Philippines slips a spot to 54th in 2019 democracy index

The Philippines slid one spot in the 2019 democracy index of think tank Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and was classified as a “flawed democracy” for the 14th year in a row.

The Philippines was ranked 54th out of 167 countries with an overall score of 6.64 out of 10.

The democracy index computes rankings based on ratings for 60 indicators that are grouped into five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture.

The Philippines scored 9.17 in electoral process and pluralism, 7.06 in civil liberties, 5.36 in the functioning of government, 7.22 in political participation, and 4.38 in political culture out of the perfect score of 10 points.

The EIU defines “flawed democracies” as countries where there are free and fair elections, and where basic civil liberties are respected even in times of crisis such as infringements on press freedom.

“However, there are significant weaknesses in other aspects of democracy, including problems in governance, an underdeveloped political culture, and low levels of political participation,” the think tank added.

The Philippines has been classified as a flawed democracy since the index was launched in 2006.

The top five countries in the 2019 democracy index were Norway, Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, and Finland, while the bottom five were Chad, Syria, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, and North Korea.

The EIU said the average global score fell from 5.48 in 2018 to 5.44 in 2019.

“This is the worst average global score since the index was first produced in 2006,” they said, noting that the decline was driven by a regression in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East and North Africa region and stagnation in four other regions.

The EIU also underscored the “major increase” in political protest and social unrest in emerging markets.

“It is the growth of popular distrust in governments, institutions, parties, and politicians that is driving many of today’s protest movements,” they said.

Out of the 167 countries covered by the index, 76 or 45.5 percent are considered democracies.

The number of “full democracies” also rose to 22 in 2019 from 20 in 2018. — Julia Mari Ornedo/BM, GMA News