Asia does not have a single ‘fully democratic’ state

In the latest edition of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2017 Democracy Index, there are 19 “fully democratic” countries in the world.

None of them are located in Asia.

At best, Asian nations such as Japan and India are found to be “flawed democracies” while North Korea and Myanmar are among its most authoritarian.

Globally, this year’s edition recorded the “worst decline” of democracy in years. Not a single region’s average scores improved since 2016. It’s said to be the worst performance worldwide since the aftermath of the 2010-11 global economic and financial crisis.

Around the world, said Joan Hoey, editor of the report, “Freedom of expression faces a threefold threat. The state in democratic and authoritarian countries is deploying defamation, prevention of terrorism, blasphemy and other laws to curb freedom of expression.”

Read the full article here.