Morocco ranks 3rd most democratic MENA country, finds Economist’s Democracy Index

In its annual report, entitled “Democracy index 2021 the China challenge,” the Economist’s research and analysis division (EIU) ranked Morocco as the third most democratic country in the Middle East.

The report revealed that only 21 of 167 countries have “full democracy” status in the world. Morocco maintained its 2020 ranking in the “hybrid regime” category.

In the MENA, Israel is ranked first and is listed as a “failing democracy,” with a score of 7.97.

Tunisia, which recorded a drop of 0.60 points in its total score from 6.59 in 2020 to 5.99 in 2021, lost 21 ranks and was reclassified as a “hybrid regime,” ranking second in the region.

Morocco, classified as a “hybrid regime,” retained the same rank as in 2020 with 5.04 points in the index, and ranked 96th globally.

The “hybrid regime” category lists countries such as Bangladesh, Turkey, Senegal, Ukraine, Hong Kong, and Pakistan among others.

Algeria remains in 113th place, out of 167 countries, and is still listed in the “authoritarian regime” category, along with the 17 other countries in the region.

The “authoritarian regimes” category includes Algeria, Egypt, Russia, Rwanda, Vietnam, China, with Afghanistan scoring the lowest ranking internationally.

The Middle East’s regional score has fallen almost every year since 2012, a year where many countries’ index scores rose thanks to the Arab Spring.

According to the study, “the region suffers from a concentration of absolute monarchies, authoritarian regimes, and war-torn countries.”

It is the lowest-ranked of all the regions covered by the democracy index, with an average score of 3.41.

Spain, France, the United States, South Africa, and Chile were ranked in the same category as Israel, scoring the “failing democracy” category, which includes 53 countries.

The Economist’s study stated that “France has lost its ‘complete’ democracy status since 2020,” while Spain only joined the category this year, 2021.

The study by the British group The Economist reveals that only 21 countries out of 165 have the status of “complete democracy.”

In the category of “complete democracy,” countries like Sweden, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Mauritius, Uruguay, or Costa Rica and ranked first, Norway, are among the 21 nations listed.

The report additionally stated that the global 2021 Democracy Index has fallen from 5.37 in 2020 to 5.28, “the largest annual decline since 2010.”

The Economist’s report in its commentary said that the drop is largely due to “the negative impact of the pandemic on democracy and freedom around the world for the second year running, with the considerable expansion of state power and the erosion of individual freedoms.”

The report also mentions a number of “most improved” democracies, listing Zambia, Indonesia, Qatar, Moldova, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Montenegro, Guyana, Uruguay, and, in joint tenth place, the UAE and Singapore.

The report’s method takes 5 criteria into account, namely Electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, Political participation, Democratic political culture, and Civil liberties. . The scores are elaborated on a scale from 0 to 10 being the highest most positive democratic regime and climate.