Key US democracy indicators fell to their lowest levels in 50 years, according to the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, known as International IDEA. The organisation said the Trump administration’s threats and actions also significantly undermined the rule of law domestically and internationally.
The report found that 2025 was the 11th consecutive year in which more countries experienced democratic decline than improvement, the longest such downturn since International IDEA began keeping records.
What the report found about the US
The report’s authors said President Donald Trump rapidly accumulated power in the executive branch and used it to pursue personal goals and retaliate against perceived enemies. They said the consequences weakened the rule of law and tested longstanding alliances and multilateral cooperation. Read the context: Why the ICC says US sanctions threaten judicial independence.
International IDEA Secretary General Kevin Casas-Zamora said democratic deterioration was connected to rising conflict but that the link was not being adequately addressed in policymaking or public debate. He said democratic decline could still be reversed.
Key points
- International IDEA’s annual Global State of Democracy report covers 174 countries and measures democratic performance from 1975 onward.
- Worldwide, judicial independence, credible elections, freedom of expression, press freedom and access to justice were at their lowest levels for at least 30 years.
- International IDEA added the US to its list of backsliding democracies for the first time in 2021, citing a visible deterioration that began in 2019.
- The report assigns countries to three categories: democracies, hybrid governments and authoritarian regimes.
A wider decline in democratic performance
Rule of law was the weakest global area in 2025: 71 countries, or 41% of those assessed, were ranked as low-performing. The report also recorded downturns in 29 countries.
International IDEA said civic space was narrowing as civil society and civic engagement faced strategic lawsuits against public participation, foreign-agent laws and the criminalisation of peaceful protests.
Where the report saw positive developments
The report identified some advances in Australia, including consultation with civil society groups on an anti-racism strategy and children’s online privacy. It also cited the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s repressive dictatorship in Syria.
Youth-led protests unseated long-serving leaders in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, although the report said creating broad and meaningful reform quickly had proved difficult.
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