EIU’s “Democracy Index” – India at 53rd position

What is the News?

The Economist Intelligence Unit(EIU) has released the Democracy Index, 2020. In that, India dropped two places and currently at 53rd position.

Facts:

Democracy Index 2020:

• It was started in 2006 by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The index provides a clear image of the status of democracy worldwide in 167 countries.
• Categories: The index is based on five categories :
  • Civil liberties,
  • Electoral process and pluralism;
  • Functioning of government;
  • Political participation;
  • Political culture.
• Classification: Each country will be provided with a score of 0 to 10. These scores are decided based on the 60 indicators within the five categories. Based on their scores, each country is then classified into any one of the four types of regime. Such as,
  • full democracy,
  • flawed democracy,
  • hybrid regime,
  • authoritarian regime.

Findings Related to India:

• India has dropped two places and India’s score was 6.61. Currently, India was in 53rd position in 2020. This is due to,
  • A lapse in democratic processes among authorities.
  • Suppressive actions by the government on civil liberties.
• India has been classified as a ‘flawed democracy’ along with countries such as the US, France, Belgium and Brazil.
• However, India’s rank was higher than most of its neighbouring countries, such as Sri Lanka (68), Bangladesh (76), Bhutan (84) and Pakistan (105).

What is “Flawed Democracy” country?

These are the countries which hold free and fair elections and respect the basic civil liberties. But they have notable weaknesses with regards to democracy. Such as an underdeveloped political culture, problems in governance and low levels of political participation.

Other Findings:

• Topped by: Norway has topped the index followed by Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Canada.

Source: The Hindu