Institutionalized democracy by country
Democracy is conceived as three essential, interdependent elements. One is the presence of institutions and procedures through which citizens can express effective preferences about alternative policies and leaders. Second is the existence of institutionalized constraints on the exercise of power by the executive....
What the numbers show
Institutionalized democracy is currently reported for 51 countries. The highest value is 10 in Cape Verde; the lowest is -88 in Tunisia.
The median across all reporting countries is 4, and the mean is -0.7451.
Over the past decade 18 countries rose and 4 fell. The largest increase was in Guinea (up 400.0%), and the largest decrease in Tunisia (down 8,900.0%).
Institutionalized democracy: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Verde | 10 | 2011 | unchanged | volatile |
| 1 | Mauritius | 10 | 2011 | unchanged | rising |
| 3 | South Africa | 9 | 2011 | unchanged | volatile |
| 3 | Comoros | 9 | 2011 | up 350.0% | volatile |
| 5 | Lesotho | 8 | 2011 | up 109.1% | volatile |
| 5 | Kenya | 8 | 2011 | up 300.0% | volatile |
| 5 | Botswana | 8 | 2011 | unchanged | rising |
| 5 | Sierra Leone | 8 | 2011 | up 109.1% | volatile |
| 5 | Ghana | 8 | 2011 | up 14.3% | volatile |
| 10 | Niger | 7 | 2011 | up 16.7% | volatile |
| 10 | Liberia | 7 | 2011 | up 133.3% | volatile |
| 10 | Mali | 7 | 2011 | up 16.7% | volatile |
| 10 | Guinea-Bissau | 7 | 2011 | up 40.0% | volatile |
| 10 | Senegal | 7 | 2011 | down 12.5% | volatile |
| 10 | Zambia | 7 | 2011 | up 40.0% | volatile |
| 10 | Benin | 7 | 2011 | up 16.7% | volatile |
| 10 | Burundi | 7 | 2011 | up 108.0% | volatile |
| 18 | Namibia | 6 | 2011 | unchanged | flat |
| 18 | Malawi | 6 | 2011 | up 20.0% | volatile |
| 18 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 6 | 2011 | up 107.8% | volatile |
| 21 | Guinea | 5 | 2011 | up 400.0% | volatile |
| 21 | Mozambique | 5 | 2011 | unchanged | volatile |
| 21 | Cote d'Ivoire | 5 | 2011 | unchanged | volatile |
| 24 | Nigeria | 4 | 2011 | unchanged | volatile |
| 24 | Gabon | 4 | 2011 | — | volatile |
| 24 | Madagascar | 4 | 2011 | down 42.9% | volatile |
| 27 | Zimbabwe | 3 | 2011 | up 200.0% | volatile |
| 27 | Ethiopia | 3 | 2011 | unchanged | volatile |
| 27 | Algeria | 3 | 2011 | up 200.0% | volatile |
| 27 | Djibouti | 3 | 2011 | unchanged | volatile |
| 31 | Angola | 2 | 2011 | up 100.0% | volatile |
| 31 | Burkina Faso | 2 | 2011 | unchanged | volatile |
| 31 | Tanzania | 2 | 2011 | unchanged | volatile |
| 34 | Central African Republic | 1 | 2011 | down 80.0% | volatile |
| 34 | Uganda | 1 | 2011 | — | volatile |
| 34 | Togo | 1 | 2011 | unchanged | volatile |
| 34 | Chad | 1 | 2011 | unchanged | volatile |
| 34 | Sudan | 1 | 2011 | — | volatile |
| 34 | Morocco | 1 | 2011 | — | volatile |
| 34 | Cameroon | 1 | 2011 | unchanged | volatile |
| 41 | Congo | 0 | 2011 | — | volatile |
| 41 | Eswatini | 0 | 2011 | — | volatile |
| 41 | Rwanda | 0 | 2011 | — | volatile |
| 41 | Egypt | 0 | 2011 | — | volatile |
| 41 | Eritrea | 0 | 2011 | — | flat |
| 41 | Mauritania | 0 | 2011 | — | volatile |
| 41 | Gambia | 0 | 2011 | — | volatile |
| 41 | Equatorial Guinea | 0 | 2011 | — | volatile |
| 49 | Somalia | -77 | 2011 | unchanged | volatile |
| 49 | Libya | -77 | 2011 | — | volatile |
| 51 | Tunisia | -88 | 2011 | down 8,900.0% | volatile |
About this data
Democracy is conceived as three essential, interdependent elements. One is the presence of institutions and procedures through which citizens can express effective preferences about alternative policies and leaders. Second is the existence of institutionalized constraints on the exercise of power by the executive. Third is the guarantee of civil liberties to all citizens in their daily lives and in acts of political participation. Other aspects of plural democracy, such as the rule of law, systems of checks and balances, freedom of the press, and so on are means to, or specific manifestations of, these general principles. We do not include coded data on civil liberties.