Ranking of Countries by Quality of Democracy
DENMARK
Rank: #1
Total Value Index: 0.958
Note: Working Democracy
USA:
Rank #36. (Out of 136 total)
Total Value Index: 0.811
Note: Deficient Democracy
AI Overview
The United States is considered a “flawed democracy,” rather than a “full democracy”. While the U.S. has democratic institutions and practices, various factors contribute to it being categorized as flawed, including issues like electoral integrity, checks and balances, and political polarization.
Here’s a more detailed explanation from AI:
Factors contributing to the “flawed democracy” rating.
- Intense political polarization and declining political culture: The EIU identifies the US’s intense partisan division as a major contributing factor to its score. The political culture category measures public support for democracy and rejection of authoritarianism. Polls have found low trust in elected officials and political parties, and some surveys even indicate a significant minority of Americans are open to authoritarian alternatives.
- Dysfunctional government: The American political system’s high level of institutional gridlock and political sectarianism lowers its score for the “functioning of government”. This dysfunction leads to public distrust, as many feel the government is not responsive to their needs.
- Electoral concerns and voter suppression: While the US still scores high on electoral process and pluralism, various reports have cited concerns about the fairness of elections. Issues include partisan gerrymandering, administrative barriers to voting, and other forms of voter suppression.
- Erosion of checks and balances: Some analyses suggest that problems with the Electoral College, the Senate’s structure, and the Supreme Court’s politicization, along with the influence of “dark money” in campaigns, have eroded the system of checks and balances.
Key recent assessments
- 2025 Democracy Index (assessing 2024): The EIU’s 2025 report maintained the US’s classification as a “flawed democracy,” though the US moved up one spot in the rankings.
- 2024 Democracy Index (assessing 2023): The EIU also rated the US a “flawed democracy” in this report, ranking it 29th among 167 countries. The EIU noted high scores for electoral process but persistent issues with political culture.
- Other democracy watchdogs:
- Freedom House: While Freedom House classifies the US as a “free” country, its aggregate score has been in decline since 2015.
- V-Dem Institute: The V-Dem Institute has warned that the US has “autocratized to a significant degree,” with concerns about the freedom and fairness of elections.
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“Freedom and democracy in the United States is in decline. According to the Economist, the United States now ranks not among the world’s “full democracies” (such as Canada, Japan, and most of Western Europe) but among the “flawed democracies” (such as Greece, Israel, Poland, and Brazil).
What is driving these shifts? As early as 2018, the researchers at the Varieties of Democracy Institute identified concerns about inadequate checks on executive power and the freedom and fairness of elections.”
“The American states have diverged substantially in their commitment to democratic practices. While some states have expanded voter access and strengthened impartial election administration, other states have moved in the opposite direction.”
“It is not at all obvious that the GOP rank and file will accept legitimate defeats in 2024, or that all prominent party leaders will validate free and fair election outcomes unless they are Republican victories.”
“Democratic erosion can occur between elections. Even a legitimately elected leader can become an autocrat through executive aggrandizement: consolidating power by reducing the independence of the civil service and by undermining the “checks and balances” provided by the legislature and judicial system.”
“Election integrity is threatened if incumbents can weaponize the provision of government services or government jobs for partisan ends.”
“Would-be autocrats commonly seek to mobilize the powers of the state to undercut political opposition and tighten their grasp on power both between and during elections.”
“To an unprecedented degree, the Trump administration and its allies sought to delegitimize, incapacitate, and politicize the independent civil service.28 Throughout his term and as part of his attempted election subversion, President Trump pressured and fired senior officials in the Justice Department. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration interfered with the health reports provided by the Centers for Disease Control. Civil servants at every level of government experienced retaliation when their work did not comport with the claims or preferences of the administration. Entire offices were relocated to distant cities, forcing employees to uproot their families or quit. Attacks on the honesty of individual election officials, health officials, and others became commonplace, in some cases provoking threats of violence against them.31 Shortly before the 2020 election, President Trump released an executive order, “Schedule F,” intended to give him the authority to fire as many as 50,000 career civil servants. Preparations are underway to continue this process of power consolidation under a future Republican president, whether or not that president is Trump.”
Posted August 22, 2025 by Score Card.