The Economist Intelligence Unit has published its Democracy Index, which assesses the level of democracy in countries around the world.
In compiling the index, a number of indicators are taken into account: elections and pluralism, the functioning of government, political culture, civil liberties, and the influence of the population on politics.
Countries are divided into four groups: full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime, and authoritarian regime. Armenia ranks 86th on the list and is included among countries with a hybrid regime. Among Armenia’s neighbours, Georgia ranks 89th and Azerbaijan 146th. Armenia was 103rd in the 2018 ranking report, 111th in 2017, and 120th in 2016. Armenia received its highest score on the elections and pluralism indicator and its lowest on political culture. Armenia is presented among the countries that have recorded notable progress. It is noted that two countries with hybrid regimes — Armenia and Ukraine — have taken tangible steps toward democracy. The elections held in both countries were assessed as free and fair.
The Democracy Index report has been published since 2006, and this year Armenia has, for the first time, moved ahead of Georgia in the democracy ranking.
The most democratic countries are Norway, Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, and Finland. At the opposite pole are Chad, Syria, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and North Korea.
