The Economist, a British newspaper, has released its global democracy index, which places Uruguay in the 15th position worldwide, with a score of 8.67 out of a possible 10. This ranking is based on an evaluation of 167 countries and territories across five key criteria: electoral process and pluralism, government functioning, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties. These countries are then categorized into four groups: full democracies, defective democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes.
Global Democracy Rankings
Within this framework, Norway leads the list for the 16th consecutive year, with a score of 9.81, closely followed by New Zealand and Sweden. In the Americas, Canada occupies the 14th position, with a score of 8.69, while Uruguay ranks 15th, with a score of 8.67, and Costa Rica comes in 18th, with 8.29 points. It’s worth noting that Uruguay has lost a position compared to the previous year.
Regional Comparison
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Afghanistan scores a mere 0.25 points. In the region, the countries ranked as authoritarian regimes are Nicaragua, in 147th position with 2.09 points, Venezuela in 142nd position with 2.25 points, Cuba in 135th position with 2.58 points, and Haiti in 131st position with 2.74 points. This highlights the significant disparities in democratic governance across the region.
The report also reveals that the global average democracy score has fallen to a new historical low of 5.17, down from the maximum of 5.55 reached in 2015. Moreover, only 6.6% of the world’s population currently lives in a full democracy, compared to 12.5% ten years ago. Conversely, two out of every five people worldwide live under an authoritarian regime, underscoring the significant challenges to democratic governance globally.