Context: India has ranked 46th position in the 2021 Democracy Index’s global ranking, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit.

• The report is released by the Economist Intelligence unit (EIU).
• The report highlights the state of democracy in 2021 across 165 independent countries and two territories.

Key Findings

• Less than half (45.7%) of the world’s population now live in a democracy of some sort, a significant decline from 2020(49.4%). 
• Even fewer countries (6.4%) reside in a “full democracy”. Further, more than a third of the world’s population (37.1%) live under authoritarian rule, with a large share being in China.
• This year's report finds that democracy experienced its biggest annual decline since 2010.

Key highlights

• Norway topped the charts with an overall score of 9.75
• New Zealand replaced Iceland from the second slot this year
• It was followed by Finland, Sweden and Iceland

India ranked 46th under 'flawed democracy'. 

• Note: (In 2020, India was ranked 53rd in the index).

India scored 6.91 to rank 46th on the list.

• Australia and Switzerland shared the 9th rank.
• Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, North Korea, Myanmar and Afghanistan are the bottom five nations in the Index.

Significantly, the index is based on the three categories encompassing

• Nations that enjoy full democracy
• Flawed democracy
• Hybrid regime and authoritarian regime

About the Economist Intelligence Unit(EIU)

• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) was created in 1946. It is the research and analysis division of The Economist Group and the world leader in global business intelligence.
• The Economist Intelligence has been bringing forth the state of democracy worldwide since the year 2006.