When I wrote in The Economist at the start of 2024 about the challenges for democracy from mounting global uncertainty, I did not know the extent to which this would bear out over the year. In the following months, political developments in the United States highlighted a trend of democratic slippage in new forms and places, while conflict and insecurity shifted policy and funding priorities in ways that put democracy—and democracy support—into ever greater jeopardy. Today, the state and fate of democracy in the world is perhaps more uncertain than it has been in our lifetimes.

In addition to this macro trend, this year’s Global State of Democracy report reveals democratic instability at a thematic level. Representation is the strongest aspect of democracy overall, according to International IDEA’s indices. Yet, amid an unprecedented 74 national elections in 2024, Representation scores collapsed to their worst level in over 20 years, with seven times more countries declining than advancing. Meanwhile, Rule of Law—the weakest overall performer—fell most strikingly in Europe, where performance has been historically robust. Only Participation scores stayed relatively constant, confirming our previous findings that much of democracy’s lingering resilience comes from civic engagement, including in regions suffering deterioration in other aspects of democracy.

Read the full report here