0.44	0.32	7.24	62,8
Tunisia	0.43	0.26	6.22	43,5
Ivory Coast	0.43	0.25	6.48	63,7
Tanzania	0.42	0.37	6.16	53,7
Madagascar	0.42	0.22	6.36	50,8
Singapore	0.41	0.34	7.75	45,8
India	0.4	0.29	6.29	33
Thailand	0.39	0.29	6.67	56,7
Ukraine	0.39	0.23	6.72	63,9
Togo	0.36	0.17	6.2	48
Iraq	0.35	0.23	4.73	30,7
Lebanon	0.35	0.21	5.74	42,6
El Salvador	0.34	0.09	6.85	42,2
Angola	0.34	0.16	5.76	52,7
Kyrgyzstan	0.33	0.18	6.64	37,5
DR Congo	0.33	0.13	5.48	42,3
Mauritania	0.33	0.14	5.34	67,5
Serbia	0.32	0.22	7.14	53,5
Pakistan	0.31	0.2	5.49	29,6
Central African Republic	0.3	0.1	5.34	60,1
Mozambique	0.3	0.17	6.51	52,6
Kuwait	0.29	0.27	6.25	44,1
Cameroon	0.29	0.14	5.3	42,8
Turkey	0.29	0.12	5.63	29,4
Comoros	0.28	0.11	5.45	59,3
Guinea Bissau	0.28	0.15		51,4
Uganda	0.27	0.2	5.75	37,6
Zimbabwe	0.27	0.16	4.86	52,1
Kazakhstan	0.27	0.13	6.4	39,3
Jordan	0.27	0.27	6.32	35,3
Morocco	0.26	0.25	5.48	48
Algeria	0.26	0.12	4.82	44,6
Ethiopia	0.26	0.1	5.2	36,9
Republic of the Congo	0.25	0.12	5.41	60,6
Djibouti	0.25	0.12	5.32	25,4
Niger	0.24	0.18	6.29	57
Gabon	0.23	0.16	6.5	70,7
Uzbekistan	0.22	0.08		35,2
Haiti	0.22	0.08	6.37	51,1
Mali	0.2	0.15	5.9	48,2
Libya	0.2	0.11	4.94	40,4
Bangladesh	0.2	0.07	5.51	33,7
Venezuela	0.2	0.05	4.22	29,2
Rwanda	0.2	0.09	5.89	35,8
Chad	0.2	0.05	4.99	51,9
Egypt	0.19	0.13	4.24	24,7
Cambodia	0.19	0.06	6.08	28,2
Equatorial Guinea	0.18	0.05		48,7
Cuba	0.18	0.06		26
Russia	0.17	0.06	5.81	24,6
Oman	0.17	0.14	5.56	42,3
Tajikistan	0.17	0.05	5.44	32,2
Vietnam	0.17	0.12	5.51	19,7
Azerbaijan	0.17	0.05	5.65	25,5
Somalia	0.17	0.13	4.49	40,5
Iran	0.17	0.09	4.03	16,2
Hong Kong	0.17	0.13	7.7	39,9
Burundi	0.17	0.07	4.85	45,4
South Sudan	0.16	0.07		51,6
Belarus	0.16	0.04	5.48	25,7
Burkina Faso	0.16	0.13	6.57	52,3
Guinea	0.16	0.07	5.21	52,5
Nicaragua	0.15	0.02	5.48	22,8
Turkmenistan	0.15	0.03		19,1
Sudan	0.14	0.04	3.81	30,3
Syria	0.14	0.05	2.96	15,8
Laos	0.13	0.1	5.34	33,2
Eswatini	0.13	0.1	5.07	52,9
Yemen	0.13	0.05	3.43	31,4
Bahrain	0.12	0.05	5.47	30,2
United Arab Emirates	0.1	0.08	5.73	26,9
Palestine	0.1	0.05		27,4
Qatar	0.09	0.08	5.39	58,3
Myanmar	0.08	0.02	3.88	25,3
Afghanistan	0.08	0.02		17,9
North Korea	0.08	0.01		12,6
Eritrea	0.07	0.01		11,3
China	0.07	0.04	5.15	14,8
Saudi Arabia	0.01	0.05	4.53	27,9

Top 10 Most Democratic Countries

Norway leads the way with an exemplary Democracy Index score of 9.8. Renowned for its well-organized social system and effective government, Norway serves as a beacon of democratic ideals on a global scale. Taking the second spot, we have New Zealand with an impressive score of 9.4. This score reflects the nation's strong adherence to democratic principles, which is ingrained in its political landscape and continues to be nurtured by each successive administration. Following closely, we have Finland scoring a 9.3 on the Democracy Index. Equally notable is Sweden, which matches Finland's score. These countries demonstrate a powerful commitment to implementing democratic principles and showcase the success of the social-democratic model. Coming in the fifth position is Iceland, with a score of 9.2 on the Democracy Index. Despite its smaller size and population, Iceland is a stalwart example of integrated and established democracy. Making the sixth position is Denmark with an earnest score of 9.1. Ireland and Taiwan, on the other hand, tie for the seventh position with an impressive 9. The cases of Ireland and Taiwan are particularly intriguing, as they navigate a highly democratic domestic structure in different geopolitical situations. Finally, the list rounds off with Australia and Canada, scoring 8.9 each. Top 10 Most Democratic Countries: