Afghanistan, governed by the Taliban, has been ranked the world's most authoritarian country in the 2024 Democracy Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Afghanistan has once again ranked as the least democratic country globally, scoring just 0.25 out of 10 and placing 167th out of 167 nations. This marks the second consecutive year it has held this position.
The index evaluates countries based on electoral processes, civil liberties, government functionality, political participation, and political culture. Afghanistan's poor scores in four out of these five critical categories highlight its ongoing struggles with democratic governance.
Breakdown of Afghanistan’s Democracy Index Scores:
- Electoral Process and Pluralism: 0.0 – Since the Taliban took control in 2021, elections have been completely eliminated, leaving no democratic avenues for political engagement.
- Civil Liberties: 0.0 – Fundamental freedoms, including speech, assembly, and religion, have been heavily suppressed. Women and minorities are barred from education, employment, and public life.
- Government Functionality: 0.0 – Power remains centralized within the Taliban leadership, with no opposition or transparency in governance.
- Political Participation: 0.0 – The absence of political parties, elections, and civic activism results in the lowest possible score.
- Political Culture: 1.25 – The Taliban's rigid ideological rule and rejection of democratic values place Afghanistan among the lowest-ranked nations.
Afghanistan, with an overall score of 0.25, ranks last in the Democracy Index. In comparison, North Korea follows closely in 166th place with a score of 1.08, while Myanmar, ranked second-lowest, scored 0.96.
Global Trends in the 2024 Democracy Index
The EIU report highlights a decline in global democratic standards, with the overall Democracy Index score falling from 5.23 in 2023 to 5.17 in 2024, marking the lowest point since the index was introduced in 2006. Notably, 130 out of 167 countries either saw a drop in their scores or showed no improvement.
More than one-third (39.2%) of the world’s population now lives under authoritarian rule, with 60 countries classified as authoritarian regimes, an increase from previous years. The biggest declines over the past decade were seen in civil liberties, which dropped by 1.00, and in electoral process and pluralism, which declined by 0.66.
Regional and Country-Specific Rankings
- Western Europe remains the highest-ranked region, with an average score of 8.38.
- Nordic countries dominate the top rankings, with Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark among the seven most democratic nations.
- The United Kingdom improved its position, moving from 18th to 17th place.
- The United States remained classified as a "flawed democracy," ranking 28th.
- France was downgraded from a “full democracy” to a “flawed democracy” due to declines in government functioning.
- Portugal and Estonia were upgraded to full democracies, with Estonia achieving this status for the first time.
The report highlights a growing global struggle between democratic and authoritarian governance. Despite record-high elections in 2024, many were marred by electoral fraud, media suppression, and lack of political freedoms.
"While autocracies seem to be gaining strength, as shown by the index trend since 2006, the world’s democracies are struggling. The causes of this protracted democracy recession are complex. In this year’s report, we discuss the factors that have fuelled popular dissatisfaction with democratic political systems over the past two decades, resulting in the rise of political insurgents such as Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Javier Milei and Marine Le Pen. If insurgents come to power and fail to improve governance and deliver tangible improvements for citizens, there is a risk that disaffection and political polarisation will grow," Joan Hoey, Director for the Democracy Index, stated.
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