Democracy in Asia

In today's world, Democracy in Asia is a topic that has captured the attention of many people in different areas of society. From its impact on the economy to its influence on popular culture, Democracy in Asia has become a topic of great relevance today. With the advancement of technology and constant changes in society, it is crucial to understand and analyze how Democracy in Asia is affecting our lives. In this article, we will explore different aspects of Democracy in Asia and its impact on our world, from its origins to its relevance today.

Map of V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index for 2024 in Asia

Democracy in Asia can be comparatively assessed[1] according to various definitions of democracy.[2] According to the V-Dem Democracy indices, the Asian countries with the highest democracy scores in year 2023 were Taiwan, Japan, Cyprus, Israel, and South Korea, meanwhile the Asian countries with lowest democracy scores in 2023 are Saudi Arabia, China and Afghanistan.[3] Democratic backsliding can be observed in parts of Asia.[4] The V-Dem Democracy Report identified for the year 2023 East Timor as a case of stand-alone democratization and Thailand and Maldives as cases of U-Turn democratization.[5]

By country

Measures of democracy

The table below shows Asian countries scored on V-Dem Democracy indices for year 2024.[6][7][8]

V-Dem Democracy Indices
Country Democracy Indices Democracy Component Indices
Electoral Liberal Liberal Egalitarian Participatory Deliberative
 Japan 0.82 0.734 0.902 0.934 0.562 0.908
 Taiwan 0.8 0.7 0.878 0.874 0.748 0.844
 Cyprus 0.774 0.651 0.839 0.902 0.566 0.831
 East Timor 0.733 0.549 0.72 0.569 0.552 0.715
 South Korea 0.729 0.631 0.872 0.856 0.61 0.809
 Israel 0.715 0.617 0.869 0.808 0.601 0.773
 Nepal 0.669 0.522 0.76 0.585 0.583 0.611
 Sri Lanka 0.664 0.486 0.699 0.671 0.594 0.617
 Armenia 0.623 0.414 0.61 0.802 0.411 0.688
 Maldives 0.564 0.423 0.714 0.584 0.48 0.705
 Bhutan 0.561 0.454 0.783 0.826 0.541 0.899
 Malaysia 0.517 0.362 0.643 0.709 0.538 0.673
 Mongolia 0.496 0.389 0.736 0.653 0.402 0.746
 Indonesia 0.483 0.326 0.606 0.538 0.592 0.811
 Georgia 0.48 0.328 0.615 0.726 0.507 0.751
 Papua New Guinea 0.461 0.384 0.784 0.461 0.514 0.507
 Philippines 0.435 0.308 0.633 0.314 0.571 0.526
 Singapore 0.414 0.343 0.752 0.805 0.132 0.742
 India 0.398 0.291 0.635 0.425 0.521 0.629
 Thailand 0.389 0.289 0.646 0.483 0.356 0.371
 Iraq 0.351 0.228 0.524 0.459 0.438 0.594
 Lebanon 0.348 0.207 0.463 0.379 0.421 0.557
 Kyrgyzstan 0.333 0.183 0.411 0.619 0.397 0.373
 Pakistan 0.313 0.199 0.48 0.223 0.499 0.529
 Kuwait 0.292 0.266 0.716 0.613 0.148 0.433
 Turkey 0.288 0.117 0.255 0.539 0.422 0.182
 Jordan 0.273 0.274 0.772 0.577 0.302 0.876
 Kazakhstan 0.272 0.134 0.326 0.539 0.291 0.5
 Uzbekistan 0.215 0.078 0.19 0.435 0.196 0.422
 Palestine (West Bank) 0.214 0.117 0.323 0.541 0.469 0.177
 Bangladesh 0.201 0.068 0.2 0.323 0.243 0.293
 Cambodia 0.186 0.056 0.133 0.206 0.207 0.183
 Azerbaijan 0.175 0.054 0.133 0.34 0.102 0.093
 Tajikistan 0.174 0.05 0.12 0.197 0.144 0.136
 Vietnam 0.174 0.124 0.382 0.614 0.499 0.659
 Oman 0.174 0.14 0.443 0.571 0.388 0.189
 Russia 0.172 0.056 0.143 0.371 0.376 0.109
 Hong Kong 0.169 0.133 0.421 0.736 0.142 0.15
 Iran 0.167 0.092 0.275 0.473 0.092 0.324
 Turkmenistan 0.149 0.033 0.076 0.289 0.075 0.039
 Syria 0.145 0.054 0.155 0.23 0.194 0.085
 Laos 0.134 0.102 0.339 0.428 0.386 0.164
 Yemen 0.127 0.047 0.142 0.087 0.166 0.132
 Bahrain 0.124 0.052 0.158 0.385 0.115 0.158
 United Arab Emirates 0.103 0.078 0.27 0.45 0.086 0.298
 Palestine (Gaza) 0.095 0.053 0.18 0.405 0.212 0.113
 Qatar 0.087 0.08 0.284 0.395 0.105 0.387
 North Korea 0.083 0.014 0.033 0.31 0.153 0.016
 Myanmar 0.083 0.016 0.041 0.21 0.34 0.195
 Afghanistan 0.081 0.016 0.044 0.077 0.027 0.073
 China 0.073 0.036 0.125 0.302 0.1 0.227
 Saudi Arabia 0.015 0.047 0.187 0.449 0.081 0.258

See also

References

  1. ^ Geissel, Brigitte; Kneuer, Marianne; Lauth, Hans-Joachim (2016). "Measuring the quality of democracy: Introduction". International Political Science Review. 37 (5). Sage Publications: 571–579. doi:10.1177/0192512116669141. ISSN 0192-5121. JSTOR 26556872. S2CID 151808737. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  2. ^ Greenwood, Shannon (2022-12-06). "Appendix A: Classifying democracies". Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  3. ^ V-Dem Institute (2023). "The V-Dem Dataset". Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  4. ^ Croissant, Aurel; Haynes, Jeffrey (2021). "Democratic regression in Asia: Introduction". Democratization. 28: 1–21. doi:10.1080/13510347.2020.1851203.
  5. ^ Nord, Marina; Lundstedt, Martin; Altman, David; Angiolillo, Fabio; et al. (2024). Lindberg, Staffan I. (ed.). Democracy Report 2024: Democracy Winning and Losing at the Ballot (PDF) (Report). University of Gothenburg: V-Dem Institute.
  6. ^ "Democracy Report 2025, 25 Years of Autocratization – Democracy Trumped?" (PDF). Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  7. ^ "The V-Dem Dataset – V-Dem". V-Dem. V-Dem Institute. 2025. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  8. ^ Coppedge, Michael; Gerring, John; Glynn, Adam; Knutsen, Carl Henrik; Lindberg, Staffan I.; et al. (January 2020). Varieties of Democracy: Measuring Two Centuries of Political Change. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108347860. ISBN 9781108347860.