Singapore ranks 75 out of 167 countries in the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)’s Democracy Index 2015.
EIU in its report wrote, “The fearful era in which we live is not conducive to defending democratic standards or extending democracy’s reach across the globe. The latest edition of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index reflects the situation in 2015, a year in which democracy was tested in the face of war, terrorism, mass migration and other crises, and, in some cases, suffered serious setbacks. In our age of anxiety, the first casualty of fear and insecurity is often freedom.”
Almost one-half of the world’s countries can be considered to be democracies, but, as reflected in the democracy index, the number of “full democracies” is low, at only 20 countries; 59 countries are rated as “flawed democracies”. Of the remaining 88 countries in our index, 51 are “authoritarian” and 37 are considered to be “hybrid regimes”.
Norway tops the Democracy Index global ranking in 2015 and North Korea is bottom. The US scrapes into the “full democracy” category, in 20th place, reflecting deepening polarisation of the political scene, popular discontent with the workings of democracy and a repressive law enforcement system.
Singapore, with the total score of 6.1, barely qualifying under the category of “flawed democracies” (6-7.9), with 0.2 points away from the category of “hybrid regimes” (4-5.9).

Democracy Index 2015, by regime type
No. of countries % of countries % of world population
Full democracies 20 12.0 8.9
Flawed democracies 59 35.3 39.5
Hybrid regimes 37 22.2 17.5
Authoritarian regimes 51 30.5 34.1
Note. “World” population refers to the total population of the 167 countries covered by the Index. Since this excludes only micro-states, this is nearly equal to the entire estimated world population.
Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Most “full democracies” are in western Europe. There are two Asian countries (South Korea and Japan), one Latin American country (Uruguay) and one African country (Mauritius). “Flawed democracies” are concentrated in Latin America, eastern Europe and Asia. “Authoritarian regimes” are concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and the CIS countries of eastern Europe. Around 2.6bn people, more than one-third of the world’s population, live under authoritarian rule (with a large share being, of course, in China).
According to Joan Hoey, editor of the report, “An increased sense of anxiety and insecurity in the face of diverse perceived risks and threats—economic, political, social and security—is undermining democracy. Defending democracy means upholding liberty, equality, tolerance and free expression, promoting a democratic political culture and fostering democratic institutions.”
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. 
[junkie-toggle title=”Ranking and scores of the 167 countries in the report” state=”closed”] [table id=1 /] [/junkie-toggle]  

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