Economist: Greece is among 20 best democracies in the world

Greece is among the 20 best democracies in the world, according to the “Intelligence Unit” of the “Economist” magazine, with a total score of 8.14 out of 10.

This is the annual report “Democracy Index” which examines the functioning of the state in a total of 167 countries.

According to the report, “the birthplace of democracy has reason to celebrate, having returned to ‘full democracy’ in the ranking of the ‘Democracy Index of 2023.”

The report stressed  that Greece was rated 10 out of 10 for electoral procedures and pluralism during the last electoral contests held in the country. An achievement that, as the report underlines, “12 more countries have achieved.”

At the same time, the report mentions the shortcomings in several areas including the media freedom.

“Despite shortcomings in several areas, including media freedom, Greece has a solid ranking on civil liberties with a score of 8.82. That is why its score was improved in 2022,” the report noted.

It also emphasized that the index for political participation improved in 2023 “a year in which two parliamentary elections, regional and municipal, were held in Greece.”

The Economist makes a special reference to the introduction of postal voting, highlighting that diaspora Greeks are facilitated to vote at their place of residence, while previously they would have to travel to Greece on election day to exercise their right to vote.

The worst ratings of Greece, between 7.23 and 7.29, were recorded during the SYRIZA-ANEL government, in the three years between 2016 and 2018.

Greece’s performance for 2023 is the best since the “Democracy Index” began to be published, 18 years ago.

PS Many Greeks – yes, those bursting into laughter on social media upon reading the report –  may disagree and so did also recently the majority of elected MEPs of the European Parliament who expressed “grave concerns about the rule of law in Greece.” But the Economist knows better…