Economist Intelligence Unit's "Democracy Index"

Why in News?

Recently, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has refused to use official data for its "Democracy Index" rankings to the Indian government.

What is "Democracy Index"?

The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research division of the Economist Group, a UK-based private company which publishes the weekly newspaper The Economist. The index is self-described as intending to measure the state of democracy in 167 countries, of which 166 are sovereign states and 164 are UN member States.

On which basis Index prepared?

The index is based on 60 indicators grouped in five different categories, measuring Pluralism, Civil liberties and political culture.

The Democracy Index is a weighted average based on the answers of 60 questions, The questions are grouped into five categories : electoral process and Pluralism, Civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation, and political culture.

Likewise, there are few questions considered, which are, 

1) "Whether national elections are free and fair".

2) "The security of voters".

3) "The influence of foreign powers on government".

4) "The capability of the civil servents to implement policies".

Categories of "the Democracy Index"

1) Full Democracies

2) Flawed Democracies

3) Hybrid Regimes

4) Authoritarian Regimes

2020 "Democracy Index" Rankings

• Norway has topped the Index.
• Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Canada are the top five countries on the list.
• From the 167 countries, the Democracy Index has classified 23 countries as full democracies, 52 as flawed democracies, 35 as hybrid regimes and 57 as authoritarian regimes.
• India placed at 53rd position as Flawed Democracy