Top 10 most democratic countries in the world leading in freedom and governance

Norway scored an average of 9.81 out of 10 across five categories. With a perfect 10 across, political participation, political culture, the Electoral process and pluralism.

New Zealand's position remains unchanged in 2024; the state has a Mixed Member Proportional voting system, allowing two votes, one for a local member and another for a political party. Thus increasing chances for smaller parties. It has a score of 9.61 out of 10.

Sweden has a score of 9.39 with a perfect 10 for political culture. The country has ingrained values of tolerance, compromise and respect for the individual. The citizens have high value and faith in democratic institutions.

With a 9.38 score, Iceland has slipped one ranking since 2023. However, the country scored a perfect 10 for the Electoral process and pluralism.

Switzerland improved three positions and ranked 5th in the Democracy Index ranking with a score of 9.32 and a perfect score for political culture. Citizens vote four times a year and can challenge any law through an optional referendum if it receives 50000 signatures within 100 days.

Finland scored 9.30 and slipped one position since 2023. Finland also scored a perfect 10 on the Electoral process and pluralism, but one of the lowest in Political Participation at 7.78, due to lower voter turnout, while domestic turnout is still good, but in comparison to Nordic countries, it's lower. The turnout in the 2024 European Union parliamentary election was even lower at 42 per cent, specifically lower among the youth.

Denmark also slipped one position and scored 9.28; it also achieved a perfect score for the Electoral process and pluralism. It has a multiparty system and a very low electoral threshold of just 2% for any political party to gain representation in the parliament.

Ireland is a parliamentary, representative democracy known for its strong civil liberties and high government transparency. It is consistently ranked among the world's most democratic countries with a score of 9.19 for 2024.

The Netherlands have scored 9.00 in EIU democracy; the rise of right-wing government and anti-immigration rhetoric has hurt the political culture of the country.

Luxembourg, though a constitutional monarchy, ranks highly in the democracy index, consistently due to its civil liberties, strong political stability and high-income economy. It has achieved an EIU score of 8.88. It is to be noted that there are other organisations, like Freedom House and International IDEA, that rank these countries with a little difference in method. The EIU scale ranks 165 countries among five categories: Electoral process and pluralism, Functioning of government, Political participation, Political culture and Civil liberties on 60 indicators with three major classifications of "full democracies," "flawed democracies," "hybrid regimes," or "authoritarian regimes".