Armenia Climbs in Economist’s Democracy Index

The Economist has released its annual index measuring democracy around the world. According to the magazine’s democracy survey, Armenia climbed from the 103rd spot in 2019 to the 86th spot in 2019.

The annual survey, published by the magazine’s Economist Intelligence Unit, rates the state of democracy across 167 countries based on five measures—electoral process and pluralism, the functioning of government, political participation, democratic political culture and civil liberties.

This year, the Economist found that democracy has been eroded around the world in the past year.

Despite this, Armenia, which is categorized in the survey as a “hybrid regime” has shown significant gain, compared to its neighbors. Georgia ranked 89th and Turkey at 110th are also included in the “hybrid regime” category, while Azerbaijan ranked 146th and Russia at 134th are listed among “authoritarian regimes.”

“Armenia’s score in the Democracy Index rose from 4.11 in 2017 to 4.79 in 2018, as government accountability and transparency improved and public confidence in the political system grew; it rose further, to 5.54 in 2019, as these improvements were consolidated and peaceful political activity became possible without government interference,” the Economist report said.