Turkey ranks 110th in global democracy index

Duvar English

Turkey was ranked 110th of 165 nations and two territories in the Democracy Index 2019 - a list of the most and least democratic countries in the world - said The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a news and general affairs publication, in its annual report on Jan. 22. Turkey was also ranked 110th in the list in the EIU's 2018 report.

The index’s ranking was based on 60 indicators across five broad categories: electoral process and pluralism, the functioning of government, political participation, democratic political culture and civil liberties.

Turkey was awarded the overall score of 4.09 (out of 10), which put it under the category of “hybrid regime,” the second lowest after “authoritarian regime.”

Turkey registered a fall in its score over the years. Its score was above 5 until 2017; but in 2017, it fell to 4.88 and then further to 4.37 in 2018.

In the 2019 report, 22 countries were branded as “full democracies,” 54 as “flawed democracies,” 37 as “hybrid regimes,” and 54 as “authoritarian regimes.”

Of the total number of 21 countries in western Europe, fifteen were classified as “full democracies,” five were classed as “flawed democracies,” leaving Turkey as the only “hybrid regime” in the region.

The report defines “hybrid regimes” as those in which “elections have substantial irregularities that often prevent them from being both free and fair.”

“Government pressure on opposition parties and candidates may be common. Serious weaknesses are more prevalent than in flawed democracies—in political culture, functioning of government and political participation. Corruption tends to be widespread and the rule of law is weak. Civil society is weak. Typically, there is harassment of and pressure on journalists, and the judiciary is not independent,” the report says for its definition of “hybrid regimes.”

The list was topped by Norway, with Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Finland rounding out the top 5 and North Korea in last place. Pakistan was ranked 108 with a score of 4.25 and China received 2.26 for a ranking of 153.