MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

The Economist praises Uruguay's democratic standards

Although topping the region, Uruguay fell one notch from last year's rankings

According to The Economist's global Democracy Index published Thursday, Uruguay is the only country in the region with a full democracy, ranking 15th globally with a score of 8.67 out of 10.

Since 2006, the outlet measures 167 countries and territories on a scale from 0 to 10 ten based on electoral process and pluralism, government functioning, political participation, political culture and civil liberties. Countries are then grouped into four categories: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes.

Norway leads the list, followed by New Zealand and Sweden. In the Americas, Canada ranks 14th, followed by Uruguay. The worst-ranked countries in the region, falling downright in the authoritarian category are Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba, and Haiti.

The global average score dropped to a new low of 5.17, with only 6.6% of the world's population living in a full democracy, down from 12.5% ten years ago. Two out of five people globally live under authoritarian rule. The report highlights challenges faced by democracies worldwide, including violence during elections and the rise of authoritarian regimes.

Norway topped the overall rankings for the sixteenth consecutive year with 9.81 points, followed by New Zealand and Sweden. In the Americas, Canada is in 14th place, with a score of 8.69, followed by Uruguay, which fell one notch from the previous year and totaled 8.67. Costa Rica stood in 18th place, with 8.29 points. On the bottom end, Afghanistan scored only 0.25 points.

Nicaragua finished 147th with 2.09 points, Venezuela 142nd with 2.25, Cuba 135th with 2.58 points, and Haiti grabbed the 131st place with 2.74 points.

The global average fell to a new all-time low of 5.17, down from a high of 5.55 in 2015. Only 6.6% of the world's population lives in a full democracy, down from 12.5% ten years ago, while two out of five people in the world live under an authoritarian regime.

In Russia, a new “sham election” gave Vladimir Putin a fifth term as president. Hence, the country scored only 2 points, The Economist noted, while France was downgraded from a full democracy to a flawed one.

According to the outlet, the United States could face bigger problems in the democratic rule department this year after President Donald Trump’s moves regarding the country's civil service, among other questionable executive orders.