Topic 09 of 18 · Country Index 2026

Democracy & Civil Liberties

Do people choose their rulers, and can they speak freely?

Norway is placed first of 198 countries on democracy & civil liberties in the Country Index 2026, and Eritrea 198th. The standing rests on 4 key statistics; the other 25 on this page are published as context, with no vote.

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Placed first · Country Index 2026Norway

1st of 198

198countries placed
26measured, not placed
4key statistics
29statistics in all
6publishers
2025the years the keys describe

01Country Index 2026

Who leads on democracy & civil liberties

The three countries placed highest of 198, the three placed lowest, and the country placed highest on each continent. Each position is a place in this topic’s own list, built from its key statistics.

1
Norway
Northern Europe
1st of 198 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Ximonic , Simo Räsänen · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
Denmark
Northern Europe
2nd of 198 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: User:Aconcagua · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
Liechtenstein
Western Europe
3rd of 198 · 2 of 4 keys
Photo: Guido Radig,Inkey · CC BY 3.0, greyscale

Placed lowest on Democracy & Civil Liberties

Positions out of 198. A standing is relative: it says where a country places against the others measured, not that it scored zero.

Placed first on each continent · position among all 198

02The subject

About democracy & civil liberties

Political rights and the freedoms that make them mean something: whether elections are genuine, whether people can assemble and organise, and whether journalists can report without being jailed for it. Deliberately separate from governance — competent administration and political freedom often move in opposite directions.

Democracy is measured here as more than elections. Whether elections are genuine, and whether those in power can actually be removed through them, is the starting point. Whether people can assemble, organise and speak between elections is the second, because a country can hold real votes while closing the space around them.

The third is whether power itself is bound by rules: whether contracts are enforced, property is protected and the courts and police answer to the law rather than to those who command them.

What this topic does not measure

This topic does not judge whether a government is competent or honest — that is Governance & Institutions — and it does not measure economic freedom. It also cannot capture everything about a political system in a single place in a list, which is why every key behind it links to the publisher's full edition.

03The evidence

The 4 statistics that decide it

These are the only statistics that place countries on democracy & civil liberties — one vote each. Every number is somebody else’s research, reproduced without adjustment; the ordering on top is this site’s.

Key 1 of 4
Rule of Law
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: Whether the law binds those who write it — contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts. Where the other two keys measure who holds power and what people may do, this measures whether power itself is bound by rules.
Edition used
2025data for 2025
Countries
211
Publisher’s rank
None — values only
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Current leader, 2025 editionFinland
Every country, every edition
Key 2 of 4
Civic Space Ratings
CIVICUS
Why it is a key: Whether people can assemble, organise and speak in practice this year. Correlates 0.915 with V-Dem, just inside the 0.92 bar, and kept because a country can hold real elections while closing civic space between them.
Edition used
2025data for 2025
Countries
198
Publisher’s rank
None — values only
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Current leader, 2025 editionKiribati
Every country, every edition
Key 3 of 4
V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
Why it is a key: Regime type as assessed by scholars: whether elections are genuine and whether rulers can be removed by them.
Edition used
2025data for 2025
Countries
176
Publisher’s rank
None — values only
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Current leader, 2025 editionDenmark
Every country, every edition
Key 4 of 4
Perceptions of Electoral Integrity Index
Electoral Integrity Project (EIP)
Why it is a key: Whether a country's most recent national election was conducted with integrity, from the electoral laws and boundaries to the count, as election experts judged it — the subject's first question, whether elections are genuine.
Edition used
2025data for 2025
Countries
171
Publisher’s rank
None — values only
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Current leader, 2025 editionSweden
Every country, every edition
How the keys combine
Each country’s value on each key becomes its place in that key’s own field, as a share of the field. The shares are averaged, one vote per key, and only the order that produces is published.
The method in full

04Every placed country

Democracy & Civil Liberties on a map

Darker is placed higher. Hover a country for its position, or select it to open its page. Below the map, each continent’s median position — half its placed countries sit at or above it, so lower is better.

All regions

1st198thNot placed · 26 countries with too few key statisticsNo data

1st of 5 continents
Europe
35th
median position, of 198 · 44 of its 49 countries placed
HighestNorway
2nd of 5 continents
Oceania
43rd
median position, of 198 · 14 of its 21 countries placed
HighestNew Zealand
3rd of 5 continents
Americas
70th
median position, of 198 · 35 of its 48 countries placed
HighestCanada
4th of 5 continents
Asia
134th
median position, of 198 · 50 of its 52 countries placed
HighestJapan
5th of 5 continents
Africa
142nd
median position, of 198 · 55 of its 55 countries placed
HighestCabo Verde
Every region

All 22 sub-regions on Democracy & Civil Liberties, best median first

1Australia and New Zealandmedian 7thfrom 2 of 2New Zealand7
2Northern Europemedian 8thfrom 10 of 13Norway1
3Northern Americamedian 15thfrom 2 of 4Canada=15
4Western Europemedian 18thfrom 9 of 9Liechtenstein3
5Micronesiamedian 29thfrom 5 of 7Palau14
6Southern Europemedian 53rdfrom 15 of 17San Marino6
7Caribbeanmedian 54thfrom 13 of 24Saint Kitts and Nevis34
8Southern Africamedian 66thfrom 5 of 5Botswana61
9Polynesiamedian 67thfrom 3 of 7Tuvalu19
10Melanesiamedian 79thfrom 4 of 5Vanuatu=57
11Eastern Asiamedian 82ndfrom 7 of 8Japan28
12Eastern Europemedian 86thfrom 10 of 10Czechia20
13South Americamedian 90thfrom 12 of 12Uruguay23
14South-eastern Asiamedian 114thfrom 11 of 11Timor-Leste=73
15Central Americamedian 118thfrom 8 of 8Costa Rica31
16Southern Asiamedian 119thfrom 9 of 9Bhutan71
17Western Africamedian 128thfrom 16 of 16Cabo Verde37
18Western Asiamedian 136thfrom 18 of 19Cyprus=47
19Central Asiamedian 145thfrom 5 of 5Kyrgyzstan135
20Northern Africamedian 147thfrom 6 of 6Morocco108
21Eastern Africamedian 151stfrom 19 of 19Seychelles44
22Middle Africamedian 160thfrom 9 of 9São Tomé and Príncipe=62

05The whole field

Where all 198 countries stand

In order, best first. A row resting on fewer keys rests on less evidence: a country needs 2 of the 4 to be placed at all. “=” marks a position shared with another country. Select a country to see the working behind its standing.

The full Country Index 2026

Search this list

Showing 25 of 198 countries placed on Democracy & Civil Liberties

26 countries measured in the index but not placed on democracy & civil liberties

Each holds readings on too few of this topic’s key statistics to be placed. Their profiles still show every reading the publishers give.

06Beyond the headline

A different story

The countries placed furthest above and below their overall position in the Country Index 2026. Both positions are compared as a share of their own field, because 50th of 193 and 50th of 174 are not the same showing.

Placed higher on Democracy & Civil Liberties than overall

Placed lower on Democracy & Civil Liberties than overall

07In records

Democracy in records

One country at the extreme of a statistic under this topic, read from its newest edition. Where countries tie at the top, no record is named.

All statistics

Strongest rule of law
Finland
2.012
on the World Bank’s −2.5 to 2.5 scale
World Bank Group · data for 2025
Highest electoral democracy score
Denmark
0.913
on V-Dem’s 0–1 index
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · data for 2025
Strongest voice and accountability
Norway
1.825
on the World Bank’s −2.5 to 2.5 scale
World Bank Group · data for 2025

08Context, no vote

Also measured under democracy & civil liberties

25 more statistics on the same subject, published in full and deliberately given no vote — keeping them out is what stops the standing drifting toward whichever kind of statistic was imported most. Select a row for its leader and trend.

All statistics

Voice and AccountabilityWorld Bank Group · 206 countries · 2025World Bank Group2062025
Current leader:Norway
World Bank Group · 27 editions, data 1996–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Compliance with Labour RightsILO · 186 countries · 2024ILO1862024
International Labour Organization (ILO) · 10 editions, data 2015–2024
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset
Academic Freedom IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Czechia
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Deliberative Democracy IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Denmark
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Egalitarian Democracy IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Denmark
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Equal Protection IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Luxembourg
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Denmark
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Freedom of Foreign MovementV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Germany
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Freedom of ReligionV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:New Zealand
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Government Censorship of the MediaV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Belgium
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Government Dissemination of False Information (Domestic)V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Latvia
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 26 editions, data 2000–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Government Internet ShutdownsV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Spain
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 26 editions, data 2000–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Government Social Media CensorshipV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Portugal
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 26 editions, data 2000–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Judicial Constraints on the Executive IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Australia
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Liberal Democracy IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Denmark
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Military Dimension IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Neopatrimonial Rule IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Most affected:Nicaragua
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Participatory Democracy IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Switzerland
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Physical Violence IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Women's Political Empowerment IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 176 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1762025
Current leader:Denmark
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Exclusion by Socio-Economic GroupV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 174 countries · 2023V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1742023
Most affected:Central African Republic
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 34 editions, data 1990–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Freedom of Peaceful AssemblyV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 172 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1722025
Current leader:Sweden
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Political PolarizationV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 172 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1722025
Most affected:Myanmar
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Social Institutions and Gender IndexOECD · 140 countries · 2023OECD1402023
Most affected:Mauritania
OECD · 1 edition
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset

Describing the shape of a country (1)

These have no better end — more is not better or worse, only different — so they could not place countries even as keys.

Mass MobilizationV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 172 countries · 2025V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1722025
Highest:Madagascar
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 36 editions, data 1990–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset

09Analysis

Charts and analysis on democracy & civil liberties

All charts

May 29, 2025
WJP Rule of Law Index 2024: Which Countries Lead in Justice and Accountability?
The thirteen strongest of the 142 countries the World Justice Project measures, and the eight factors the overall score averages. Four countries are published at 0.83 and still carry separate ranks.

10Keep reading

Explore further

All topics

The most-read profiles, on Democracy & Civil Liberties

How Democracy & Civil Liberties relates to the other topics

Moves most with: Peace & SecurityCountries place similarly on both. (0.79, 177 countries)
Moves most with: Governance & InstitutionsCountries place similarly on both. (0.78, 194 countries)
Moves least with: Environment & SustainabilityAlmost no link between the two. (-0.17, 186 countries)

Rank correlation of the two topics’ positions across the countries placed on both: 1 means the same order, 0 no link. Every pair of topics

The other topics

The full Country Index 2026

11Method

Questions, method and sources

Which country is placed first on democracy & civil liberties in the Country Index 2026?

Norway, of the 198 countries given a standing on Democracy & Civil Liberties. The standing is this site’s own, built from 4 key statistics by 6 publishers; it is not a rank any of those publishers printed.

Which country is placed last on democracy & civil liberties?

Eritrea, 198th of 198. A standing says how a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move.

Which statistics decide the Democracy & Civil Liberties standing?

Rule of Law, Civic Space Ratings, V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index, Perceptions of Electoral Integrity Index. Each is read at one edition and turned into a place within its own field; the places are averaged with one vote each. The other 25 statistics on this topic are published as context and have no vote.

Why is a country not placed on democracy & civil liberties?

A country needs readings on at least 2 of the 4 key statistics before it is placed. 26 countries in the Country Index fall short on this topic; every reading the publishers do give for them is still on their profiles.

Are these the publishers’ own rankings?

The underlying numbers and any printed ranks are the publishers’, reproduced without adjustment on each statistic’s page. The standing that combines them is this site’s, and the average it is ordered by is never published — only the position it produces.

How the Democracy & Civil Liberties standing is decided, step by step

A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.

A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 25 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
Each key is read at one edition. All of them describe 2025.
Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 198 countries clear the bar here.
A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.

The key statistics and their licences

Rule of Law — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
Civic Space Ratings — CIVICUS, CC BY-SA 4.0
V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index — V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0
Perceptions of Electoral Integrity Index — Electoral Integrity Project (EIP), CC BY 4.0

The other 25 statistics on this page come from 4 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.

The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Photographs

The countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Norway — Ximonic , Simo Räsänen, CC BY-SA 3.0
Denmark — User:Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0
Liechtenstein — Guido Radig,Inkey, CC BY 3.0

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Democracy & Civil Liberties: country standings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/topics/democracy