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The United States has recorded its lowest level of democratic performance in the 50 years the measure has existed, according to the Global State of Democracy report published this week by International IDEA. The finding sits inside a wider pattern the intergovernmental body describes as broad-based democratic decline across its 174-country index.
Story contents
- The headline finding
- What the index actually measures
- The global picture
- How to read the claim
- Where this goes from here
The headline finding
International IDEA’s annual assessment, reported on 15 September, places US democratic performance at its lowest point since measurement began in 1975. Seema Shah, who heads the organisation’s democracy assessment team, told NPR that among countries in decline, “the clearest example, unfortunately, is the United States”.
The report’s own language on 2025 is direct. It says President Donald Trump “quickly amassed power in the executive branch and wielded it to further a narrow set of personal goals and pursue retaliation against perceived enemies”, and that the results have been far-reaching, “undermining the rule of law domestically and internationally and testing long-standing alliances and multilateral cooperation”.
That is International IDEA’s characterisation, not a neutral finding of fact, and it is worth naming as such. The organisation is an intergovernmental body with an explicit democracy-promotion mandate, and its index reflects a particular definition of democratic performance.
What the index actually measures
The Global State of Democracy indices cover 174 countries with data running back to 1975, which is what allows the 50-year comparison. This edition assesses changes between 2020 and 2025, so it captures a five-year window rather than a single year’s events.
The measure is composite. It aggregates indicators grouped around representation, rights, rule of law and participation, each built from expert assessments and observable data. A country’s score can fall without any constitutional change, because the index is tracking practice rather than statute — how elections run, whether parliaments function, what happens to journalists.
The global picture
Researchers observed the same pattern across many countries: severe drops in the scores measuring freedom of expression, freedom of the press, credible elections and effective parliament. Those four are the components most sensitive to executive pressure, which is why they tend to move together.
The reporting period covers a stretch in which several established democracies held contested elections under strain. Sweden’s recent vote, which we covered in our report on the 2026 result, is one of the tests of whether European systems absorb polarisation without institutional damage. The parallel story on the other side of the ledger is the consolidation of alternative multilateral blocs, set out in the BRICS New Delhi declaration.
How to read the claim
Three qualifications belong with the headline. First, “lowest in 50 years” is a statement about a specific index, not a universal ranking; other democracy measures use different indicators and produce different orderings. Second, the window ends in 2025, so it does not capture events in 2026. Third, a decline in performance score is not the same as a regime classification change, and International IDEA does not claim otherwise.
None of that makes the finding trivial. The value of a 50-year series is precisely that it can distinguish a bad year from a trend, and the report’s argument is that the recent movement is a trend.
Where this goes from here
The report lands days before the UN General Assembly’s high-level week, where the 81st session convenes under a theme built around restoring trust in multilateral institutions. Expect the findings to be cited in that debate, and contested in it.
The more consequential question is domestic. Indices of this kind influence risk assessments, development funding decisions and the framing used by opposition parties and civil society groups. Whether the US figure moves in the next edition will depend on the same four components that fell this time — press freedom, expression, electoral credibility and parliamentary effectiveness.
Questions readers are asking
Who publishes the Global State of Democracy report?
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, known as International IDEA, an intergovernmental organisation that produces the annual index.
How many countries does the index cover?
The report tracks democratic performance across 174 countries, drawing on data going back to 1975.
What period does the 2026 edition assess?
This edition focuses on changes in democratic performance between 2020 and 2025.
Which measures fell most sharply?
Researchers recorded severe drops in scores for freedom of expression, freedom of the press, credible elections and effective parliament.
Is the United States the only country in decline?
No. International IDEA describes a broad global pattern of decline; it singles out the United States as the clearest example rather than the only one.
Does a low score mean a country is no longer a democracy?
No. The index measures performance on a set of indicators over time. A fall in score signals deterioration on those measures, not a formal change of system.
Continue reading
- Sweden’s 2026 election result
- BRICS agrees the New Delhi declaration
- The EU extends sanctions on Russia
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