Democracy in America took the center of attention in the 2020 presidential election.

Despite baseless claims of voter fraud that led to the violent siege of the US Capitol building and the death of five people, democracy did eventually prevail in the form of President Joe Biden’s inauguration and the peaceful transition of power.

The United States refers to itself as being the world’s leading country when it comes to democracy —something which has been up for debate— however, in terms of global rankings, Americans might be shocked to discover that they do not take the top spot. 

As a matter of fact, America is not even included in the top 10. Or, the top 20 for that matter.

According to a democracy index by The Economist, the United States is ranked as the 25th most democratic country out of 167 countries, with an overall score of 7.96 out of 10.

America scored 9.17, but just 7.14 for the functioning of government in terms of electoral process and pluralism. The country ranked at 7.78 for political participation and 7.50 for political culture. 

And finally, the US scored 8.24 for civil liberties, but overall, the list ranks it as a flawed democracy, given that its total score ranks at below 8 out of 10.

The United States comes in just below Japan and South Korea, as well as its North American neighbor Canada.

The most democratic country in the world is Norway according to the index table. Iceland took the second spot and Sweden came in third. 

The United Kingdom is in 14th place with an overall score of 8.38 out of 10.

Out of the 167 countries included in the list ranking, 166 are sovereign states and 164 are UN state members.