Tunisia Tops Arab World in Economist’s 2011 Democracy Index

Tunisia jumped from the 145th to the 92nd position among the 167 countries measured in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index, making it the highest ranked in the Arab world for 2011.

For the first time Tunisia is ranked among “hybrid regimes,” with a score of 5.53 (10 being a perfect democracy). In 2010, Tunisia scored 2.79. The Economist Intelligence Unit is an analytical model used by the British magazine, “The Economist.”

The World Democracy Index measures democracy levels based on an examination by experts and the results of opinion polls conducted within the countries featured in the survey. The index is based on five key indicators of “democracy”: electoral processes and pluralism, political participation, function of the government, political culture, and civic liberties.

Researchers analyzed 167 countries and devised four types of regimes: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes. Almost half of world’s countries are considered to be democracies - with 25 full democracies. Tunisia ranks among 37 countries with hybrid regimes.

Developed countries dominate the fully democratic category. Two Latin American countries, an Eastern European country, two Asian countries (South Korea and Japan) and an African country (Mauritius) are among those countries considered to be “full democracies.”

Approximately 2.6 billion people still live under authoritarian regimes, nearly half of whom live in China.

Source: Le Quotidien