V-Dem Democracy Indices

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Map of V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index for 2023
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Map of V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index for 2023

The Democracy Indices by V-Dem are democracy indices published by the V-Dem Institute that describe qualities of different democracies. It is published annually. [1] In particular, the V-Dem dataset is popular among political scientists and describes the characteristics of political regimes. Datasets released by the V-Dem Institute include information on hundreds of indicator variables describing all aspects of government, especially on the quality of democracy, inclusivity, and other economic indicators.

Contents

By 2020, the V-Dem index had "more than 470 indicators, 82 mid-level indices, and 5 high-level indices covering 202 polities from the period of 1789–2019". [2] V-Dem uses methodological tools to deal with the subject nature of ratings and their reliability. [2]

Democracy indices

As of 2022, the V-Dem Institute published 483 indicators and republishes 59 other indicators. [3] [4] V-Dem publishes five core indices with several other supplementary indices. The core indices are the electoral democracy index, the liberal democracy index, the participatory democracy index, the Deliberative Democracy Index and the egalitarian democracy index. [5]

The Electoral Democracy Index
This index measures the principle of electoral or representative democracy, including whether elections were free and fair, as well as the prevalence of a free and independent media. This index is part of all the other indices as a central component of democracy. [6]
Liberal Democracy Index
This index incorporates measures of rule of law, checks and balances, and civil liberties along with the concepts measured in the electoral democracy index. [6]
Participatory Democracy Index
This index measures the degree to which citizens participate in their own government through local democratic institutions, civil society organizations, direct democracy, and the concepts measured in the electoral democracy index. [6]
Deliberative Democracy Index
This index measures the degree to which decisions are made in the best interest of the people as opposed to due to coercion or narrow interest groups, in addition to the basic electoral democracy index. [6]
Egalitarian Democracy Index
This index measures the level of equal access to resources, power, and freedoms across various groups within a society, in addition to the level of electoral democracy. [6]

Rankings

The table below shows V-Dem Democracy rankings published in 2024. [7] [8] [9]

V-Dem Democracy Indices (14th edition)
CountryDemocracy IndicesDemocracy Component Indices
ElectoralLiberalLiberalEgalitarianParticipatoryDeliberative
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 0.9150.8830.9770.9720.7160.967
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland 0.8960.8310.9330.8750.6340.905
Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 0.8950.8450.9550.8870.6380.85
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 0.8950.8140.9090.9310.6480.91
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 0.890.8440.9620.9310.8820.98
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 0.8860.8310.950.8660.7030.831
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 0.8860.8360.9550.9610.6550.988
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 0.8840.8520.980.9030.6510.905
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 0.8780.7980.910.9390.5780.975
Flag of France.svg  France 0.8770.810.930.8110.6320.939
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 0.8710.8050.9330.9130.5850.88
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 0.8680.8160.9530.8860.6480.945
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 0.860.820.9720.8960.6370.942
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 0.8560.7550.8820.7770.6480.822
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 0.8560.8120.9670.9410.6620.976
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 0.8540.8040.9570.8320.7040.921
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 0.8540.80.9510.8910.620.943
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 0.8520.7720.9140.810.660.843
Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia 0.8520.7680.9080.8620.6740.825
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 0.8480.7720.920.6510.6570.838
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 0.8450.7510.8870.7950.6110.872
Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 0.8450.770.9220.8210.7680.849
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 0.8440.7730.9260.8930.650.827
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 0.8430.7570.9020.8410.6450.828
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 0.840.690.8030.7690.6160.696
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 0.8380.7860.9560.7230.6610.939
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 0.8370.7570.9110.9040.7470.911
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 0.8340.7440.8960.870.6590.845
Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia 0.8230.7390.9090.7920.6860.583
Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Taiwan 0.8230.7220.8780.9130.7510.897
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 0.8180.7310.9010.9270.5650.9
Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 0.7980.7350.9380.8680.6920.822
Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 0.7980.6780.8470.8290.590.807
Flag of Barbados.svg  Barbados 0.7960.6780.8490.8250.2950.887
Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu 0.7960.6910.8720.7640.5560.754
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 0.7840.6920.8870.5920.6430.925
Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 0.7790.640.8070.8940.6530.803
Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 0.7740.6360.8170.8690.5740.837
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 0.7580.6530.8640.8840.710.867
Flag of Cape Verde.svg  Cape Verde 0.7540.6480.8630.7250.5380.695
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago 0.7530.6350.840.7880.5770.928
Flag of Suriname.svg  Suriname 0.7530.6310.8370.7130.5720.773
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 0.7510.5820.7520.8350.6410.868
Flag of Seychelles.svg  Seychelles 0.7430.6590.8940.8310.2880.942
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 0.7330.6390.8790.7680.6250.68
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 0.730.5710.760.5410.5180.737
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 0.7230.6340.8890.7620.6030.759
Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 0.7130.6080.860.80.6650.93
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 0.7040.5650.7930.5280.6480.695
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 0.7030.6040.8630.8630.610.844
Flag of Peru.svg  Peru 0.6990.5760.8190.5190.6220.506
Flag of East Timor.svg  East Timor 0.6980.5070.6920.5550.5540.72
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 0.6870.5840.8510.6290.5630.865
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic 0.6850.4380.5770.460.5950.837
Flag of Nepal.svg  Nepal 0.6810.5230.7420.5920.6140.555
Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg  São Tomé and Príncipe 0.6750.5630.8350.670.5610.678
Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo 0.6740.4940.7020.6850.5240.6
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 0.6690.5010.720.6740.6570.35
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 0.6660.5880.8980.760.6630.914
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 0.6610.5620.8580.6830.3810.854
Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador 0.6460.4670.6890.4880.7590.54
Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia 0.6460.5190.7920.4250.4860.706
Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho 0.6440.5030.7580.7270.5310.689
Flag of The Gambia.svg  The Gambia 0.6410.5170.7980.6590.5920.728
Flag of Liberia.svg  Liberia 0.6390.4360.6380.5610.4690.836
Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia 0.6340.4220.6110.8110.4420.69
Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands 0.6190.4810.7590.5170.5140.495
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 0.6170.4590.7190.6880.5820.844
Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia 0.6040.4730.7610.7840.5420.803
Flag of Maldives.svg  Maldives 0.5990.4530.7280.610.490.782
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 0.5880.4440.7290.8770.5550.719
Flag of Bolivia.svg  Bolivia 0.5860.3530.530.5950.6320.541
Flag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro 0.5810.4670.7850.7710.5610.759
Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi 0.580.4850.830.4790.5670.753
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 0.580.4210.6880.6250.5490.61
Flag of Paraguay.svg  Paraguay 0.5790.4260.6970.3150.5350.493
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 0.5640.4560.7890.590.6030.833
Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia 0.560.3590.5840.5980.610.64
Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 0.5580.4340.7530.6580.4320.587
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 0.5410.360.6040.4450.5950.816
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 0.5340.2990.4760.4520.6540.545
Flag of Honduras.svg  Honduras 0.5340.3940.6950.3890.5440.675
Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia 0.5290.4240.7710.5820.6520.883
Flag of Mongolia.svg  Mongolia 0.5270.4050.7320.6070.3980.769
Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan 0.5270.4450.8190.8310.5580.921
Flag of Guyana.svg  Guyana 0.5120.3320.5780.6860.5130.38
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.5120.3460.6160.6550.5270.678
Flag of Albania.svg  Albania 0.510.4020.750.7060.5550.444
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 0.5060.3590.6550.7260.5330.662
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 0.5050.3090.5360.2940.4890.46
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 0.5040.410.7790.6380.4320.78
Flag of Benin.svg  Benin 0.4980.3250.580.7290.4870.516
Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone 0.4970.3840.7280.6420.5850.912
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 0.4910.3270.5970.4930.6090.614
Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius 0.4790.360.6960.7290.570.809
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 0.4750.3830.7610.4930.5270.524
Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar 0.4740.2410.4040.3130.50.44
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 0.4720.3010.5580.8130.5480.766
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast 0.4540.2530.4570.5220.6110.822
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 0.440.3250.6680.6310.5710.361
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 0.4350.390.8440.7080.5320.777
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 0.430.2870.5810.3340.5670.749
Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg  Guinea-Bissau 0.4210.2330.4250.4540.3450.401
Flag of Togo (3-2).svg  Togo 0.4160.2150.4090.6260.4770.735
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 0.4150.2490.50.6540.580.761
Flag of Somaliland.svg  Somaliland 0.4040.2470.5080.280.5090.507
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 0.4030.3310.7350.810.1340.738
Flag of Niger.svg  Niger 0.3890.2820.5950.6130.5990.792
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 0.3880.1110.1510.3150.4690.261
Flag of India.svg  India 0.3770.2750.6210.4290.5070.612
Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq 0.3670.210.4520.4490.4620.589
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 0.3640.2370.5290.5030.4720.667
Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 0.3640.2530.5790.7470.550.486
Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania 0.3630.1840.3730.3380.520.548
Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan 0.3580.1990.4320.5820.3920.367
Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique 0.3530.2210.4960.5130.5390.56
Flag of Angola.svg  Angola 0.3490.1730.3580.2930.1790.367
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 0.3440.2120.4840.2430.5450.531
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 0.3330.3130.80.580.1860.66
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg  Democratic Republic of the Congo 0.3170.1220.2440.3530.3980.631
Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic 0.3020.10.1890.2820.3060.373
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 0.2980.1310.2890.4980.250.229
Flag of Gabon.svg  Gabon 0.2930.1750.4290.6320.560.533
Flag of Zanzibar.svg  Zanzibar 0.2890.230.6080.6960.4620.698
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 0.2880.2280.5980.4720.3880.341
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe 0.2880.1740.4360.360.5320.543
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 0.2870.1130.2450.530.4160.195
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan 0.2840.1440.3450.5970.2990.446
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 0.2830.110.2380.5180.3850.612
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 0.280.2170.5770.4210.3920.693
Flag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros 0.2750.1060.2320.5920.5340.483
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 0.270.1210.2870.7160.230.434
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 0.2630.2490.7060.5660.4110.727
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 0.2560.2530.7290.5660.2840.692
Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine (West Bank)0.2540.1380.3590.6230.4220.388
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 0.2530.0960.2190.2430.3030.298
Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti 0.2530.1220.3030.5280.3970.387
Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg  Republic of the Congo 0.2450.1190.3050.340.5460.562
Flag of Mali.svg  Mali 0.2290.1480.4130.6090.5820.724
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 0.2150.0810.20.4490.1730.445
Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda 0.2140.0960.2520.5480.4190.589
Flag of Haiti.svg  Haiti 0.2140.0660.1520.1280.2590.597
Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela 0.2110.0550.1150.2850.4820.067
Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso 0.2050.1820.5590.6190.4210.697
Flag of Cambodia.svg  Cambodia 0.1980.0570.130.2190.3710.187
Flag of Libya.svg  Libya 0.1940.1030.2950.4460.4510.703
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 0.190.0620.1510.3960.3790.2
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 0.1890.1290.3880.3170.2110.303
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 0.1880.0640.1620.370.1190.123
Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi 0.1880.0590.1450.310.1810.199
Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea 0.1830.0570.140.3270.1130.1
Flag of Guinea.svg  Guinea 0.180.0880.2530.3880.4240.22
Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba 0.1760.0580.1510.7710.2360.3
Flag of Somalia.svg  Somalia 0.1720.1360.4290.290.2510.734
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 0.170.1370.4360.580.3880.203
Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua 0.170.0270.0420.3060.280.033
Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan 0.1680.0410.0910.1980.1570.149
Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus 0.1570.0360.0820.7340.1610.044
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 0.1560.0820.2460.50.0790.186
Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong 0.1540.1240.4010.7210.1310.17
Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan 0.150.0360.0830.2880.0650.043
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam 0.1490.1140.3720.6620.5630.613
Flag of Chad.svg  Chad 0.1480.0470.1270.2150.340.327
Flag of Syria.svg  Syria 0.1460.0540.1530.1670.1370.056
Flag of South Sudan.svg  South Sudan 0.1430.0650.1930.0820.2320.076
Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine (Gaza Strip)0.1360.070.2190.5820.3570.202
Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan 0.1350.0460.1320.2080.2790.163
Flag of Laos.svg  Laos 0.1320.0950.3130.440.3930.181
Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen 0.130.0480.140.1080.2170.181
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 0.1290.0540.1650.3910.1220.209
Flag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini 0.1240.0940.3150.2190.2530.164
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 0.1020.0780.270.4860.0950.285
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 0.0870.0850.3060.3820.0410.389
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 0.0840.0150.0360.3170.1530.036
Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar 0.0810.0160.0440.2070.3140.221
Flag of the Taliban.svg  Afghanistan 0.0750.030.1010.1120.030.093
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 0.0740.0370.1290.3150.1240.382
Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea 0.0680.010.0250.4390.0280.109
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 0.0150.0460.1840.4460.0870.249

Impact and usage

Countries autocratizing (red) or democratizing (blue) substantially and significantly (2010-2020). Countries in grey are substantially unchanged. Countries democratizing or autocratizing substantially and significantly 2010-2020.svg
Countries autocratizing (red) or democratizing (blue) substantially and significantly (2010–2020). Countries in grey are substantially unchanged.

A variety of other organizations use V-Dem's dataset in the construction of their indicators. [11] [12] The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators also use V-Dem's data to inform their Control of Corruption indicator (includes V-Dem's Corruption index), Rule of Law Indicator (includes V-Dem's liberal component index), and the Voice and Accountability Indicator (includes V-Dem's Expanded freedom of expression, freedom of association, and Clean elections indicators). [12]

Digital Society Project

The Digital Society Project is a subset of indicators on V-Dem's survey that asks questions about social media's political status and the internet. [6] Specifically, the Digital Society Project measures a range of questions related to internet censorship, misinformation online, and internet shutdowns. [13] This annual report includes 35 indicators assessing five areas: disinformation, digital media freedom, state regulation of digital media, the polarization of online media, and online social cleavages. [14] [15] It has been updated each year starting in 2019, with data covering from 2000–2021. [14] Similar to other expert analyses like Freedom House, these data are more prone to false positives when compared with remotely sensed data, such as that from Access Now or the OpenNet Initiative. [15]

Criticisms

Data on democracy, and particularly global indices of democracy, have been scrutinized and criticized by various scholars. Gerardo L. Munck and Jay Verkuilen questioned various aspects of the data produced by Freedom House and Polity, such as the concept of democracy they measured, the design of indicators, and the aggregation rule. [16] Political scientists Andrew T. Little and Anne Meng "highlight measurement concerns regarding time-varying bias in expert-coded data" such as Freedom House and V-Dem and encourage improving expert-coding practices. [17] Knutsen et al. [18] did not see evidence for time-varying bias in their expert-coded data and note the application of item response theory, factor analysis and estimates of uncertainties to limit expert biases while discussing concerns in operationalization of observer-invariant measures of democracy.

Political scientist Jonas Wolff criticized V-Dem for gradually abandoning a pluralist conceptualization of democracy. According to him, V-Dem has moved away from its original emphasis on the conceptual varieties of democracy and adopted an uncontested view of democracy as liberal democracy while also ignoring the limitations of liberal democracy. [19]

The V-Dem dataset does not cover some countries, namely: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Brunei, Dominica, Federated States of Micronesia, Grenada, Kiribati, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Tonga, Tuvalu, and the Vatican.

See also

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Democracy in Asia can be comparatively assessed according to various definitions of democracy. According to the V-Dem Democracy indices, the Asian countries with the highest democracy scores in year 2023 were Taiwan, Japan, Cyprus, Israel, and South Korea, meanwhile the Asian countries with lowest democracy scores in 2023 are Saudi Arabia, China and Afghanistan. Democratic backsliding can be observed in parts of Asia. The V-Dem Democracy Report identified for the year 2023 East Timor as a case of stand-alone democratization and Thailand and Maldives as cases of U-Turn democratization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean</span> Overview of democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean can be compared according to the different definitions of democracy. The V-Dem Democracy indices considers the Latin American and Caribbean countries with the highest democracy scores in 2023 as Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Jamaica and countries with lowest democracy scores as Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. Democratic backsliding can be observed in parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. Democratization is reported by V-Dem Democracy Report 2024 in Brazil, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Bolivia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democracy in Europe</span> Overview of democracy in Europe

Democracy in Europe can be comparatively assessed according to various definitions of democracy. According to the V-Dem Democracy Indices, the European countries with the highest democracy scores in 2023 are Denmark, Norway and Sweden, meanwhile the European countries with lowest democracy scores in 2023 are Belarus, Russia and Turkey.

References

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Further reading