Indices of Democracy in Muslim Countries
There are several non-governmental organizations that publish and maintain indices of freedom in the world, according to their own various definitions of the term, and rank countries as being free, partly free, or unfree using various measures of freedom, including political rights, economic rights, freedom of the press and civil liberties.
The following lists Muslim-majority countries and shows the scores given by two frequently used indices: Freedom in the World (2012) by the US-based Freedom House and the 2011 Democracy Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit. These indices are frequently used in western media, but have attracted some criticism and may not reflect recent changes.
As of 2012 Indonesia, an officially secular republic, is the only Muslim-majority nation acknowledged as democratic by both Freedom House and Economist democracy indexes.
- Key: * - Electoral democracies ‡ - Disputed territory (according to Freedom House)
| Location | Democracy Index Score | Democracy Index Rank | Democracy Index Category | Freedom in the World Status | Type of government | Religion and State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 2.48 | 152 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Islamic republic | Islamic state |
| * Albania | 5.81 | 87 | Hybrid Regime | Partly Free | Parliamentary republic | Secular state |
| Algeria | 3.44 | 130 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Semi-presidential system, republic | State religion |
| Azerbaijan | 3.15 | 140 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Presidential system | Secular state |
| Bahrain | 2.92 | 144 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Constitutional monarchy | State religion |
| Bangladesh | 5.86 | 83 | Hybrid Regime | Partly Free | Parliamentary republic, unitary state | State religion |
| Brunei | Not Free | State religion | ||||
| Burkina Faso | 3.59 | 124 | Authoritarian regime | Partly Free | Semi-presidential system, republic | Secular state |
| Chad | 1.52 | 166 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Republic | Secular state |
| * Comoros | 3.52 | 126 | Authoritarian regime | Partly Free | Federal republic | Secular state |
| Djibouti | 2.68 | 147 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Semi-presidential republic | Secular state |
| Egypt | 3.95 | 115 | Hybrid regime | Not Free | Transitional military junta | State religion |
| Guinea | 2.79 | 146 | Authoritarian regime | Partly Free | Presidential republic | Secular state |
| * Indonesia | 6.53 | 60 | Flawed democracy | Free | Presidential system, republic, regional state, bicameralism | Secular state |
| Iran | 1.98 | 159 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Islamic republic | Islamic state |
| Iraq | 4.03 | 112 | Hybrid regime | Not Free | Parliamentary republic | Secular state |
| Jordan | 3.89 | 118 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Constitutional monarchy | State religion |
| ‡ Kashmir (India) | - | - | - | Partly Free | ||
| ‡ Kashmir (Pakistan) | - | - | - | Not Free | ||
| Kazakhstan | 3.24 | 137 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Presidential system | Secular state |
| Kosovo | - | - | - | Partly Free | Secular state | |
| Kuwait | 3.74 | 122 | Authoritarian regime | Partly Free | Constitutional monarchy | State religion |
| Kyrgyzstan | 4.34 | 107 | Hybrid regime | Partly Free | Parliamentary republic | Secular state |
| Lebanon | 5.32 | 94 | Hybrid regime | Partly Free | Confessionalist Parliamentary republic | - |
| Libya | 3.55 | 125 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Transitional government | State religion |
| Malaysia | 6.19 | 71 | Flawed democracy | Partly Free | Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy | State religion |
| * Maldives | - | - | - | Partly Free | State religion | |
| * Mali | 6.36 | 63 | Flawed democracy | Free | Semi-presidential system | Secular state |
| Mauritania | 4.17 | 109 | Hybrid regime | Not Free | Islamic republic | Islamic state |
| Mayotte (France DOM) | Secular state | |||||
| Morocco | 3.83 | 119 | Authoritarian regime | Partly Free | Constitutional monarchy | State religion |
| * Niger | 4.16 | 110 | Hybrid regime | Partly Free | Semi-presidential republic | Secular state |
| Nigeria | 3.83 | 119 | Authoritarian regime | Partly Free | Federalism, presidential system | Secular state |
| ‡ Northern Cyprus (Cyprus) | - | - | - | Free | Secular state | |
| Oman | 3.26 | 134 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Islamic absolute monarchy | State religion |
| Pakistan | 4.55 | 105 | Hybrid regime | Partly Free | Islamic republic, federalism, parliamentary republic | Islamic state |
| ‡ Palestine (occupied by Israel) | 4.97 | 99 | Hybrid regime | Not Free | Semi-presidential system, Parliamentary democracy | - |
| Qatar | 3.18 | 138 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Constitutional monarchy | State religion |
| Saudi Arabia | 1.77 | 161 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Islamic absolute monarchy | Islamic state |
| * Senegal | 5.44 | 93 | Hybrid regime | Partly Free | Semi-presidential system | Secular state |
| * Sierra Leone | 4.34 | 106 | Hybrid regime | Partly Free | Constitutional republic | Secular state |
| Somalia | Not Free | |||||
| ‡ Somaliland (Somalia) | Partly Free | |||||
| Sudan | 2.38 | 153 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Federalism, presidential system, republic | Secular state |
| Syria | 1.99 | 157 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Presidential system, single party, republic | Secular state |
| Tajikistan | 2.51 | 151 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Presidential system | State religion |
| The Gambia | 3.38 | 132 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Republic | Secular state |
| * Tunisia | 5.53 | 92 | Hybrid regime | Partly Free | Republic | State religion |
| * Turkey | 5.73 | 88 | Hybrid regime | Partly Free | Parliamentary republic | Secular state |
| Turkmenistan | 1.72 | 165 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Presidential republic, single-party state | Secular state |
| United Arab Emirates | 2.58 | 149 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Federalism, Constitutional monarchy | State religion |
| Uzbekistan | 1.74 | 164 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Presidential republic | State religion |
| ‡ Western Sahara (controlled by Morocco) | - | - | - | Not Free | - | |
| Yemen | 2.57 | 150 | Authoritarian regime | Not Free | Republic | Islamic state |
Read more about this topic: Islamic Democracy
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