When we say a product has 'democratic origin', it is not marketing. Behind it lies a concrete methodology, published annually since 2006 by The Economist's research unit, which scores 167 countries on a scale from 0 to 10.
What is the EIU and who produces the index?
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis arm of The Economist Group. Founded in 1946, it publishes economic and political reports for governments, businesses and financial institutions worldwide. The Democracy Index has been published annually since 2006 and is the most cited reference in academic literature on comparative political systems.
It is not the only democracy index in existence — Freedom House and the V-Dem Institute publish their own — but it is the best known, has the longest historical continuity, and uses a five-dimension methodology that we consider the most comprehensive for assessing whether a country protects the fundamental rights of its citizens.
The five dimensions
Each country receives a score across five categories, which are averaged to produce the final grade:
- →Electoral process and pluralism: Are elections free and fair? Is there universal suffrage? Can opposition parties operate freely?
- →Functioning of government: Does the elected government have real governing capacity? Is there civilian control over the armed forces? Is there institutional corruption?
- →Political participation: Do citizens take part in political life? Is there minority representation? Is civil society active?
- →Democratic political culture: Does society support democratic values? Is there consensus around the legitimacy of institutions?
- →Civil liberties: Is there freedom of the press? Freedom of assembly and association? Are citizens protected from state violence?
The four country categories
Based on the final score, countries are classified into four groups:
- →Full democracy (8.01–10.00): robust political institutions, guaranteed civil liberties, established democratic political culture. In 2025: Norway (9.81), Iceland (9.45), Sweden (9.39), New Zealand (9.25), Finland (9.22).
- →Flawed democracy (6.01–8.00): free elections exist but with shortcomings in one or more of the five dimensions. Most EU countries fall here: Spain (7.94), Italy (7.72), France (7.99).
- →Hybrid regime (4.01–6.00): a mix of democratic and authoritarian elements. Elections exist but are not fully free. Examples: Turkey (4.35), Bangladesh (5.48).
- →Authoritarian regime (0.00–4.00): absence or simulation of elections, repression of dissent, severely restricted civil liberties. Examples: North Korea (1.08), Eritrea (2.18).
Why we chose 6.0 as the threshold
The 6.0 threshold is not arbitrary. It is the boundary between flawed democracy and hybrid regime — the line separating countries where elections exist and are mostly free from countries where formal democratic institutions coexist with authoritarian practices that hollow them out.
We buy from countries scoring below 6.0 when we purchase products that directly or indirectly fund regimes that do not respect the fundamental rights of their citizens. Democratic Market starts from the idea that this is not an abstract problem: it is a concrete consumer choice that we can make visible and, through that visibility, change.
What happens when a country's score changes?
The EIU publishes the updated index every January. When a country that was above 6.0 falls below it — as happened with Hungary, which went from 6.56 (2022) to 6.26 (2024) and then 5.97 (2025) — products with components manufactured in that country go into automatic review. Sellers have 60 days to document that their supply chain does not depend on that country, or to update their data.
This is one of the reasons the Transparency Shield carries a verification date: it is not a permanent certificate. It is a snapshot at a specific moment in time, updated annually with the index.
You can consult the full Democracy Index 2025 at eiu.com. The report details data for all 167 countries and territories analysed, with a public and reproducible methodology.
