V-Dem Democracy Index 2026: India Ranked 106th, Electoral Autocracy

Context: The 2026 V-Dem Report places India 106th on the Liberal Democracy Index, while classifying it as an electoral autocracy.

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V-Dem’s Democracy Index

• The Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Democracy Index provides a multidimensional assessment of democracy by examining institutions, rights, participation and democratic practices rather than elections alone.
• Published By: The index is published annually in March by the V-Dem Institute, based at the Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
• Assessment Parameters: V-Dem assesses democracy through five core principles, supported by hundreds of detailed indicators.
  • Electoral Democracy: Measures free and fair elections, universal suffrage, political competition and freedoms of expression and association.
  • Liberal Democracy: Evaluates civil liberties, rule of law and constraints on executive power through legislative and judicial institutions.
  • Participatory Democracy: Measures citizens’ participation through elections, civil society and local political institutions.
  • Deliberative Democracy: Assesses whether political decisions are based on public reasoning and the common good.
  • Egalitarian Democracy: Examines equality in political rights, resources, power and freedoms among social groups.
• Liberal Democracy Index (LDI): The LDI combines electoral democracy with liberal principles, particularly individual rights, rule of law and checks and balances.
  • It classifies regimes into Closed Autocracy, Electoral Autocracy, Electoral Democracy and Liberal Democracy.
• Global Trend in 2026: The 2026 report highlights continuing global democratic backsliding, with 46% of the world’s population living under electoral autocracy.
  • Electoral autocracy has become the most populous regime type, with India, Pakistan and Indonesia among its most populous examples.
• India’s Position in 2026 Report: India is classified as an electoral autocracy, a category it entered in 2017.
  • Its Electoral Democracy Index score has reached its lowest level since 1975, according to the report.
    • India ranks 106th out of 179 countries on the Electoral Democracy Index with a score of 0.38 out of 1.

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