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Public Opinion: How Chinese Citizens Feel About Other Countries

Tensions over Taiwan, the COVID-19 pandemic, trade, and the war in Ukraine have impacted Chinese sentiment towards other countries.

This visualization uses data from the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University to rank survey responses from the Chinese public on their attitudes towards countries and regions around the world.

Chinese Sentiment Towards Other Countries in 2023

In the Center’s opinion polls, which surveyed a random sample of more than 2,500 Chinese mainland adults in November 2022, Russia came out significantly ahead.

Just under 60% of respondents held Russia in a favorable view, with 19% seeing the country as “very favorable.” Contrast that to the mere 12% that viewed the U.S. in a positive light.

Here’s a closer look at the data. The percentages refer to the share of respondents that voted for said category.

Country/Region	Very Unfavorable	Somewhat Unfavorable	Neutral	Somewhat Favorable	Very Favorable
United States	37.4%	21.7%	28.7%	9.2%	3.0%
Japan	38.4%	19.1%	29.4%	10.7%	2.3%
India	25.4%	25.2%	41.5%	6.7%	1.3%
South Korea	17.4%	21.0%	47.6%	11.8%	2.1%
European Union	9.3%	15.6%	57.6%	14.1%	3.3%
Southeast Asia	7.1%	13.1%	59.5%	16.8%	3.5%
Russia	3.0%	4.8%	33.7%	39.4%	19.0%

Japan ranked just below the U.S. in terms of overall unfavorability, though a slightly higher share of respondents saw Japan as “very unfavorable” compared to America. This is likely due to both modern tensions in the East China Sea over mutually claimed islands and historical tensions over the Sino-Japanese Wars.

Chinese sentiment towards India was also unfavorable at just over 50%, though notably the country also received the lowest favorability rating at just 8%.

Additional Survey Findings

The survey also found that 39% of Chinese people get their information on international security from Chinese state-run media (mainly through TV), with an additional 19% getting information from government websites and official social accounts. Conversely, only 1.7% get their news from foreign websites and foreign social media, partially due to the Great Firewall.

When asked about different international security issues, the biggest shares of Chinese citizens ranked the following as their top three:

1. Pandemics (12.9%)
2. Disputes over territory and territorial waters (12.9%)
3. China-U.S. relations (12.0%)

The pandemic’s high score reflects the harsher impact COVID-19 had on China. Chinese borders were shut for years and the public faced intense measures to reduce spread.

In terms of other world events, the majority of Chinese people align with a more “Eastern” viewpoint. For example, in regards to the war in Ukraine, the report found that:

“About 80 percent of the respondents believe the U.S. and Western countries should be held most accountable [for the war], while less than ten percent of the respondents argue that Russia is mainly responsible.”– Center for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University

Overall, the views of the Chinese public reflect the opposite of those found in many Western countries. They provide an important insight that it is not just the Chinese government holding particular views about the world, but the Chinese public as well.

The post How Do Chinese Citizens Feel About Other Countries? appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

Mapped: World’s Top 40 Largest Military Budgets

In the final year of World War II, the U.S. spent about 38% of its GDP on its military. When adjusted for inflation, the military budget over those four years of war came to a staggering $4.1 trillion in 2020 dollars.

Almost 80 years later, modern day military spending isn’t much of a far cry from World War II budgets. The top spenders have continued to increase their military capabilities, while war in Ukraine has caused countries in the region to re-evaluate their budgets as well.

In 2022, global military budgets hit an all-time high of $2.2 trillion, according to data released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the eighth consecutive year of increase. This post looks at the top 40 largest military budgets in the world.

The Largest Military Budgets in 2022

The United States accounts for almost 40% of global military expenditures, with its 2022 spend coming to $877 billion.

Here are the top 40 largest military budgets in the world for 2022 in U.S. dollars:

Rank	Country	Military Budget (Billions)	% of World Military Spend
1	U.S.	$876.9	39.0%
2	China	$292.0	13.0%
3	Russia	$86.4	3.9%
4	India	$81.4	3.6%
5	Saudi Arabia	$75.0	3.3%
6	UK	$68.5	3.1%
7	Germany	$55.8	2.5%
8	France	$53.6	2.4%
9	South Korea	$46.4	2.1%
10	Japan	$46.0	2.1%
11	Ukraine	$44.0	2.0%
12	Italy	$33.5	1.5%
13	Australia	$32.3	1.4%
14	Canada	$26.9	1.2%
15	Israel	$23.4	1.0%
16	Spain	$20.3	0.9%
17	Brazil	$20.2	0.9%
18	Poland	$16.6	0.7%
19	Netherlands	$15.6	0.7%
20	Qatar	$15.4	0.7%
21	Taiwan	$12.5	0.6%
22	Singapore	$11.7	0.5%
23	Türkiye	$10.6	0.5%
24	Pakistan	$10.3	0.5%
25	Colombia	$9.9	0.4%
26	Algeria	$9.1	0.4%
27	Indonesia	$9.0	0.4%
28	Mexico	$8.5	0.4%
29	Norway	$8.4	0.4%
30	Kuwait	$8.2	0.4%
31	Greece	$8.1	0.4%
32	Sweden	$7.7	0.3%
33	Belgium	$6.9	0.3%
34	Iran	$6.8	0.3%
35	Switzerland	$6.1	0.3%
36	Oman	$5.8	0.3%
37	Thailand	$5.7	0.3%
38	Chile	$5.6	0.2%
39	Denmark	$5.5	0.2%
40	Romania	$5.2	0.2%

China, ranked second in absolute terms, accounts for another 13% of world military expenditure at $292 billion.

Russia, India and Saudi Arabia round out the top five biggest military budgets in 2022. Add in the UK to the mix (#6 rank), and these countries all had military expenditures that made up at least 3% of global spend.

Comparatively, the lowest budgets on the top 40 ranged include Romania at $5.2 billion, Denmark at $5.5 billion, and Chile at $5.6 billion. They each account for just 0.2% of the world’s military budgets in 2022, and of course there are many countries with even smaller spends.

Largest Military Budget Increases in 2022

Russia’s position as the third-largest military spender is a recent development, as the country’s military spend had a 9% increase between 2021 and 2022, according to SIPRI estimates.

On the other side of Russia’s invasion, Ukraine was the top 40 military budget with the largest annual increase in 2022, surging nearly six and a half times above its 2021 expenditures.

Country	% Change (2021-2022)	Rank Change (2021-2022)
Ukraine	640%	+25
Qatar	27%	+2
Saudi Arabia	16%	+3
Belgium	13%	0
Netherlands	12%	0
Sweden	12%	-1
Poland	11%	0
Russia	9.2%	+2
Denmark	8.8%	+3
Spain	7.3%	-1
Norway	6.2%	0
India	6.0%	-1
Japan	5.9%	-1
Iran	4.6%	+5
China	4.2%	0
UK	3.7%	-2
Canada	3.0%	-1
Singapore	2.8%	+1
Germany	2.3%	0
Indonesia	1.3%	0
Colombia	1.1%	-1
U.S.	0.7%	0
France	0.6%	-2
Greece	0.6%	-1
Switzerland	0.4%	-1
Taiwan	0.4%	-1
Australia	0.3%	-1
Pakistan	-2.0%	-3
South Korea	-2.5%	+1
Romania	-2.6%	+1
Oman	-3.0%	+1
Algeria	-3.7%	-1
Israel	-4.2%	-1
Italy	-4.5%	-1
Chile	-6.2%	-3
Brazil	-7.9%	-1
Mexico	-9.7%	0
Kuwait	-11%	-4
Thailand	-11%	-5
Türkiye	-26%	-6

Ukraine’s dramatic increase represents the highest single-year jump ever recorded by SIPRI, painting a vivid before-and-after picture of a nation engaged in conflict.

Although no other country comes close in matching Ukraine’s surge in defense spending, Qatar saw a substantial increase of 27% over the last year, marking a continuing trend over the last decade of significantly bolstering its military.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia, along with four European nations (Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Poland), have registered year-over-year changes of over 10%.

On the flipside, 13 of the nations with the largest military budgets decreased spend from 2021, including top 15 spenders such as South Korea, Italy, and Israel.

The largest drop was seen by Türkiye, with an estimated 26% reduction in military budget. This drop may be linked to Türkiye’s inflation problem, which saw prices rise 72.3% in 2022—effectively decreasing the purchasing power of their currency in relative terms to other nations.

The Specter of War in Europe

With an ongoing conflict in the region and large financial powerhouses, its no surprise that eight of the top 10 countries with the most significant increases in military spending are located in Europe.

Consequently, European military budgets have reached levels not witnessed since the end of the Cold War.

And amid escalating geopolitical concerns, countries in Asia such as India, Japan, and China have also ramped up their defense spending. This is an indication of simmering global flashpoints such as India and China’s border skirmishes, the longstanding South China Sea territorial conflict, and concerns surrounding Taiwan’s sovereignty.

The post Mapped: World’s Top 40 Largest Military Budgets appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

Animated: Change in Russian Billionaires’ Wealth Since 2022

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, many countries retaliated with sanctions targeting Russian billionaires—the oligarchs—and politicians directly.

And as the war has progressed, those sanctions have intensified, with even the relatives and shell companies of these billionaires being targeted over time. The reason? These oligarchs are interconnected to Russia’s government, lending vocal and fiscal support in exchange for sweetheart deals or beneficial government oversight.

This animation from James Eagle shows how the estimated net wealth of the 22 wealthiest Russian billionaires on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in April 2023 has changed since January 2022, prior to the start of the conflict.

Net Wealth of Top Russian Billionaires

The 22 wealthiest Russian billionaires in April 20, 2023 lost a collective $90.4 billion in net worth since January 5, 2022.

The heaviest hit include Viktor Vekselberg, who holds a stake in UC Rusal, the world’s third largest aluminum producer. Since the start of the war, he’s lost an estimated $11.3 billion or 61% of his net worth from January 2022.

Roman Abramovich, who got his start in the early oligarchy through oil conglomerates, was also hit hard by the sanctions. He lost $10.5 billion or 58% of his net worth from January 2022, and was forced to sell Chelsea Football Club in one of the biggest sports team sales in history.

Notably, the richest oligarchs haven’t lost as much. Mining giant Norilsk Nickel’s largest shareholder, Vladimir Potanin, saw his net worth only drop by 4.8%. After being hit hard at the onset of the war in Ukraine, he quickly rebounded and at many times had an even higher net worth, reaching $35.6 billion in June 2022.

And a few oligarchs, like former Norilsk Nickel CEO Mikhail Prokhorov and phosphate-based fertilizer baron Andrey Guryev, saw their wealth increase since January 2022. Guryev grew his net worth by $2 billion or 26%, while Prokhorov (who formerly owned the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets) saw his net worth even out at a gain of $0.3 billion or 2%.

Oligarch Support of Russia (or Lack Thereof)

As Russia’s war with Ukraine has dragged on, and sanctions have continued to weigh on Russian billionaires, politicians, and companies, their effects have been uncertain.

Oligarchs have lost net worth, relinquished foreign businesses, and even had prized possessions like mansions and yachts seized. At the same time, though Russia’s economy has weakened under sanctions, bolstered trade with countries like China, India, and Saudi Arabia have kept it stronger than expected.

And though some oligarchs have voiced various concerns over the ongoing war, the wealthiest have been careful to toe the line. Russian billionaires and politicians that did vocalize criticism, including Lukoil chairman Ravil Maganov, have been found dead in apparent suicides, heart attacks, and accidents.

The most serious oligarch rebellion wasn’t due to economic hardships, but military operations. Oligarch and mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin launched an attempted coup in June 2023, reportedly retreating after support from within Russia’s military quickly fizzled.

The post Animated: Change in Russian Billionaires’ Wealth Since 2022 appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

Comparing Military Spend Around the World

One of the easiest ways to identify a nation’s priorities is by tracking its expenditures, and military spend is no different.

Usually spending is measured, and ranked, in absolute amounts. For example, countries around the world collectively spent $2.1 trillion on their militaries in 2021, with the most coming from the U.S. ($800 billion), China ($293 billion), and India ($77 billion).

But these eye-popping figures are best understood in the context of each country’s economy. Using data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Varun Jain has visualized 158 countries’ military expenditures, both as a percentage of their total GDP as well as in average per-capita spend.

Countries’ Military Spend as a Percentage of their Economy

To begin, Jain identified three categories of military expenditure as a percent of GDP, using the five-year (2018‒2022) average for more consistent data:

Under this categorization, the stand outs are the countries spending an outsized amount of their economic output on military, rather than the highest total spenders in absolute terms.

At the top of the table is Ukraine, which has earmarked a staggering average of 9.46% of its total economic output on defense over the past five years. That’s well ahead of second-place Saudi Arabia, which is slightly above 8%.

In Ukraine’s case, its high ranking shows how quickly priorities can change. From 2018 to 2021, the country spent 3.2-3.8% of its GDP on its military, but the outbreak of war with Russia saw its expenditures jump to one-third of economic output.

Other countries from the Middle East and North Africa follow in this tier, with Oman third at 8.11% and Qatar fourth with 5.88%. Rounding out the top seven high spenders are Algeria, Kuwait, and Israel.

Rank	Country	Military Spend	% of GDP
1	Ukraine	High	9.46%
2	Saudi Arabia	High	8.19%
3	Oman	High	8.11%
4	Qatar	High	5.88%
5	Algeria	High	5.70%
6	Kuwait	High	5.66%
7	Israel	High	5.09%
8	Jordan	Medium	4.81%
9	Armenia	Medium	4.53%
10	Azerbaijan	Medium	4.53%
11	Lebanon	Medium	4.01%
12	Russia	Medium	3.98%
13	Bahrain	Medium	3.79%
14	Pakistan	Medium	3.75%
15	Morocco	Medium	3.72%
16	Uzbekistan	Medium	3.56%
17	U.S.	Medium	3.48%
18	Colombia	Medium	3.24%
19	Greece	Medium	3.15%
20	Namibia	Medium	3.09%
21	Brunei	Medium	3.09%
22	South Sudan	Medium	3.05%
23	Togo	Medium	3.03%
24	Mali	Medium	2.90%
25	Cuba	Medium	2.88%
26	Singapore	Medium	2.86%
27	Botswana	Medium	2.86%
28	Myanmar	Medium	2.76%
29	Burkina Faso	Medium	2.70%
30	Iraq	Medium	2.69%
31	South Korea	Medium	2.69%
32	Republic of Congo	Medium	2.68%
33	Chad	Medium	2.66%
34	India	Medium	2.58%
35	Tunisia	Medium	2.58%
36	Ecuador	Medium	2.34%
37	Iran	Medium	2.32%
38	Viet Nam	Medium	2.28%
39	Cambodia	Medium	2.26%
40	Mauritania	Medium	2.24%
41	Niger	Medium	2.21%
42	Burundi	Medium	2.21%
43	Turkey	Medium	2.19%
44	Poland	Medium	2.17%
45	Latvia	Medium	2.14%
46	Lithuania	Medium	2.13%
47	Estonia	Medium	2.13%
48	United Kingdom	Medium	2.12%
49	Uruguay	Medium	2.11%
50	Serbia	Medium	2.06%
51	Uganda	Medium	2.02%
52	Croatia	Low	1.97%
53	Australia	Low	1.93%
54	Chile	Low	1.92%
55	France	Low	1.91%
56	Cyprus	Low	1.90%
57	Romania	Low	1.87%
58	Bulgaria	Low	1.85%
59	Eswatini	Low	1.82%
60	Norway	Low	1.81%
61	Central African Republic	Low	1.78%
62	Sri Lanka	Low	1.77%
63	Portugal	Low	1.77%
64	Taiwan	Low	1.76%
65	China	Low	1.72%
66	Georgia	Low	1.71%
67	Slovakia	Low	1.67%
68	Guinea-Bissau	Low	1.65%
69	Kyrgyzstan	Low	1.62%
70	Guinea	Low	1.61%
71	Finland	Low	1.60%
72	Senegal	Low	1.58%
73	Honduras	Low	1.56%
74	Gabon	Low	1.56%
75	Mozambique	Low	1.56%
76	Lesotho	Low	1.56%
77	Montenegro	Low	1.54%
78	Fiji	Low	1.54%
79	Jamaica	Low	1.49%
80	Angola	Low	1.48%
81	Italy	Low	1.48%
82	Hungary	Low	1.48%
83	Bolivia	Low	1.46%
84	Seychelles	Low	1.43%
85	Netherlands	Low	1.41%
86	Sudan	Low	1.39%
87	Rwanda	Low	1.39%
88	Nepal	Low	1.36%
89	Denmark	Low	1.36%
90	Albania	Low	1.34%
91	Spain	Low	1.34%
92	Thailand	Low	1.33%
93	Afghanistan	Low	1.33%
94	New Zealand	Low	1.32%
95	Canada	Low	1.32%
96	Germany	Low	1.31%
97	North Macedonia	Low	1.30%
98	Brazil	Low	1.29%
99	Belize	Low	1.28%
100	El Salvador	Low	1.28%
101	Bangladesh	Low	1.26%
102	Zambia	Low	1.25%
103	Equatorial Guinea	Low	1.24%
104	Guyana	Low	1.22%
105	Cote d'Ivoire	Low	1.22%
106	Egypt	Low	1.20%
107	Peru	Low	1.20%
108	Belarus	Low	1.18%
109	Sweden	Low	1.17%
110	Kenya	Low	1.13%
111	Slovenia	Low	1.10%
112	Timor Leste	Low	1.08%
113	Tanzania	Low	1.05%
114	Cameroon	Low	1.04%
115	Tajikistan	Low	1.03%
116	Japan	Low	1.03%
117	Belgium	Low	1.02%
118	Liberia	Low	1.00%
119	Malaysia	Low	0.98%
120	Philippines	Low	0.96%
121	Paraguay	Low	0.95%
122	Kosovo	Low	0.95%
123	South Africa	Low	0.94%
124	Malawi	Low	0.92%
125	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Low	0.84%
126	Kazakhstan	Low	0.83%
127	Austria	Low	0.78%
128	Gambia	Low	0.76%
129	Trinidad & Tobago	Low	0.75%
130	Indonesia	Low	0.74%
131	Switzerland	Low	0.73%
132	Czech Republic	Low	0.71%
133	Dominican Republic	Low	0.70%
134	Mongolia	Low	0.69%
135	Madagascar	Low	0.68%
136	Dem. Rep. of Congo	Low	0.64%
137	Nigeria	Low	0.64%
138	Ethiopia	Low	0.64%
139	Sierra Leone	Low	0.64%
140	Argentina	Low	0.63%
141	Luxembourg	Low	0.61%
142	Mexico	Low	0.61%
143	Nicaragua	Low	0.60%
144	Cape Verde	Low	0.54%
145	Benin	Low	0.54%
146	Malta	Low	0.48%
147	Guatemala	Low	0.45%
148	Ghana	Low	0.43%
149	Papua New Guinea	Low	0.38%
150	Moldova	Low	0.36%
151	Ireland	Low	0.27%
152	Zimbabwe	Low	0.26%
153	Venezuela	Low	0.20%
154	Haiti	Low	0.17%
155	Mauritius	Low	0.16%
156	Costa Rica	Low	0.00%
157	Iceland	Low	0.00%
158	Panama	Low	0.00%

The medium group consists of 44 countries and is led by four nations (Jordan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Lebanon) that all spend more than 4% of their GDP on their militaries. Other familiar countries known to have large military budgets, like Russia, Pakistan, the U.S., India and the UK, are also in this category.

The low spend group has a total of 107 countries, but also contains some surprises. For example, China, France, and Germany—all in the top 10 countries by absolute military spend—actually have similar amounts of military spend as a percent of GDP as Georgia, Cyprus, and North Macedonia respectively.

At the bottom of the table are countries with either low military importance, or strange technicalities. For example, Mauritius is one of the countries with the lowest military budgets because it doesn’t officially have a standing military, instead relying on two paramilitary forces (a special mobile force and a Coast Guard).

Similarly, Iceland allocates 0% of its GDP towards military spending. In place of a standing army, the country maintains a specialized peacekeeping force, a substantial Coast Guard, and relies on security alliances within NATO, of which it is a member and provides financial support to.

Ranking Defense Spending Per Capita

While the measure above equalizes military spend on economic strength, per-capita military spending shows how much countries allocate while accounting for population size.

On a per-capita basis (again using a five-year average), Qatar leads the ranks with a per-capita spend of $4,564, well-ahead of Israel at $2,535, and Saudi Arabia at $1,928.

Rank	Country	Per Capita Spend ($)
1	Qatar	$4,564
2	Israel	$2,535
3	Saudi Arabia	$1,928
4	Singapore	$1,837
5	Kuwait	$1,815
6	U.S.	$1,815
7	Norway	$1,438
8	Oman	$1,254
9	Australia	$1,131
10	Brunei	$959
11	UK	$913
12	South Korea	$894
13	Bahrain	$863
14	Denmark	$861
15	France	$811
16	Finland	$801
17	Netherlands	$765
18	Luxembourg	$694
19	Sweden	$662
20	Switzerland	$647
21	Canada	$645
22	Greece	$629
23	Germany	$623
24	New Zealand	$610
25	Estonia	$535
26	Taiwan	$495
27	Italy	$494
28	Belgium	$487
29	Russia	$467
30	Lithuania	$463
31	Portugal	$417
32	Latvia	$405
33	Cyprus	$399
34	Japan	$398
35	Spain	$395
36	Austria	$393
37	Poland	$359
38	Uruguay	$354
39	Slovakia	$334
40	Lebanon	$334
41	Slovenia	$302
42	Ukraine	$302
43	Croatia	$294
44	Chile	$292
45	Romania	$258
46	Hungary	$248
47	Ireland	$235
48	Seychelles	$230
49	Azerbaijan	$226
50	Algeria	$219
51	Armenia	$217
52	Botswana	$215
53	Jordan	$207
54	Turkey	$199
55	Colombia	$197
56	Bulgaria	$194
57	China	$183
58	Malta	$175
59	Czech Republic	$175
60	Iran	$169
61	Namibia	$159
62	Iraq	$145
63	Ecuador	$138
64	Montenegro	$137
65	Serbia	$133
66	Trinidad & Tobago	$131
67	Gabon	$124
68	Morocco	$122
69	Equatorial Guinea	$112
70	Malaysia	$109
71	Brazil	$107
72	Thailand	$97
73	Guyana	$92
74	Tunisia	$91
75	Fiji	$83
76	North Macedonia	$83
77	Kazakhstan	$82
78	Peru	$81
79	Georgia	$80
80	Belarus	$80
81	Jamaica	$77
82	Albania	$76
83	Eswatini	$72
84	Sri Lanka	$69
85	Argentina	$66
86	Belize	$60
87	Mexico	$59
88	Dominican Republic	$58
89	Viet Nam	$58
90	South Africa	$56
91	El Salvador	$54
92	Bosnia and Herzegovina	$54
93	India	$53
94	Republic of Congo	$53
95	Paraguay	$52
96	Bolivia	$51
97	Pakistan	$49
98	Uzbekistan	$44
99	Angola	$43
100	Kosovo	$42
101	Mauritania	$42
102	Honduras	$42
103	Egypt	$41
104	Cambodia	$36
105	Myanmar	$35
106	Philippines	$33
107	Mongolia	$33
108	Indonesia	$31
109	Bangladesh	$27
110	Timor Leste	$27
111	Mali	$26
112	Senegal	$24
113	Cote d'Ivoire	$23
114	Togo	$21
115	Kenya	$21
116	Kyrgyzstan	$20
117	Burkina Faso	$20
118	Guinea	$19
119	Lesotho	$19
120	Cape Verde	$19
121	Guatemala	$19
122	Chad	$18
123	South Sudan	$18
124	Sudan	$18
125	Uganda	$18
126	Zimbabwe	$17
127	Zambia	$16
128	Mauritius	$16
129	Cameroon	$16
130	Nepal	$15
131	Nigeria	$14
132	Nicaragua	$12
133	Guinea-Bissau	$12
134	Tanzania	$12
135	Cuba	$11
136	Rwanda	$11
137	Moldova	$11
138	Papua New Guinea	$10
139	Niger	$10
140	Tajikistan	$9
141	Central African Republic	$8
142	Mozambique	$8
143	Ghana	$8
144	Benin	$7
145	Burundi	$7
146	Afghanistan	$6
147	Gambia	$6
148	Ethiopia	$5
149	Venezuela	$5
150	Malawi	$4
151	Sierra Leone	$3
152	Madagascar	$3
153	Dem. Rep. of Congo	$3
154	Liberia	$3
155	Haiti	$2
156	Costa Rica	$0
157	Iceland	$0
158	Panama	$0

Measured this way, we get a perspective of how small defense budgets can be per person, even if the total expenditure is large.

For example, India has the fourth-highest total defense expenditure in 2022, but because of its massive population only sets aside $53 per resident for its military, putting it solidly at the bottom third of the per-capita rankings.

Patterns Revealed By Measuring Military Spend

Changing how we look at a country’s military budget can reveal a lot more than just looking at absolute numbers.

For example, the Middle East is the region with the highest spenders on defense as a percentage of their GDP, giving us insight into regional security concerns.

Countries from the medium group of military spending—including parts of Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia—highlight past or recent conflict zones between neighbors, countries with internal strife, or countries wary of a regional aggressor. Ukraine’s average per capita military spend, for example, was just $122.4 from 2018 to 2021. The next year, it jumped nearly 10 times to $1,018.66 per person after Russia’s invasion.

In fact, European military spending saw its sharpest one-year jump in 30 years as a direct result of the war.

Alongside European anxieties, ongoing tension between China and Taiwan has also contributed to increased military spending in Asia and Oceania. Will these budgets continue their dramatic ascent or will they rise evenly alongside their relative economies in 2023?

The post Interactive: Comparing Military Spend Around the World appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

Charted: The Number of Democracies Globally

The end of World War II in 1945 was a turning point for democracies around the world.

Before this critical turning point in geopolitics, democracies made up only a small number of the world’s countries, both legally and in practice. However, over the course of the next six decades, the number of democratic nations would more than quadruple.

Interestingly, studies have found that this trend has recently reversed as of the 2010s, with democracies and non-democracies now in a deadlock.

In this visualization, Staffan Landin uses data from V-DEM’s Electoral Democratic Index (EDI) to highlight the changing face of global politics over the past two decades and the nations that contributed the most to this change.

The Methodology

V-DEM’s EDI attempts to measure democratic development in a comprehensive way, through the contributions of 3,700 experts from countries around the world.

Instead of relying on each nation’s legally recognized system of government, the EDI analyzes the level of electoral democracy in countries on a range of indicators, including:

• Free and fair elections
• Rule of law
• Alternative sources of information and association
• Freedom of expression

Countries are assigned a score on a scale from 0 to 1, with higher scores indicating a higher level of democracy. Each is also categorized into four types of functional government, from liberal and electoral democracies to electoral and closed autocracies.

Which Countries Have Declined the Most?

The EDI found that numerous countries around the world saw declines in democracy over the past two decades. Here are the 10 countries that saw the steepest decline in EDI score since 2010:

Country	Democracy Index (2010)	Democracy Index (2022)	Points Lost
Hungary	0.80	0.46	-34
Poland	0.89	0.59	-30
Serbia	0.61	0.34	-27
Türkiye	0.55	0.28	-27
India	0.71	0.44	-27
Mali	0.51	0.25	-26
Thailand	0.44	0.20	-24
Afghanistan	0.38	0.16	-22
Brazil	0.88	0.66	-22
Benin	0.64	0.42	-22

Central and Eastern Europe was home to three of the countries seeing the largest declines in democracy. Hungary, Poland, and Serbia lead the table, with Hungary and Serbia in particular dropping below scores of 0.5.

Some of the world’s largest countries by population also decreased significantly, including India and Brazil. Across most of the top 10, the “freedom of expression” indicator was hit particularly hard, with notable increases in media censorship to be found in Afghanistan and Brazil.

Countries Becoming More Democratic

Here are the 10 countries that saw the largest increase in EDI score since 2010:

Country	Democracy Index (2010)	Democracy Index (2022)	Points Gained
Armenia	0.34	0.74	+40
Fiji	0.14	0.40	+26
The Gambia	0.25	0.50	+25
Seychelles	0.45	0.67	+22
Madagascar	0.28	0.48	+20
Tunisia	0.40	0.56	+16
Sri Lanka	0.42	0.57	+15
Guinea-Bissau	0.41	0.56	+15
Moldova	0.59	0.74	+15
Nepal	0.46	0.59	+13

Armenia, Fiji, and Seychelles saw significant improvement in the autonomy of their electoral management bodies in the last 10 years. Partially as a result, both Armenia and Seychelles have seen their scores rise above 0.5.

The Gambia also saw great improvement across many election indicators, including the quality of voter registries, vote buying, and election violence. It was one of five African countries to make the top 10 most improved democracies.

With the total number of democracies and non-democracies almost tied over the past four years, it is hard to predict the political atmosphere in the future.

The post Charted: The Number of Democracies Globally appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

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Charting the Rise of America’s Debt Ceiling

Every few years the debt ceiling standoff puts the credit of the U.S. at risk.

In January, the $31.4 trillion debt limit—the amount of debt the U.S. government can hold—was reached. That means U.S. cash reserves could be exhausted by June 1 according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Should Republicans and Democrats fail to act, the U.S. could default on its debt, causing harmful effects across the financial system.

The above graphic shows the sharp rise in the debt ceiling in recent years, pulling data from various sources including the World Bank, U.S. Department of Treasury, and Congressional Research Service.

Familiar Territory

Raising the debt ceiling is nothing new. Since 1960, it’s been raised 78 times.

In the 2023 version of the debate, Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is asking for cuts in government spending. However, President Joe Biden argues that the debt ceiling should be increased without any strings attached. Adding to this, the sharp uptick in interest rates have been a clear reminder that rising debt levels can be precarious.

Consider that historically, interest payments on the U.S. debt have been equal to about half the cost of defense. More recently, however, the cost of servicing the debt has risen, and is now almost on par with the defense budget as a whole.

Key Moments In Recent History

Over history, raising the debt ceiling has often been a typical process for Congress.

Unlike today, agreements to raise the debt ceiling were often negotiated faster. Increased political polarization over recent years has contributed to standoffs with damaging consequences.

For instance, in 2011, an agreement was made just days before the deadline. As a result, S&P downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+ for the first time ever. This delay cost an estimated $1.3 billion in extra costs to the government that year.

Before then, the government shut down twice between 1995 and 1996 as President Bill Clinton and Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich went head-to-head. Over a million government workers were furloughed for a week in late November 1995 before the debt limit was raised.

What Happens Now?

Today, Republicans and Democrats have less than two weeks to reach an agreement.

If Congress doesn’t make a deal the result would be that the government can’t pay its bills by taking on new debt. Payment for federal workers would be suspended, certain pension payments would get stalled, and interest payments on Treasuries would be delayed. The U.S. would default under these conditions.

Three Potential Consequences

Here are some of the potential knock-on effects if the debt ceiling isn’t raised by June 1, 2023:

1. Higher Interest Rates

Typically investors require higher interest payments as the risk of their debt holdings increase.

If the U.S. fails to pay interest payments on its debt and gets a credit downgrade, these interest payments would likely rise higher. This would impact the U.S. government’s interest payments and the cost of borrowing for businesses and households.

High interest rates can slow economic growth since it disincentivizes spending and taking on new debt. We can see in the chart below that a gloomier economic picture has already been anticipated, showing its highest probability since 1983.

Historically, recessions have increased U.S. deficit spending as tax receipts fall and there is less income to help fund government activities. Additional fiscal stimulus spending can also exacerbate any budget imbalance.

Finally, higher interest rates could spell more trouble for the banking sector, which is already on edge after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

A rise in interest rates would push down the value of outstanding bonds, which banks hold as capital reserves. This makes it even more challenging to cover deposits, which could further increase uncertainty in the banking industry.

2. Eroding International Credibility

As the world’s reserve currency, any default on U.S. Treasuries would rattle global markets.

If its role as an ultra safe asset is undermined, a chain reaction of negative consequences could spread throughout the global financial system. Often Treasuries are held as collateral. If these debt payments fail to get paid to investors, prices would plummet, demand could crater, and global investors may shift investment elsewhere.

Investors are factoring in the risk of the U.S. not paying its bondholders.

As we can see this in the chart below, U.S. one-year credit default swap (CDS) spreads are much higher than other nations. These CDS instruments, quoted in spreads, offer insurance in the event that the U.S. defaults. The wider the spread, the greater the expected risk that the bondholder won’t be paid.

The US now has higher credit risk than Mexico, Greece, and Brazil pic.twitter.com/je4klBvHZ6

— Genevieve Roch-Decter, CFA (@GRDecter) May 11, 2023

Additionally, a default could add fuel to the perception of global de-dollarization. Since 2001, the USD has slipped from 73% to 58% of global reserves.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to steep financial sanctions, China and India are increasingly using their currencies for trade settlement. President of Russia Vladimir Putin says that two-thirds of trade is settled in yuan or roubles. Recently, China has also entered non-dollar agreements with Brazil and Kazakhstan.

3. Financial Sector Turmoil

Back at home, a debt default would hurt investor confidence in the U.S. economy. Coupled with already higher interest rates impacting costs, financial markets could see added strain. Lower investor demand could depress stock prices.

Is the Debt Ceiling Concept Flawed?

Today, U.S. government debt stands at 129% of GDP.

The annualized cost of servicing this debt has jumped an estimated 90% compared to 2011, driven by increasing debt and higher interest rates.

Some economists argue that the debt ceiling helps keep the government more fiscally responsible. Others suggest that it’s structured poorly, and that if the government approves a level of spending in its budget, that debt ceiling increases should come more automatically.

In fact, it’s worth noting that the U.S. is one of the few countries worldwide with a debt ceiling.

The post Charting the Rise of America’s Debt Ceiling appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

Published

2 months ago

on

May 17, 2023

By

Marcus Lu

Ranking the Trade Policies of the G20

In October 2021, the leaders of the G20 nations met for their annual summit in Rome. On the agenda were important items such as climate change, corporate taxation, and of course, the issue of global trade.

Altogether, the G20 represents 85% of global GDP and 66% of the world’s population. It is therefore important to track their trade policy regimes, as they have a significant impact on growth and development.

With this in mind, The Hinrich Foundation has analyzed the policy interventions of every G20 member following the Rome summit to see how global protectionism has advanced.

Liberalizing vs. Harmful Interventions

The first chart in this infographic measures the percentage of each nation’s total value of goods trade that has been affected by harmful or liberalizing interventions.

We define liberalizing interventions as those that liberalize on a non-discriminatory or most favored nation basis. On the other hand, harmful interventions are those that discriminate against the commercial interests of a foreign country.

From this data we can see that Brazil is the only G20 member to have liberalized more trade than it discriminated against.

Note that our data only includes 17 economies. This is because the G20 includes France, Germany, and Italy, while our dataset aggregates them under EU.

G20 Member	% Liberalizing	% Harmful
Brazil	76%	24%
Indonesia	48%	52%
China	48%	52%
Türkiye	44%	56%
Mexico	37%	63%
India	37%	63%
South Africa	32%	68%
EU	32%	68%
Australia	31%	69%
Argentina	22%	78%
Saudi Arabia	20%	80%
Japan	18%	82%
South Korea	17%	83%
UK	7%	93%
Russia	5%	95%
US	4%	96%
Canada	1%	99%

Based on the trade policies enacted between the Rome Summit (Oct 2021) and the Bali Summit (Nov 2022). Source: Global Trade Alert (2022)

Across the rest of the G20, the majority of goods trade was subject to harmful trade policies. This could include import tariffs, state subsidies for domestic industries, and even outright bans.

Who’s Targeting Whom?

Turning focus to the number of harmful trade measures introduced, we can identify the U.S., EU, and India as the top three implementers. The full list is included below. 

Country	Number of harmful interventions
United States of America	3,905
EU	1,716
India	768
Brazil	697
Russia	644
Australia	304
Argentina	264
Türkiye	223
Indonesia	217
Japan	171
Canada	141
United Kingdom	137
Saudi Arabia	101
South Korea	79
South Africa	60
Mexico	54
China	38

The top three target economies of the U.S. were China (293 measures), the EU (291), and Russia (290). Over $100 billion in Chinese exports such as steel products, motor vehicles, and computing equipment are subject to harmful interventions.

The EU’s top three targets were the UK (219), China (186), and the U.S. (181).

This graphic is the first in a three-part series by The Hinrich Foundation that covers the geopolitics of trade.

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Related Topics: #eu #economy #economics #geopolitics #globalization #protectionism #china #global trade #india #Hinrich Foundation #U.S. #trade

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The post Ranking the Trade Policies of the G20 appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

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Map Explainer: Sudan

The African nation of Sudan has been in the headlines, as intense fighting has rocked the country. As this bloody power struggle plays out, the map infographic above aims to provides key information on the conflict, as well as general facts and context about the country.

To begin, what exactly is happening in Sudan?

The 2023 Conflict in Sudan: A Primer

As explosions echo throughout Khartoum—Africa’s sixth largest urban area—many around the world are left wondering how the conflict escalated to this point. Here are five things to know:

1. Two generals have been sharing power since a coup in 2021. The first is General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads the Sudanese Army. The second is General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (aka Hemedti), who leads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group. This power-sharing arrangement was meant to be temporary, with an eventual transition to a civilian-led democracy. Instead, the situation devolved into conflict.
2. Fighting broke out around the country in mid-April, with Khartoum becoming a major flash point. Flames billowed over the Khartoum airport, and the city’s military headquarters was reduced to a burned-out husk.
3. As violence began to grip Sudan’s largest city, there was an exodus of foreign officials and citizens. In one particularly dramatic scene at the U.S. Embassy, nearly 100 people were escorted onto an aircraft by Navy SEALs and flown to nearby Djibouti.
4. There have been a number of ceasefire agreements so far, but they’ve done little to stem the intense fighting.
5. The stream of refugees fleeing the violence continues to grow. There is growing concern that this conflict will cause further instability in the region, as most of Sudan’s neighbors have their own histories with recent conflict, and many areas are facing food insecurity.

Unfortunately, Sudan is no stranger to conflict, having been ruled by the military for much of its existence. As of the writing of this article, there is technically a ceasefire in place, but fighting rages on. It remains to be seen how far these warring generals are willing to push the situation to assert their power.

Fast Facts About the Country of Sudan

Beyond headlines of conflict, Sudan is not a well-known country to many in the West. In the map above, we’ve also included more general information about geography, climate, population centers, and more.

Geography and Climate

Sudan is the third largest nation in Africa (16th globally), so there is a lot of climate and geographic variance within the country’s borders.

The country is located in Northeast Africa, directly below Egypt. Roughly speaking, its climate changes along a north–south axis, moving from arid to tropical. About two-thirds of the nation is arid and semi-arid, which is typical of countries with territory that includes the Sahara Desert.

The further south one goes in Sudan, the greener the surroundings get. The map below (which also includes the relatively new country of South Sudan) shows the extreme difference in vegetation from the north to south in the region.

The Nile River is a prominent feature running across this arid region, providing two-thirds of the country’s fresh water. In the south, the Blue and White portions of the Nile enter the country from South Sudan and Ethiopia, respectively. The rivers meet midway through the country and the Nile River flows northward, eventually reaching Egypt.

This flow of water from country-to-country can sometimes be a point of contention between Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt, who all rely on the river for power, fresh water, and irrigation.

Population Centers

Over 43 million people live in Sudan, which ranks it ninth in terms of population in Africa. Below, we can see that much of the Sudanese population is clustered in a couple of key areas, while much of the country remains sparsely populated.

Khartoum, the capital and largest city, is located in the interior of the country at the strategic point where the Blue and White Niles converge. This fast-growing city is shaped by the three sections surrounding the river junction—with Khartoum, North Khartoum, and Omdurman making up a metro area of 6.3 million people.

Sudan is divided into 18 states, five of which form the Darfur region in the west. If the name Darfur is familiar, it’s for good reason. In the 2000s, the region experienced a conflict marked by widespread violence, human rights abuses, and displacement, resulting in a humanitarian crisis. One of the generals involved in the current crisis, Hemedti, previously commanded the Janjaweed militias, which carried out some of the most egregious atrocities of the Darfur conflict.

In the northwest, Sudan borders the strategic Red Sea route. Port Sudan serves as the main entry point for imports and the primary export outlet for Sudanese commodities, including agricultural products (such as cotton, gum arabic, and sesame), minerals (such as gold), and livestock. The city has also been tapped to host a Russian naval base in the near future, though the recent power struggle in Sudan has potentially complicated negotiations.

As violence continues to rage in residential areas and people flee for safer areas, it remains to be seen how this conflict will influence population patterns within the country. How many people will be displaced? And once the smoke clears, will they return?

The post Map Explainer: Sudan appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

Overseas Territories and Dependencies of the World

An overseas territory or dependency is a region with ties abroad to a sovereign nation—not a completely independent state, but also not a constituent part or administrative subdivision of the parent country.

Their histories vary, but most are tied to either “modern” colonialism from the 1400s onwards, or wars from the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of these regions still depend on their parent country to some capacity for economic, military, and diplomatic affairs.

This graphic by Pranav Gavali maps the overseas territories of various countries, using a variety of sources including WorldAtlas, Statista, and official country releases.

Where are the World’s Overseas Territories and Dependencies?

There are a total of 71 overseas territories listed on the map spread across the world.

It excludes territories claims in Antarctica, which are currently governed by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. As an overseas map, it also excludes territories sharing a border, or that are part of a larger state or province (like Germany’s Heligoland, part of the state of Schleswig-Holstein).

Each region has its own unique present-day status. Some are “autonomous territories” or “constituent countries,” while some are administered almost entirely as part of the parent country.

Sovereign	Overseas Territory / Dependency	Region
Australia	Ashmore and Cartier Islands	Indian Ocean
Australia	Christmas Island	Indian Ocean
Australia	Cocos (Keeling) Islands	Indian Ocean
Australia	Coral Sea Islands	Pacific Ocean
Australia	Heard & McDonald Islands	Indian Ocean
Australia	Norfolk Island	Pacific Ocean
Denmark	Faroe Islands	Atlantic Ocean
Denmark	Greenland	Atlantic Ocean / Arctic Ocean
France	Bassas da India	Indian Ocean
France	Clipperton Island	Pacific Ocean
France	Europa Island	Indian Ocean
France	French Guiana	South America
France	French Polynesia	Pacific Ocean
France	Glorioso Islands	Indian Ocean
France	Guadeloupe	Caribbean
France	Juan de Nova Island	Indian Ocean
France	Martinique	Caribbean
France	Mayotte	Indian Ocean
France	New Caledonia	Pacific Ocean
France	Réunion	Indian Ocean
France	Saint Barthélemy	Caribbean
France	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Atlantic Ocean
France	Saint-Martin	Caribbean
France	Tromelin Island	Indian Ocean
France	Wallis and Futuna	Pacific Ocean
Netherlands	Aruba	Caribbean
Netherlands	Bonaire	Caribbean
Netherlands	Curaçao	Caribbean
Netherlands	Saba	Caribbean
Netherlands	Sint Eustatius	Caribbean
Netherlands	Sint Maarten	Caribbean
New Zealand	Cook Islands	Pacific Ocean
New Zealand	Niue	Pacific Ocean
New Zealand	Tokelau	Pacific Ocean
Norway	Bouvet Island	Atlantic Ocean
Norway	Jan Mayen	Arctic Ocean
Norway	Peter I Island	Southern Ocean
Norway	Svalbard	Arctic Ocean
Portugal	Azores	Atlantic Ocean
Portugal	Madeira	Atlantic Ocean
United Kingdom	Akrotiri (British Forces)	Cyprus / Mediterranean
United Kingdom	Anguilla	Caribbean
United Kingdom	Bermuda	Atlantic Ocean
United Kingdom	British Indian Ocean Territory	Indian Ocean
United Kingdom	British Virgin Islands	Caribbean
United Kingdom	Cayman Islands	Caribbean
United Kingdom	Dhekelia (British Forces)	Cyprus / Mediterranean
United Kingdom	Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)	Atlantic Ocean
United Kingdom	Gibraltar	Europe
United Kingdom	Guernsey (Channel Island)	Atlantic Ocean
United Kingdom	Isle of Man	Atlantic Ocean
United Kingdom	Jersey (Channel Island)	Atlantic Ocean
United Kingdom	Montserrat	Caribbean
United Kingdom	Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie & Oeno Islands	Pacific Ocean
United Kingdom	Saint Helena, Ascension & Tristan da cunha	Atlantic Ocean
United Kingdom	South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands	Atlantic Ocean
United Kingdom	Turks & Caicos Islands	Caribbean
United States	American Samoa	Pacific Ocean
United States	Baker Island	Pacific Ocean
United States	Guam	Pacific Ocean
United States	Howland Island	Pacific Ocean
United States	Jarvis Island	Pacific Ocean
United States	Johnston Atoll	Pacific Ocean
United States	Kingman Reef	Pacific Ocean
United States	Midway Islands / Atoll	Pacific Ocean
United States	Navassa Island	Caribbean
United States	Northern Mariana Islands	Pacific Ocean
United States	Palmyra Atoll	Pacific Ocean
United States	Puerto Rico	Caribbean
United States	U.S. Virgin Islands	Caribbean
United States	Wake Island	Pacific Ocean

More than half of the overseas territories were in either the Pacific Ocean (21) or the Caribbean (18). The United States by itself accounts for 11 of the territories spread out across the North and South Pacific.

Another highlight is that the majority of these regions are islands located quite a distance from their parent countries. One of the furthest is New Caledonia, a French territory around 17,000 km away from European France.

They also vary mightily in terms of size, population, and political apparatus. For example, the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico has 3 million people, and its own constitution and elected government, while another U.S. territory of Johnston Atoll is tiny and entirely uninhabited.

Here’s a brief look at some of the best known territories on the list:

Guam

First colonized by Spain in the 16th century, the U.S. occupied the North Pacific islands in the aftermath of the Spanish–American war (along with Puerto Rico and the Philippines). The island was briefly occupied by Japan during World War II—attacked at the same time as Pearl Harbor—before being recaptured by the United States. It currently has an elected legislature and governor and is home to a large U.S. military base.

Bermuda

When Bermuda was first discovered in the 1500s by the Spanish in the Caribbean, and then a century later by the English, there was no Indigenous population documented. At first it was used by passing ships as a replenishment spot, but the English eventually settled it in the 17th century. It now has a constitution, a parliament, and a governor who exercises power on behalf of the British head of state.

Cook Islands

Unlike others on this list, the Cook Islands in the South Pacific is not only self-governing but also runs its own foreign and defense policy and is in “free association” with New Zealand. While Cook Islanders are New Zealand citizens, with the same monarch as head of state, they are also separate Cook Island nationals.

Réunion

This island in the Indian Ocean 700 km off the coast of Madagascar was first settled by the French in the 17th century, though it was discovered earlier by the Portuguese. It is one of the many French Overseas Territories that together are home to 2.6 million people.

Countries With the Most Overseas Territories and Dependencies

Depending on if you count island territories independently or group them together, the final accounting of overseas territories and dependencies by country can vary.

But by most official designations of territories, the UK and France are tied with 17 overseas territories.

Country	Overseas Territories & Dependences
France	17
United Kingdom	17
United States	14
Australia	6
Netherlands	6
Norway	4
New Zealand	3
Denmark	2
Portugal	2

Unsurprisingly, two great empires of the past—Britian and France—still have largest remnants of their past breadth. The British still maintain many ties to several territories in the Caribbean (formerly the British West Indies) while French influence stretches from the Pacific to South America.

And consider that this list reflects current status as of 2023. Former colonies that would have been counted in the past include British India (which became India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) and French Indochina (which became Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam).

As for the U.S. at #3, though the majority of its territories are in the Pacific, they were acquired well before World War II. In addition to islands ceded by Spain, the rest were unclaimed islands incorporated as part of the Guano Islands Act of 1856, which sought sources of guano—feces of bats and seabirds used as agricultural fertilizer and for gunpowder production.

Editor’s note: The original graphic and article included a source which had incorrect sizes and listed Spain as having two territories. The graphic, article, and relevant tables and overall numbers have been updated.

The post Mapping the World’s Overseas Territories and Dependencies appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

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Mapped: The State of Democracy Around the World

Only 8% of the world’s population actually lives in a full, functioning democracy, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Meanwhile, another 37% of people live in some type of “flawed democracy”, while 55% of the world does not live in democracy at all, based on the EIU’s latest Democracy Index Report.

Events such as the war in Ukraine and restrictive, long-lasting COVID-19 measures, have caused numerous declines to country democracy scores in recent years. Since the source report first began tracking scores in 2006, the global average has fallen from 5.52 to 5.29.

The Methodology

The EIU measures democracy by assessing 60 indicators across five key categories:

1. Electoral process and pluralism
2. Political culture
3. Political participation
4. Functioning of government
5. Civil liberties

Each category has a rank of 0-10 based on how the indicators fared, and the overall democracy score is an average of each of the five categories. For example, here’s a look at the U.S.’ scoring out of 10 in each of the overall categories in 2022:

Electoral process and pluralism	Functioning of government	Political participation	Political culture	Civil liberties
9.17	6.43	8.89	6.25	8.53

Total U.S. democracy score = 7.85 / 10

This score defines the U.S. as a flawed democracy and ranks it 30th overall in the world, down four spots from last year’s ranking. “Flawed” in this case simply means there are problems, ranging from poor political culture to governance issues, but flawed democracies are still considered to have free and fair elections, as well as civil liberties.

The World’s Democracies by Region

Below we map out the state of democracy across various regions around the world.

The Americas

One of the best performers year-over-year was Chile, with its score increasing by nearly 0.3. The country moved out of the flawed democracy category last year, largely because of the shift towards constitutional reform alongside President Gabriel Boric moving towards the political center, reducing polarization.

Only three other countries in the Americas are also considered full democracies: Costa Rica, Canada, and Uruguay—the latter of which is #1 regionally.

On the flipside, some of the world’s worst performers year-over-year are located specifically in Latin America, namely: El Salvador and Haiti. Much of the low scores in the region are associated with high crime rates and corrupt governance.

Africa

The only full democracy in Africa is the small, island nation of Mauritius. Overall, Africa is one of the lowest scoring regions with only five of the continent’s 54 countries ranking as some type of democracy.

Tunisia’s score decreased significantly in 2022. President Kais Saied dismissed parliament early in the year and took control of the electoral council, slowly shifting towards centralized power. And although there were critics, many have since been arrested, downgrading them in the EIU’s eyes from a flawed democracy to a hybrid regime.

Europe

Spain and France regained status as full democracies in 2022, mainly improving in the civil liberties and functioning of government categories thanks to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. However, both countries face political polarization; in Spain this is largely exemplified in the attitudes surrounding the Catalan separatist movement.

Some of the lowest scoring regimes in the region are in Russia and Belarus. Russia’s war in Ukraine has violated international law, as well as another country’s sovereignty, decimating its score by 0.96 in the index. Belarus has continually allied itself with Russia, allowing troops—and likely missiles—to enter Ukraine from its borders.

Oceania and East Asia

In this region, levels of democracy were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hong Kong only removed restrictive policies like mask mandates in early 2023. In contrast, Thailand lifted these restrictions a year prior, providing more individual freedom, according to the report.

Malaysia’s fairly high score of 7.3 could face scrutiny, as the former Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, who was in office during COVID-19, is currently facing corruption charges for money laundering of COVID-19 stimulus package funds.

Central Asia and The Middle East

Finally, in the Middle East and Central Asia, there are no full democracies at all. The lowest scoring country globally is Afghanistan at only 0.32.

Israel, the only democracy of any kind of the region, actually moved down six spots in the global ranking from the year prior. Its lowest scoring category in 2022 was civil liberties. This year, the country is in the spotlight due to its judicial reforms proposed by the ruling nationalist party, and civil response has been strong. Mass protests continue around the country.

The post Mapped: The State of Democracy Around the World appeared first on Visual Capitalist.