Iceland has dropped by one spot to third place in The Economist’s Democracy Index 2012, following Norway and Sweden. The Nordic countries take up the top four seats, with the exception of Finland, which is in ninth spot this year.
Alþingi, Iceland’s parliament. Photo: Páll Kjartansson/Iceland Review.
Although Iceland dropped one place from 2011, it has held a score of 9.65 since 2008.
North Korea is in last place with a score of 1.08.
The Economist concludes that democracy was at a standstill in 2012 as there was neither significant progress nor regression in democracy with average regional scores being very similar to scores in 2011.
According to The Economist, although half of the world’s countries are considered democracies, only 25 are considered ‘full democracies,’ 54 ‘flawed democracies,’ 55 ‘authoritarian,’ and 37 as ‘hybrid regimes.’
ZR
