Countries worldwide by regime type 2022

Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union a few years later, there was high optimism about the future of the world, underlined by the increasing number of democracies. However, since 2012, the number of liberal democracies decreased. Moreover, the number of closed autocracies increased, showing a democratic decline worldwide over the past 10 years. Still, there are more democracies today than 100 years ago.

More than two thirds live in an autocratic state

The sheer number of democracies only gives a limited picture of the development of democracy worldwide as it includes states from India and China to countries with small populations such as Nauru and Tuvalu. Another way of looking at the state of democracy is the share of the world's population living in democracies. In 2022, less than one third of the global population was living in a democratic country. One reason for this is that both China and India, the two most populous countries in the world, are classified as autocracies.

Europe is the region with the highest number of democracies

In Europe, 20 out of 41 countries were ranked as liberal democracies in 2022, while 15 came under the category electoral democracies. However, the number of democracies declined over the past decade, with 28 liberal democracies in the region in 2009. Meanwhile, in Asia, only 13 out of 48 countries were either electoral or liberal democracies.

Number of countries worldwide from 1990 to 2022, by regime type

Regime type	Liberal democracies	Electoral democracies	Electoral autocracies	Closed autocracies
2022	32	58	58	30
2021	33	58	59	28
2020	36	56	62	24
2019	39	53	62	24
2018	39	55	61	23
2017	40	56	58	24
2016	38	58	58	24
2015	41	54	60	23
2014	41	53	59	23
2013	41	50	63	24
2012	43	51	62	21
2011	43	49	62	23
2010	43	50	60	23
2009	44	47	62	24
2008	44	47	62	24
2007	44	46	62	26
2006	43	49	62	23
2005	42	52	57	26
2004	41	54	52	28
2003	40	53	53	29
2002	39	51	57	29
2001	39	49	54	35
2000	39	46	57	35
1999	38	49	56	34
1998	36	50	59	31
1997	36	48	59	32
1996	36	45	58	34
1995	33	46	55	40
1994	33	44	53	44
1993	33	42	49	50
1992	31	39	50	54
1991	31	35	48	58
1990	29	33	46	63

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Release date

March 2023

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Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

1990 to 2022

Supplementary notes

The V-Dem Institute defines the different regimes as follows:
Closed autocracy: citizens do not have the right to choose either the chief executive of the government or the legislature through multi-party elections.

Electoral autocracy: citizens have the right to choose the chief executive and the legislature through multi-party elections; but they lack some freedoms, such as the freedoms of association or expression that make the elections meaningful, free, and fair.

Electoral democracy: citizens have the right to choose the chief executive and the legislature in meaningful, free and fair, and multi-party elections.

Liberal democracy: electoral democracy and citizens enjoy individual and minority rights, are equal before the law, and the actions of the executive are constrained by the legislative and the courts.

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