"If it continues like this, the United States will not score as a democracy when we release [next year's] data," said Staffan Lindberg, head of the Varieties of Democracy project, run out of Sweden's University of Gothenburg.

"If it continues like this, democracy [there] will not last another six months."

His project includes 31 million data points for 202 countries, compiled by 4,200 scholars and other contributors, measuring 600 different attributes of democracy.

Lindberg happens to be in the U.S. this week presenting this year's report — which only includes data through the end of 2024. //

The number of autocracies (91) has just surpassed democracies (88) on this list for the first time in two decades, and nearly three-quarters of humans now live in an autocracy — where one person has unconstrained power — the highest rate in five decades.

The latest report still ranks the U.S. as a "Liberal Democracy," the highest of five tiers, one higher than Canada, which is classified as an "Electoral Democracy."

The report adds an important caveat: this year's version does not include events in 2025, meaning it does not cover the start of Donald Trump's latest presidential term. //

Liberal democracy
Requirements of electoral democracy are met; judicial and legislative constraints on the executive along with the protection of civil liberties and equality before the law.

Electoral democracy
Multiparty elections for the executive are free and fair; satisfactory degrees of suffrage, freedom of expression, freedom of association.
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Democratization

Grey zone
Countries belong here if confidence intervals between electoral democracy and electoral autocracy overlap, making the classification more uncertain.

Autocratization
↓

Electoral autocracy
Multiparty elections for the executive exist; insufficient levels of fundamental requisites such as freedom of expression and association, and free and fair elections.

Closed autocracy
No multiparty elections for the executive; absence of fundamental democratic components such as freedom of expression, freedom of association, and free and fair elections.