Key facts
- US democracy indicators are at their lowest levels in 50 years, according to International Idea.
- Global rule of law, judicial independence, and press freedom are at 30-year lows.
- The US was added to International Idea's "backsliding" democracies list in 2021.
- The Trump administration's actions have undermined the rule of law domestically and internationally, the report states.
- 2025 saw the most violent conflicts globally since 1946, according to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program.
Key indicators of democracy in the US have fallen to their lowest levels in 50 years, with the global rule of law significantly undermined by the Trump administration’s “threats and actions”, according to data from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International Idea).
The Stockholm-based intergovernmental organization's annual Global State of Democracy report, which covers 174 countries and measures democratic performance since 1975, found that globally, judicial independence, credible elections, freedom of expression, press freedom, and access to justice are at their lowest levels for at least 30 years.
The report's authors stated that the decline in the US was particularly marked but part of a global trend, with 2025 being the 11th consecutive year in which more countries declined than improved democratically. They noted that political developments in the United States exemplified and compounded global challenges to democracy. The report stated that President Donald Trump quickly amassed power in the executive branch and wielded it to further personal goals and pursue retaliation against perceived enemies, undermining the rule of law domestically and internationally and testing alliances.
Kevin Casas-Zamora, International Idea’s secretary general, warned that the risk of conflict rises as democracies deteriorate, emphasizing that investing in democracy should be central to any country’s security strategy. The separate Uppsala Conflict Data Program, based at Uppsala University, shows that 2025 had the most violent conflicts, including interstate conflicts, of any year in its dataset, which goes back to 1946.
While the report highlighted positive developments in Australia, Syria, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, it painted a bleak overall picture. International Idea first added the US to its list of “backsliding” democracies in 2021, pointing to a “visible deterioration” that began in 2019. Globally, rule of law was identified as the weakest area of democracy in 2025, with 41% of assessed countries ranked as low-performing and deteriorating quickly. Casas-Zamora stated that the deterioration of democracy is not inevitable and can be reversed, but civic space is narrowing due to factors like strategic lawsuits against public participation and the criminalization of peaceful protests.