Democracy index in Africa 2023, by country

Mauritius is classified as the most democratic country in Africa. As of 2023, Mauritius' democracy was given 8.14 points, ranking as the only country in the whole continent as fully democratic. The index is based, according to the source, on the electoral process and pluralism, the government functions, political participation, and culture as well as civil liberties. Many Sub-Saharan and North African political systems are among the least democratic countries in the world. Burundi has the most authoritarian regime in Africa, with a score of 2.13 points, while countries such as Botswana, Cabo Verde, South Africa, Namibia, and Lesotho fell within the "hybrid regimes", with a score ranging from 6.06 points to 7.73 points, meaning that they experience, for example, elections with irregularities, widespread corruption, and harassment of journalists.

Democracy and freedom of speech in Sub-Saharan Africa

One of the main key indicators of democracy is the ability of individuals to express their opinions freely. African countries varied strongly when it came to freedom of speech, for instance, countries Mauritius, Namibia, and Cabo Verde had high scores in both the democracy index and the civic space openness index in the last years. On the other hand, countries like Djibouti and Equatorial Guinea had relatively low scores in the same indices. Furthermore, in the last few years, several Sub-Saharan African countries faced a huge decline in the freedom index as well, with nine out of the ten African countries with the largest decline in the freedom index being from this region. 

Africa divided: which region had more democracy?

North African countries showed poor scores in the democracy index as well. Two-thirds of the countries in this region had a score below five points, indicating authoritarian rule. Even the countries with the highest scores in this region have relatively low scores compared to countries in the Sub-Saharan region.