By CNN Philippines Staff, February 3, 2023; CNN Philippines
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2023/2/3/PH-Global-democracy-index.html??
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 3) — The country placed 52nd out of 167 countries in the Democracy Index 2022 by London-based think tank The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Still classified as a “flawed democracy,” the Philippines slightly improved its ranking from 54th in 2021. The country ranked 55th in 2020, 54th in 2019, 53rd in 2018, and 51st in 2017.
The EIU reported on Thursday that the country scored a total of 6.73 out of 10 in 2022, a slight rise from 6.62 the previous year.
The think tank’s annual index measures the state of global democracy based on scores for 60 indicators grouped in the five categories: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties.
After tallying its scores, EIU categorizes the countries in four regime types — full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes.
According to its 2022 report, the Philippines is defined as a “flawed democracy,” which means it reflects free and fair elections, a country with respected basic civil liberties, and noted significant weaknesses in some aspects of democracy, including governance, political culture and participation.
Among the indicators, the country scored highest in electoral process and pluralism (9.17), followed by political participation (7.78), civil liberties (7.35), functioning of government (5.0) and political culture (4.38).
In Asia and Australasia, the Philippines ranked ninth among countries and territories. Taiwan topped the list, ranking 10th globally with an 8.99 total score.
Norway maintained its top spot with a score of 9.81, followed by New Zealand (9.61) and Iceland (9.52). Afghanistan remained at the bottom of the list with a score of 0.32, followed by Myanmar (0.74) and North Korea (1.08).
The latest report also showed that countries under “full democracies” increased from 21 to 24, while “flawed democracies” dropped from 53 to 48. “Hybrid regimes” rose from 34 to 36, while “authoritarian regimes” remained at 59.
The recent index centered on how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affected world democracy.
The report’s worst performer was Russia, which dropped 22 places to 146th.