Top 20 Most Democratic Countries in Africa – EIU Democracy Index Report

According to the latest EIU Democracy Index report, Mauritius is the most democratic country in Africa.

The EIU Democracy Index for 2018 measures the state of democracy in 165 independent countries worldwide using five parameters: process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture.

Based on the performance of the countries in the five categories they are then classified into four regimes namely: full democracy”, “flawed democracy”, “hybrid regime” and “authoritarian regime”.

A full democracy is the best rating while authoritarian regime is rated the worst.

Mauritius was ranked the most democratic country in Africa, and the 17th most democratic in the world.

Mauritius was also classified a Full Democracy meaning each citizen in the society has a direct and equal say in the decisions made in the society. They are closely followed by Cape Verde (2nd) and Botswana (3rd).

South Africa, was ranked the fourth most democratic country in Africa and 40th in the world.

South Africa was classified as a flawed democracy, meaning the country is weighed down by weak governance, an underdeveloped political culture and low levels of political participation.

Nigeria, which is Africa’s biggest democracy, was ranked 22nd in Africa and 108 in the world.

Nigeria was classified a hybrid regime, meaning it is a combination of democratic traits such as regular elections and autocratic ones, such as political repression.

Nigeria was left limping behind countries such as Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Kenya, mali and Ghana who were ranked 21st, 20th, 18th, 14th and 6th respectively.

In the West African sub-region and among member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Nigeria was among the poorest rated, ranking only better above Togo, Guinea, Gabon, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, and Gambia.

Cape Verde is the highest ranked ECOWAS country ranked second in Sub-Saharan Africa and 26 in the world with a score of 7.88. Ghana, with a score of 6.63 is ranked 6th Most Democratic country in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Read Also: Top 20 Worst Democratic Countries in Africa – Democracy Index (2018)

Top 20 Most Democratic Countries in Africa

1. Mauritius

Score – 8.22
World Rank – 17
Regime Type – Full democracy

2. Cabo Verde

Score – 7.88
World Rank – 26
Regime Type – Flawed democracy

3. Botswana

Score – 7.81
World Rank – 28
Regime Type – Flawed democracy

4. South Africa

Score – 7.24
World Rank – 40
Regime Type – Flawed democracy

5. Lesotho

Score – 6.64
World Rank – 55
Regime Type – Flawed democracy

6. Ghana

Score – 6.63
World Rank – 57=
Regime Type – Flawed democracy

7. Tunisia

Score – 6.41
World Rank – 63=
Regime Type – Flawed democracy

8. Namibia

Score – 6.25
World Rank – 69
Regime Type – Flawed democracy

9. Senegal

Score – 6.15
World Rank – 73=
Regime Type – Flawed democracy

10. Benin

Score – 5.74
World Rank – 81=
Regime Type – Hybrid regime

11. Zambia

Score – 5.61
World Rank – 85
Regime Type – Hybrid regime

12. Malawi

Score – 5.49
World Rank – 90
Regime Type – Hybrid regime

13. Tanzania

Score – 5.41
World Rank – 91=
Regime Type – Hybrid regime

14. Mali

Score – 5.41
World Rank – 91=
Regime Type – Hybrid regime

15. Liberia

Score – 5.35
World Rank – 92
Regime Type – Hybrid regime

16. Madagascar

Score – 5.22
World Rank – 95
Regime Type – Hybrid regime

17. Uganda

Score – 5.20
World Rank – 96
Regime Type – Hybrid regime

18. Kenya

Score – 5.11
World Rank – 98=
Regime Type – Hybrid regime

19. Morocco

Score – 4.99
World Rank – 100
Regime Type – Hybrid regime

20. Burkina Faso

Score – 4.75
World Rank – 104
Regime Type – Hybrid regime

21. Sierra Leone

Score – 4.66
World Rank – 105
Regime Type – Hybrid regime

22. Nigeria

Score – 4.44
World Rank – 108
Regime Type – Hybrid regime

Methodology

The EIU Democracy Index provides a snapshot of the state of world democracy for 165 independent states and two territories. The Democracy Index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Based on their scores on 60 indicators within these categories, each country is then itself classified as one of four types of regime: full democracy; flawed democracy; hybrid regime; and authoritarian regime.