Taiwan remained at the top of Asia and 12th globally among 167 countries and territories in the Democracy Index 2024, which was released today by the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
However, Taiwan’s score of 8.78 out of 10 was slightly lower than the 8.92 it received in 2023 when the country ranked 10th.
The index ranks countries and territories based on 60 indicators in five categories: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties.
Photo: Screen grab from the Economist Intelligence Unit’s website
Based on the indicators, each area is given an overall score from zero to 10, and is classified as either a “full democracy,” “flawed democracy,” “hybrid regime” or “authoritarian regime.”
Taiwan is classified as a “full democracy,” scoring 10 out of 10 in electoral process and pluralism, 8.57 in functioning of government, 7.78 in political participation, 8.13 in political culture and 9.41 in civil liberties.
In comparison, China ranked 145th and is classified as an “authoritarian regime,” with a score of 2.11.
The world saw another democratic decline, with the average score falling to 5.17, the lowest since the index began in 2006, down from 5.23 in 2023, despite last year being a record election year when more than half of the global population went to the polls, the report said.
Only 45% of the world’s population lives in a democracy, 39% under authoritarian rule and 15% in “hybrid regimes” that combine electoral democracy with authoritarian tendencies, it said.
Norway retains its top ranking for the 16th consecutive year with a score of 9.81, followed by New Zealand and Sweden, while Afghanistan has been the least democratic country since 2021.
The EIU is an economics consultancy associated with The Economist magazine that provides forecasting and advisory services.
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