ASEAN Democracy Index Score 2024: Indonesia Below Timor-Leste

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has compiled the 2024 Democracy Index scores for ASEAN countries.

Malaysia achieved the highest score, with 7.11 out of 10 points last year.

Timor-Leste followed with 7.03 points, surpassing the Philippines (6.63) in third place and Indonesia (6.44) in fourth.

Thailand, Singapore, and Myanmar ranked below Indonesia, as shown in the graph.

However, none of the 11 ASEAN member states were classified as having a full democracy in 2024.

A majority, six countries, fell into the flawed democracy category: Malaysia, Timor-Leste, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore.

Four countries were categorized as authoritarian regimes: Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. Brunei Darussalam was not included in the EIU index.

The EIU's four regime categories based on index scores are:

* Score > 8: Full democracy
* Score > 6 to ? 8: Flawed democracy
* Score > 4 to ? 6: Hybrid regime
* Score ? 4: Authoritarian regime

According to the EIU, countries classified as flawed democracies generally have free and fair electoral systems and respect basic civil liberties.

However, in flawed democracies, press freedom tends to be low. The political culture is often anti-critical, citizen political participation is weak, and government performance is suboptimal.

Authoritarian states, on the other hand, are typically ruled by dictators with absolute power. They lack political pluralism, severely restrict civil liberties, usually control the media, heavily repress or censor criticism of the government, and have non-independent judiciaries.

(Also read: EIU: Indonesia's Democracy Index Score Decreased in 2024)