Ownership of The Economist, a neoliberal publication based in London, is controlled by Italy’s Agnelli family. The newspaper supported Thatcher and Reagan and enthusiastically promotes free trade and free markets. Despite its ties to the one percent, The Economist labels itself radical centrist and advocates for democracy and human rights. By doing that, the newspaper has offended many of the world’s autocrats.

In its 13th report on democracy, The Economist Intelligence Unit rated 167 nations (microstates excluded).

The Democracy Index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism, the functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties.

Fourteen percent of countries are described as full democracies. These states are home to fewer than ten percent of the world’s population. More than one-third of people live under authoritarian rule.

The average global score in the 2020 Democracy Index fell from 5.44 in 2019 to 5.37. This is by far the worst global score since the index was first produced in 2006. …The deterioration in the global score in 2020 was driven by a decline in the average regional score everywhere in the world, but by especially large falls in the “authoritarian regime”-dominated regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa.

There is a simple explanation for the trend lines shown below. In 2015, Canadian voters rejected Stephen Harper and in 2016, America’s electoral college selected Donald Trump, even though Hillary Clinton received almost three million more votes.