Measuring Democracy

The Electoral Democracy Index (EDI) measures the degree to which a country attains the core values of democracy. EDI is the conglomeration of five high-level indicators:

• Rulers are accountable to their citizens
• Elections are held regularly, openly, and fairly for majority approval
• The right to vote is widespread
• Political parties and civil societies are able to operate free from government interference
• Citizens enjoy freedom of expression publicly and privately and benefit from an independent media that presents diverse viewpoints on political issues

EDI is the foundational element of all five major indices, and the truest indicator of representative democracy in the data set used for this project.

This chart shows the change in electoral democracy over time. This index is a measure of polyarchy, literally “rule of many,” or the response of the government to the needs of its citizens and their role as political equals. A higher score indicates greater polyarchy, while a lower score indicates greater autocracy (a system of government where one person rules with absolute power).