TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Taiwan No. 12 out of 167 countries and the most democratic nation in Asia, in its Democracy Index 2024.

Taiwan was classified as a full democracy, the freest of four types of regimes that include flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes. The country scored 8.78 points out of 10 based on average scores for the five categories of electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties.

Taiwan received 10 out of 10 for electoral process and pluralism, per CNA on Thursday. For civil liberties, the score was 9.41, while the country received 8.57 for government functioning, 8.13 for political culture, and the lowest score of 7.78 for political participation. Taiwan’s overall score of 8.78 for 2024 amounted to a decline from 8.92 in 2023 and 8.99 in 2022.

The global average according to the Democracy Index was 5.17, its lowest level since the annual survey started in 2006. The decline came despite 2024 being a record election year, with more than half the global population going to the polls.