Romania has been downgraded to a "hybrid regime" in the 2024 Democracy Index published by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on Thursday, February 27. Its score dropped from 6.45 to 5.99, pushing it out of the "flawed democracy" category and down 12 places to rank 72nd globally, between Moldova and Papua New Guinea, Agerpres reported.

Romania’s decline comes amid a broader global trend, however, with the index’s overall score falling from 5.23 in 2023 to 5.17 in 2024 (on a 0-10 scale), marking a continued deterioration in democratic governance worldwide.

According to the report, more than one-third (39.2%) of the world population live under authoritarian rule. Sixty countries are now classified as “authoritarian regimes,” an increase of one compared with the 2023 index and an increase of eight from a decade ago in 2014.

The categories that have recorded the biggest deterioration since 2008 are civil liberties (-1.00 on a 0-10 scale) and electoral process and pluralism (-0.66); however, the global average score for political participation improved by 0.74 between 2008 and 2024.

A key factor in Romania’s downgrade was the annulment of its presidential election in 2024. Allegations of Russian interference, illegal social media tactics, and campaign finance violations prompted the Constitutional Court to cancel the election and call for a new vote.

The EIU report notes that the controversial election annulment directly affected Romania’s score for electoral process and pluralism, now at 8.25. 

However, the downgrade was not solely due to this incident. Public confidence in political parties and government institutions had already been declining, contributing to a lower score for the "functioning of government" (5.36), Agerpres reported. Corruption levels also worsened based on comparative global assessments.

Looking ahead, Romania’s democratic standing could fall further in 2025, depending on how authorities handle the rescheduled presidential elections.

Elsewhere, Western Europe has the highest index score of any region, at 8.38, and was the only one to improve its overall score in 2024. The UK improved its score, moving up the rankings to 17th. France’s score fell just below the 8.00 threshold to qualify as a “full democracy” and was thus downgraded to a “flawed democracy” in 2024.

The US score remained unchanged in 2024, continuing to be classified as a “flawed democracy,” ranked 28th. “It remains to be seen if historical checks and balances will remain in force and serve to improve or worsen the US’s ranking in 2025,” the EIU said.

The Nordic countries (Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark) continue to dominate the Democracy Index rankings, taking five of the top seven spots.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/George Calin)