Ghana's democracy has once again been deemed flawed in the 2023 Democracy Index report by the Economic Intelligence Unit.

According to the report, Ghana experienced a decline in both the Democracy Index and its global ranking. In 2022, Ghana had an index score of 6.43 out of 10 and ranked 63rd globally. However, in 2023, the country's index dropped to 6.3 out of 10, and its global ranking fell to 65th place.

Ghana also slipped from 4th to 5th place in Africa, trailing behind Mauritius, Cape Verde, South Africa, and Namibia. This decline reflects a deterioration in the practice of democracy in the country.

Ghana's index has been on a downward trend since 2015 and has been classified as a flawed democracy since 2010.

The Democracy Index evaluates countries across five categories: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties.

Ghana scored lowest in the functioning of government, with a score of 5.0 out of 10, and highest in electoral process and pluralism, with a score of 8.33 out of 10.

In 2023, the global democracy index decreased from 5.29 out of 10 in 2022 to 5.23 out of 10. This is the lowest level since the index began in 2006, and the decrease is attributed to ongoing wars and conflicts worldwide.

The Russia-Ukraine war, Azerbaijan's conquest of Nagorno-Karabakh, the civil war in Sudan, and Israel's conflict with Hamas are identified as leading threats to security and democracy globally.

According to the 2023 Democracy Index, 74 of the 167 countries and territories covered by the model are democracies of some type. The number of “full democracies” (those scoring more than 8.00 out of 10) remained at 24 in 2023, the same as the previous year. The number of “flawed democracies” increased from 48 in 2022 to 50 in 2023.

Of the remaining 95 countries in our index, 34 are classified as “hybrid regimes”, combining elements of formal democracy and authoritarianism, and 59 are classified as “authoritarian regimes”.

Less than 8% of the world's population live in a full democracy, while nearly 40% live under authoritarian rule—a proportion that has been steadily increasing in recent years.

The rise in violent conflicts has significantly impacted the global democracy score and hindered any recovery following the pandemic years of 2020-2022.

Most of the regression in democracy index occurred among the non-democracies classified as “hybrid regimes” and “authoritarian regimes”. Between 2022 and 2023 the average score for “authoritarian regimes” fell by 0.12 points and that for “hybrid regimes” by 0.07 points.

The year-on-year decline in the average score of the “full democracies” and “flawed democracies” was modest by comparison, falling by 0.01 and 0.03 points respectively. This suggests that non-democratic regimes are becoming more entrenched, and “hybrid regimes” are struggling to democratize.