Sri Lanka has made a noteworthy leap in the latest Global State of Democracy (GSoD) 2025 rankings, climbing 15 spots compared to last year.
According to the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) country profile on Sri Lanka, the improvement reflects gains across several democratic indicators, including elected government, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press.
Despite the progress, the report also flags challenges: rights associated with freedom of association and assembly continue to decline, the report by the published by the Stockholm-based institute said.
“Sri Lanka performs in the mid-range across all four categories of the Global State of Democracy Framework and is among the top 25 per cent of countries in the world regarding several factors, including Civic Engagement and Electoral Participation. Over the last five years, it has seen advances in Elected Government, Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Press s and declines in Freedom of Association and Assembly,” IDEA said in its report.
Global patterns however show that democracy around the world continued to weaken last year.
In the report, 94 countries — or just over half of those surveyed — showed a decline in at least one of the key democracy indicators between 2019 and 2024, the report said. In comparison, only a third made progress.
“The current state of democracy in the world is concerning,” IDEA Secretary General Kevin Casas-Zamora said. (Newswire/DW)