Asia became less democratic in 2017

by Dramelin 8:00 PM 0 comments

Asia ended 2017 less free than it began it.
The Economist Intelligence Unit`s annual assessment of freedoms across 167 countries said Asia-Pacific had "experienced the biggest decline of any of our seven regions in 2017" after climbing up the rankings in recent years.
In the research firm`s report released Wednesday, Asia scored 5.
63 — lagging behind North America (8.
38) and Latin America (6.
Every year, the analysis company judges countries on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture.
Nations are then classified under four types of governments: full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime and authoritarian regime.
Within the region, only Australia and New Zealand classified as full democracies last year, the report found.
Meanwhile, "Asia`s two largest emerging democracies, India and Indonesia, suffered significant declines in their scores," the EIU said, citing a rise in "conservative religious ideologies.
" India dropped from the 32nd position in 2016 to the 42nd, while Indonesia slid from 48th to 68th place.