Visualizing The World’s Countries By Political System

Nearly three-quarters of the world’s population now lives under autocratic rule, according to the V-Dem Institute’s 2024 Regimes of the World report. That’s the highest share since 1978.

The map below, via Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti, classifies every country into one of four political systems: closed autocracy, electoral autocracy, electoral democracy, or liberal democracy.

The results point to a decades-long shift in global governance, with electoral autocracies now the most common regime type worldwide.

The Four Types of Political Regimes

-Dem classifies countries based on the competitiveness of elections, protection of civil liberties, and the strength of institutional checks and balances.

Here’s how the four categories differ:

Closed autocracies have no meaningful multiparty elections and suppress core democratic freedoms. Countries like China, Saudi Arabia, and North Korea fall into this group.

Electoral autocracies hold multiparty elections, but they are not free or fair. Media restrictions, weakened opposition, and limited civil liberties are common. This category includes countries such as Russia, India, and Turkey.

Electoral democracies conduct free and fair elections and protect basic rights, but may lack strong institutional constraints. Examples include Argentina, Poland, and the United Kingdom.

Liberal democracies go further, combining competitive elections with robust rule of law and checks and balances. Countries such as Germany, Japan, United States, and Uruguay are classified in this highest tier.

Scroll down to see how every country is classified.

Autocracy Is the Most Common Regime

Electoral autocracy is now the most common regime type in the world.

This category spans every continent, from Sub-Saharan Africa to South Asia and parts of Latin America. In many cases, democratic institutions still exist on paper, but their independence has eroded.

Large-population countries shifting toward electoral autocracy have an outsized effect on global trends. As a result, even if the number of democracies remains substantial, the share of people living under autocratic rule continues to grow.

CountryRegime
🇦🇫 AfghanistanClosed Autocracy
🇦🇱 AlbaniaElectoral Autocracy
🇩🇿 AlgeriaElectoral Autocracy
🇦🇴 AngolaElectoral Autocracy
🇦🇷 ArgentinaElectoral Democracy
🇦🇲 ArmeniaElectoral Democracy
🇦🇺 AustraliaLiberal Democracy
🇦🇹 AustriaElectoral Democracy
🇦🇿 AzerbaijanClosed Autocracy
🇧🇩 BangladeshElectoral Autocracy
🇧🇧 BarbadosLiberal Democracy
🇧🇾 BelarusClosed Autocracy
🇧🇪 BelgiumLiberal Democracy
🇧🇯 BeninElectoral Autocracy
🇧🇹 BhutanElectoral Democracy
🇧🇴 BoliviaElectoral Democracy
🇧🇼 BotswanaElectoral Democracy
🇧🇷 BrazilElectoral Democracy
🇧🇳 BruneiClosed Autocracy
🇧🇬 BulgariaElectoral Democracy
🇧🇫 Burkina FasoElectoral Autocracy
🇧🇮 BurundiClosed Autocracy
🇰🇭 CambodiaElectoral Autocracy
🇨🇲 CameroonElectoral Autocracy
🇨🇦 CanadaElectoral Democracy
🇨🇻 Cape VerdeElectoral Democracy
🇨🇫 Central African RepublicElectoral Autocracy
🇹🇩 ChadElectoral Autocracy
🇨🇱 ChileLiberal Democracy
🇨🇳 ChinaClosed Autocracy
🇨🇴 ColombiaElectoral Democracy
🇰🇲 ComorosElectoral Autocracy
🇨🇬 Congo (Brazzaville)Electoral Autocracy
🇨🇷 Costa RicaLiberal Democracy
🇨🇮 Côte d’IvoireElectoral Autocracy
🇭🇷 CroatiaElectoral Democracy
🇨🇺 CubaClosed Autocracy
🇨🇾 CyprusElectoral Democracy
🇨🇿 CzechiaLiberal Democracy
🇩🇰 DenmarkLiberal Democracy
🇩🇴 Dominican RepublicElectoral Democracy
🇪🇨 EcuadorElectoral Democracy
🇪🇬 EgyptElectoral Autocracy
🇸🇻 El SalvadorElectoral Autocracy
🇪🇷 EritreaClosed Autocracy
🇪🇪 EstoniaLiberal Democracy
🇸🇿 EswatiniElectoral Autocracy
🇪🇹 EthiopiaElectoral Autocracy
🇫🇮 FinlandLiberal Democracy
🇫🇷 FranceLiberal Democracy
🇬🇦 GabonElectoral Autocracy
🇬🇲 GambiaElectoral Democracy
🇬🇪 GeorgiaElectoral Autocracy
🇩🇪 GermanyLiberal Democracy
🇬🇭 GhanaElectoral Democracy
🇬🇷 GreeceElectoral Democracy
🇬🇹 GuatemalaElectoral Democracy
🇬🇾 GuyanaElectoral Autocracy
🇭🇹 HaitiClosed Autocracy
🇭🇳 HondurasElectoral Autocracy
🇭🇺 HungaryElectoral Autocracy
🇮🇸 IcelandLiberal Democracy
🇮🇳 IndiaElectoral Autocracy
🇮🇩 IndonesiaElectoral Autocracy
🇮🇷 IranClosed Autocracy
🇮🇪 IrelandLiberal Democracy
🇮🇱 IsraelElectoral Democracy
🇮🇹 ItalyLiberal Democracy
🇯🇲 JamaicaLiberal Democracy
🇯🇵 JapanLiberal Democracy
🇯🇴 JordanElectoral Autocracy
🇰🇿 KazakhstanClosed Autocracy
🇰🇪 KenyaElectoral Autocracy
🇽🇰 KosovoElectoral Democracy
🇰🇼 KuwaitElectoral Autocracy
🇱🇦 LaosClosed Autocracy
🇱🇻 LatviaLiberal Democracy
🇱🇧 LebanonElectoral Autocracy
🇱🇸 LesothoElectoral Democracy
🇱🇷 LiberiaElectoral Democracy
🇱🇾 LibyaClosed Autocracy
🇱🇹 LithuaniaElectoral Democracy
🇱🇺 LuxembourgLiberal Democracy
🇲🇬 MadagascarElectoral Autocracy
🇲🇼 MalawiElectoral Democracy
🇲🇾 MalaysiaElectoral Autocracy
🇲🇻 MaldivesElectoral Democracy
🇲🇹 MaltaElectoral Democracy
🇲🇷 MauritaniaElectoral Autocracy
🇲🇺 MauritiusElectoral Autocracy
🇲🇽 MexicoElectoral Autocracy
🇲🇳 MongoliaElectoral Autocracy
🇲🇪 MontenegroElectoral Democracy
🇲🇦 MoroccoElectoral Autocracy
🇲🇿 MozambiqueElectoral Autocracy
🇲🇲 MyanmarElectoral Autocracy
🇳🇵 NepalElectoral Democracy
🇳🇱 NetherlandsLiberal Democracy
🇳🇿 New ZealandLiberal Democracy
🇳🇮 NicaraguaElectoral Autocracy
🇳🇪 NigerElectoral Autocracy
🇳🇬 NigeriaElectoral Autocracy
🇰🇵 North KoreaClosed Autocracy
🇳🇴 NorwayLiberal Democracy
🇴🇲 OmanClosed Autocracy
🇵🇰 PakistanElectoral Autocracy
🇵🇦 PanamaElectoral Democracy
🇵🇾 ParaguayElectoral Democracy
🇵🇪 PeruElectoral Democracy
🇵🇱 PolandElectoral Democracy
🇵🇹 PortugalElectoral Democracy
🇶🇦 QatarClosed Autocracy
🇷🇴 RomaniaElectoral Democracy
🇷🇺 RussiaElectoral Autocracy
🇷🇼 RwandaElectoral Autocracy
🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaClosed Autocracy
🇸🇳 SenegalElectoral Democracy
🇷🇸 SerbiaElectoral Autocracy
🇸🇨 SeychellesLiberal Democracy
🇸🇱 Sierra LeoneElectoral Autocracy
🇸🇬 SingaporeElectoral Autocracy
🇸🇰 SlovakiaElectoral Democracy
🇸🇮 SloveniaElectoral Democracy
🇸🇧 Solomon IslandsElectoral Democracy
🇸🇴 SomaliaElectoral Autocracy
🇿🇦 South AfricaLiberal Democracy
🇸🇸 South SudanClosed Autocracy
🇪🇸 SpainLiberal Democracy
🇱🇰 Sri LankaElectoral Democracy
🇸🇩 SudanClosed Autocracy
🇸🇷 SurinameElectoral Democracy
🇸🇪 SwedenLiberal Democracy
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandLiberal Democracy
🇸🇾 SyriaClosed Autocracy
🇹🇼 TaiwanLiberal Democracy
🇹🇯 TajikistanClosed Autocracy
🇹🇿 TanzaniaElectoral Autocracy
🇹🇭 ThailandElectoral Autocracy
🇹🇬 TogoElectoral Autocracy
🇹🇹 Trinidad and TobagoElectoral Democracy
🇹🇳 TunisiaElectoral Autocracy
🇹🇷 TurkeyElectoral Autocracy
🇹🇲 TurkmenistanClosed Autocracy
🇺🇬 UgandaElectoral Autocracy
🇦🇪 United Arab EmiratesClosed Autocracy
🇬🇧 United KingdomElectoral Democracy
🇺🇸 United StatesLiberal Democracy
🇺🇾 UruguayLiberal Democracy
🇺🇿 UzbekistanClosed Autocracy
🇻🇺 VanuatuElectoral Democracy
🇻🇪 VenezuelaElectoral Autocracy
🇻🇳 VietnamClosed Autocracy
🇾🇪 YemenClosed Autocracy
🇿🇲 ZambiaElectoral Autocracy
🇿🇼 ZimbabweElectoral Autocracy

Where Liberal Democracy Persists

Liberal democracies are concentrated in Western Europe, parts of East Asia, Oceania, and North America.

Nordic countries such as Sweden, Norway, and Finland remain among the strongest performers. So do nations like Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Taiwan.

However, even among established democracies, concerns about polarization, declining trust in institutions, and pressure on judicial independence have intensified in recent years.

While democratic systems still govern many countries, the overall global trend shows autocratic systems expanding their reach in terms of population.

Methodology

The classifications are based on the V-Dem Institute’s 2024 Regimes of the World dataset, which evaluates countries across indicators including electoral integrity, civil liberties, judicial independence, and executive constraints.

Countries are then grouped into one of four regime types to provide a simplified view of the global political landscape.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World’s 50 Largest Economies by GDP in 2026 on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.