A damning new report outlines the declining democracy in the United States. Shockingly the United States’ democratic performance is ranked lower than many OECD countries, with ongoing worries about the global repercussions of its declining US democracy.
Over half of the 173 countries surveyed experienced a decline in key democracy indicators from 2019 to 2024, with notable declines in credible elections and access to justice.
Press freedom saw its most significant drop in 50 years, affecting 43 countries and attributed to governmental interventions and the spread of disinformation.
The report includes data from before US President Donald Trump took power in January.
The Declining democracy in the United States
The United States has also demonstrated how billionaires like Elon Musk can influence and take advantage of democracy by paying people to vote or paying politicians, not to win but instead scupper the other candidates chances of winning.
But it stresses that IDEA has documented instances in which the Trump administration has “eroded and abolished the rules, institutions and norms that have shaped US democracy.”
The Global State of Democracy 2025, published by the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), analysed democratic performance in 173 countries in 2024.
The United States ranks lower than many other OECD countries, sitting at 35th place when it comes to representation and 32nd for rights.
It only scores highly for participation, coming in 6th place.
“Some of the things that we saw during the election at the end of last year and in the first few months of 2025 are fairly disturbing,” Casas-Zamora said.
“Since what happens in the US has this ability to go global, this does not bode well for democracy globally,” he added.
Global patterns show that democracy around the world continued to weaken last year, according to a new report.
Press freedom sees biggest fall in 50 years
The “very acute deterioration in press freedom,” was an important finding, Keven Casas-Zamora said.
Between 2019 and 2024, the world saw “the biggest drop over the past 50 years,” he said.