A Taliban member at a roundabout in Wazir Akbar Khan space, downtown Kabul. File photograph,
KABUL — Afghanistan, below Taliban rule, has been ranked as probably the most authoritarian nation on the planet, in accordance with the 2024 Democracy Index revealed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Scoring simply 0.25 out of 10, Afghanistan ranks 167th out of 167 international locations, making it the least democratic nation globally for the second consecutive 12 months.
The index, which evaluates 167 international locations, highlights stark variations between Afghanistan, North Korea, and China, with Afghanistan receiving the bottom doable scores in 4 out of 5 key indicators used to measure democracy.
The Democracy Index assesses international locations based mostly on 5 foremost standards: electoral course of and pluralism, civil liberties, authorities functioning, political participation, and political tradition.
Based on the report, Afghanistan falls into the “authoritarian regime” class and ranks because the worst amongst such governments worldwide.
Electoral Course of and Pluralism: 0.0
For the reason that Taliban takeover in 2021, all elections have been abolished, and there’s no democratic mechanism for public participation in political decision-making.
Civil Liberties: 0.0
Freedoms comparable to speech, meeting, faith, and private rights have been severely restricted. Ladies and minorities have confronted a number of the harshest crackdowns, with bans on schooling, employment, and public participation.
Functioning of Authorities: 0.0
The report evaluates authorities effectivity, transparency, and accountability. Underneath the Taliban, energy is concentrated inside a small group, there is no such thing as a political opposition, and governance lacks transparency.
Political Participation: 0.0
There are not any political events, elections, or impartial civic actions in Afghanistan, resulting in the bottom doable rating.
Political Tradition: 1.25
This indicator examines whether or not democratic values are embedded in society. The Taliban’s strict ideological rule and rejection of democratic rules have resulted in one of many lowest scores globally.
Afghanistan’s 0.25 rating is the bottom within the Democracy Index, however North Korea, with 1.08, ranks barely greater.
North Korea, below Kim Jong Un, stays a one-party state the place elections exist in title solely and lack real political competitors. Nonetheless, the regime’s centralized governance and state-controlled propaganda have contributed to the next rating in political tradition (1.25 vs. Afghanistan’s 1.25) and barely higher functioning of presidency (2.5 vs. Afghanistan’s 0.0).
In distinction, Afghanistan lacks any functioning political construction, authorized system, or institutional governance below the Taliban, contributing to its lowest general rating.
Equally, Myanmar, ranked 166th, is the second-worst-performing nation within the index with a rating of 0.96. Though Myanmar additionally acquired 0.0 in electoral course of, it scored barely greater in authorities functioning (1.67) and political tradition (3.13).
China, with a rating of two.11, ranks 145th and stays categorized as an authoritarian regime, nevertheless it nonetheless scores considerably greater than Afghanistan and North Korea.
Not like Afghanistan, China has a structured, centralized authorities with sturdy state establishments, regardless that it lacks aggressive elections and restricts freedoms.
Strict media censorship, suppression of dissent, and a scarcity of impartial political opposition contribute to its low rating.
Nonetheless, China’s financial and political stability enable it to rank far above Afghanistan, demonstrating that not all authoritarian regimes function on the similar degree of repression and dysfunction.
The EIU report underscores that Afghanistan has moved even additional away from democratic governance below the Taliban, making it probably the most repressive regime on the planet.
The rating is attributed to the entire absence of elections, extreme repression of civil liberties, excessive focus of energy, and the elimination of political participation.
Whereas North Korea and China stay firmly authoritarian, Afghanistan has carried out the worst throughout all democratic indicators, solidifying its place on the backside of the worldwide democracy rankings.
