TIRANA, Jan. 22 – Albania continues to be a hybrid democracy, says The Economist Intelligence Unit in the most recent report on democracy in the world, which analyzes 167 countries.
Among them, Albania ranked 79th for 2019, three positions lower than a year ago, when it was ranked 76th.
In points, the country again lost points from the year before.
Compared to other countries in Europe and the region, Albania seems to be doing better only compared to Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia, Moldova and Turkey, while Ukraine occupies a place above Albania.
Among the sub-indicators, it seems that it is the political participation that gives the worst blow to Albanian democracy. This indicator is the weakest in the score, but also the one that has suffered the most drastic decline compared to the previous year.
According to the Economist, participation is the backbone of a democratic system and without it that system is under serious threat.
The best-performing sub-indicator, meanwhile, turns out to be that of civil liberties, followed by electoral processes.
The sub-indicator of government functionality is the only one registering growth compared to last year. Another negative indicator that puts our country at a disadvantageous position, especially compared to European countries, is that of political culture.
Globally, Norway, Iceland and Sweden are the most democratic countries in the world, with the United States coming 25th on a global scale.
