Taiwan is rated first in Asia and 10th globally among the 167 countries and territories in the Democracy Index 2022 recently released by London-based Economist Intelligence Unit.
With an overall score of 8.99 out of 10, Taiwan led regional partners Japan, 16th, and South Korea, 24th. They were the only three deemed full democracies in Asia.
A total of 24 countries made the full democracy classification, with Norway, New Zealand and Iceland taking the top three spots in that order.
Among the five categories used to assess democracy, Taiwan scored a perfect 10 in electoral process and pluralism, 9.64 in functioning of government, 9.41 in civil liberties, 8.13 in political culture and 7.78 in political participation.
According to the report, 45.3 percent of the world’s population live in a democracy of some sort though only 8 percent reside in a full democracy. Nearly 37 percent live under authoritarian rule, the bulk of whom are in China and Russia.
The EIU’s report follows the Human Freedom Index released Jan. 26 by Washington-based Cato Institute and Vancouver-based Fraser Institute, in which Taiwan placed 1st in Asia and 14th globally out of 165 countries and territories. (SFC-E)
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