Only 6.6% of the global population lives under full democracy, according to the Economist.

Only 6.6% of the world's population currently lives under full democracy, compared to 12.5% a decade ago.

This is stated in the annual study "Democracy Index," released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Long in Power: Presidents of Which Countries Have Been in Office for Over Ten YearsIn the infographic - presidents of which countries have been in power for over ten years. The leader is Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo from Equatorial Guinea, who has managed to hold the position for over 45 years.December 9, 2024, 14:40

Researchers note that global democracy is in worse condition than ever in the nearly twenty-year history of the index.

Since 2006, the EIU has assessed 167 countries and territories on a scale from zero to ten based on five criteria: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties. Countries are grouped into four categories: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes.

For the 16th consecutive year, Norway has been named the most democratic country in the world. New Zealand and Sweden take the second and third spots respectively. Afghanistan ranks last in the index.

Ukraine is positioned at 92nd place in the ranking – a hybrid regime. Among the issues highlighted by researchers are: centralization of power and the diminishing role of parliament and government, strict laws under martial law, and the cancellation of elections (although the index creators acknowledge that organizing free and fair elections under current circumstances would be impossible).

The report states that only 25 countries in the world have full democracy (home to 6.6% of the population), 46 countries have flawed democracy (38.4% of the world population), 36 countries have hybrid regimes (15.7% of the world population), and 60 countries have authoritarian regimes (39.2% of the population).

Recall that earlier, "Slovo i Delo" reported on which countries have presidents in power for more than ten years.

In the infographic – which countries will be holding elections this year.