Bangladesh slips 2 notches to 75 in EIU democracy index

Bangladesh has slipped two notches to rank at 75 in the Democracy Index 2023 of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

It has scored 5.87 out of 10 and been marked as a hybrid regime.

The countries that combine elements of formal democracy and authoritarianism have been classified as hybrid regimes in the index.

In the report released on Thursday, the EIU examined the democratic health of 165 independent states and two territories, under five variables – electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties.

Later, it classified them into four categories – full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime, and authoritarian regime -- as per their condition.

In hybrid regimes, elections have substantial irregularities that often prevent them from being both free and fair, while government pressure on opposition parties and candidates may be common.

Here, serious weaknesses are more prevalent than in flawed democracies—in political culture, functioning of government and political participation.

Describing characteristics of a hybrid regime, the EIU also said corruption tends to be widespread in such countries, while the rule of law and civil society are weak. Typically, there is harassment of and pressure on journalists, and the judiciary is not independent.

According to the index, almost half of the world’s population – 45.4 per cent – live in a democracy of some sort, while only 7.8 per cent reside in a full democracy.

On the flip side, more than one-third of the population – 39.4 per cent – now live under authoritarian rule, a share that has been creeping up in recent years.

A total of 24 countries enjoyed complete democracy in 2023, while 50 countries were under flawed democracy, 34 under hybrid regimes and 59 under authoritarian rule.

Norway topped the democracy index with an overall score of 9.81, while New Zealand, Iceland, Sweden, and Finland secured the following positions respectively.

The United States, the most prominent campaigner of democracy in the world, has been positioned at 29th spot and marked as flawed democracy, with a score of 7.81.

In South Asia, India outperformed its peers with an overall score of 7.18 and the position at 41. It advanced 5 notches in comparison to the previous year.

Conversely, Pakistan slipped 11 spots to stand at 118th position and has been classified as an authoritarian regime, with an average score of only 3.25.

Among others, Sri Lanka went down by 10 spots to 70 with a score of 6.17. Nepal has been placed at 98 with a score of 4.60 and Bhutan at 81 with a score of 5.54.

The index showed that the condition of fully free and fair elections prevailed in only 43 of the 76 countries holding elections in 2024.

Aligning Bangladesh with Pakistan and Russia, the report read, "Unsurprisingly, elections in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Russia—where opposition forces are subject to state repression—will not bring regime change or more democracy."