Varieties of Democracy Institute (V-Dem) has published its yearly global report tracking democratic developments across countries. This year’s report–its 10th edition–paints a stark picture of the state of democracy worldwide. Global levels of democracy are identified as having fallen back to those last seen in the late 1970s, with nearly three-quarters of the world’s population living under autocratic rule at the end of 2025.
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Every year for the past nine years, the Varieties of Democracy Institute (V-Dem) has published a global report tracking democratic developments across countries. This year’s report – its 10th edition – titled “Unraveling the Democratic Era?” paints a stark picture of the state of democracy worldwide. Drawing on one of the largest datasets on democracy, covering over 200 countries and more than 600 indicators, the report highlights a continued and accelerating global decline in democratic standards.
Main findings from the 2026 report
A key takeaway from this year’s report is that global levels of democracy have fallen back to those last seen in the late 1970s. In effect, much of the progress associated with the “third wave of democratisation” has been reversed.
The distribution of political regimes has shifted markedly. By the end of 2025, more countries are classified as autocracies than democracies, and nearly three-quarters of the world’s population – around six billion people – will live under autocratic rule. Only a small minority, approximately 7%, reside in liberal democracies.
The report highlights the continued expansion of what V-Dem terms the “third wave of autocratization.” A record share of the global population now lives in countries undergoing democratic decline, and the number of autocratizing states has increased significantly over the past two decades. Notably, this trend is no longer confined to fragile or transitional regimes but increasingly affects established democracies.
Across regions, the erosion of democratic institutions is both broad and deep. Freedom of expression stands out as the most severely affected dimension, with rising levels of media censorship, self-censorship, and restrictions on academic and civic space. At the same time, core components such as the integrity of elections, the rule of law, and checks on executive power are weakening in a growing number of countries.
From a development perspective, these trends are particularly concerning. The report points to increasing use of repression – including restrictions on civil society and, in some cases, political violence and torture – as tools of governance. Such developments risk undermining not only democratic accountability but also long-term development outcomes, institutional capacity, and the protection of human rights.
At the same time, democratisation appears to have stalled. Only a limited number of countries are currently on a path toward greater democracy, and these processes remain fragile. The imbalance between autocratization and democratisation suggests a continued negative trajectory in the global democratic landscape.
Taken together, the 2026 Democracy Report characterises the current moment as a “great reversal” – a period in which decades of democratic progress are being undone, with significant implications for global governance, development cooperation, and international norms.