Thailand’s ranking on a democracy index has improved more than any other country in the world over the past year, even as other Asian nations have seen their scores fall.
Key points:
- Australia was ranked 15th in the world, dropping six places from the previous year.
- Thailand recorded the largest overall score improvement in the world
- Five of the top six countries were Nordic, with Norway maintaining its lead
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked Australia 15th in the world, down six places from the previous year, behind New Zealand and several European countries.
The rankings are based on the EIU’s analysis of five key areas, including electoral processes, the functioning of government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties in 165 countries.
Australia lost some ground in measures of political culture and civil liberties, compared to the 2021 rankings.
Thailand recorded the largest overall score improvement in the world in 2022, rising from 72nd to 55th in the global ranking.
The EIU attributed the dramatic improvement to more space for the country’s opposition parties, greater political participation and a reduced threat from secessionist movements.
However, Thailand still had a way to go to improve democracy, the EIU said, because the government was in command of its security apparatus and judiciary.
Political parties in Thailand seeking to form a coalition government after the 2023 elections will also need to win support from the military establishment.
Of the 28 countries in Asia, nine improved their scores, seven were unchanged, and 12 saw a decline last year.
COVID lockdowns in China and an ongoing military coup in Myanmar resulted in those countries seeing their democracy rankings drop.
Some of the worst results in the world were in Asia; Afghanistan, Myanmar and North Korea were the lowest ranked countries, according to the report.
Overall, the overall score improved marginally, from 5.28 in 2021 to 5.29 last year.
“This is a grim outcome given that in 2022 the world began to move beyond the pandemic-related suppression of individual liberties that persisted through 2020 and 2021,” the report says.
Nordic nations and Kiwis dominate top rankings
Asia and Australia have five “full democracies”, including New Zealand, Taiwan, Australia, Japan, and South Korea.
The region’s overall score has worsened or stagnated over the past six years, but is still above the world average of 5.46.
“The region underperforms North America (8.37), Western Europe (8.36) and Latin America (5.79),” according to the report.
“But [it] surpasses Eastern Europe (5.39), Sub-Saharan Africa (4.14) and the Middle East and North Africa (3.34).”
“According to the 2022 Democracy Index, 72 of the 167 countries and territories covered by the model, or 43.1 percent of the total, can be considered democracies,” the report says.
“The number of full democracies increased to 24 in 2022, up from 21 in 2021.”
Five of the top six countries were Nordic, with Norway taking the top spot.
The EIU said Norway maintained its position at the top because it ranked highly in all five categories of the index.
The only non-Nordic country in the mix of leaders was New Zealand in second.
“These countries score high in all categories, particularly the electoral process and pluralism and the functioning of government,” the report says.
Iceland ranked third, followed by Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and then Australia.
