Greece was upgraded for the first time since 2008 in the category of “full democracy” by the magazine “Economist” in its annual “Democracy Index” report for 2023, bringing the country one category above the United States and EU member states such as Italy, Belgium, and Portugal, which are considered “flawed democracies”.

Greece was rated at 8.14 out of 10, ranking twentieth among the total of 167 countries and territories examined by the “Economist’s” Intelligence Unit.

“The birthplace of democracy has reason to celebrate”, states the report.

Greece was one of the few democracies that improved its score compared to 2022, by 0.17 points.

It even achieved a perfect score of 10 in the subcategory for the conduct of elections and pluralism, an accomplishment shared by only twelve other countries, and 8.82 in the subcategory of political freedoms.

In practice, this means that Greece is classified in a particularly small category of countries with the best democratic performances. Almost 40% reside in countries with autocratic regimes. Greece’s performance for 2023 is the best since the publication of the “Democracy Index” began 18 years ago.

The worst scores for our country, ranging from 7.23 to 7.29, were recorded under the SYRIZA-ANEL government, during the three-year period between 2016 and 2018. Greece’s upgrade gains even greater value given that it comes at a time when democracy is under pressure globally, with the “Economist” noting that measurements are worse in all continents except Europe compared to 2022.

The average global score for 2023 was 5.23, which constitutes the worst average level in the history of the index. Western Europe, including Greece, remains the most democratic region in the world, as 71% of its countries are considered “full democracies.” Turkey ranks at the bottom in our region, classified as “hybrid regimes.”

The Economist makes a special mention of the establishment of postal voting, particularly highlighting that Greeks living abroad are facilitated to vote in their country of residence, whereas previously they would have had to travel to Greece on election day to exercise their voting rights.