Colombian democracy has sharply declined and reached its lowest level in two decades. The latest Democracy Index by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) confirms the drop and attributes the deterioration to political confrontation, polarization, and the weakening of institutional functioning.
The country is no longer considered a “imperfect democracy” and has moved into the category of a “hybrid regime,” a shift that reflects deeper failures in its political system. This is the worst result since the years of Alvaro Uribe’s government, when this indicator began to be measured.
Currently, in this Index, the country ranks 73rd worldwide and holds eighth place among 19 nations evaluated in Latin America.
The Economist warns that political violence is driving a Decline in Democracy in Colombia
The report shows a significant drop in Colombia’s global position and a reduction in its overall score, now at 6.04 out of 10. Beyond the figure, the change in category is the most relevant fact, as it implies a structural deterioration in democratic quality.
The index evaluates variables such as the functioning of government, political participation, political culture, civil liberties, and electoral processes. In Colombia’s case, the greatest decline is concentrated in the functioning of government, a key indicator that reflects the real capacity of institutions to operate with balance and effectiveness.
Colombia had managed for years to remain within the group of flawed democracies, even amid internal conflicts and political crises. However, the recent deterioration shows that this stability was more fragile than it appeared.
The report directly links the decline to the rise in political confrontation. Tensions between the Executive, Congress, and the high courts have escalated, generating blockages, institutional clashes, and a climate of mistrust that affects governance.
Polarization has also spread to public debate. The tone of political discussion is increasingly aggressive and less oriented toward consensus, weakening democratic culture and reducing spaces for dialogue.
This is compounded by the persistence of political violence. Attacks against social leaders and political actors continue to be a risk factor for democracy, limiting participation and affecting the legitimacy of the system. In this regard, the EIU highlights among the most alarming events the assassination of presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, as well as reports from the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE), which recorded 26 politicians killed and 35 attempted homicides over the past year.
The study also takes into account data from Indepaz—the NGO that has studied armed conflict data for 40 years—which indicates that at least 187 leaders were killed in 2025, an 8% increase compared to the previous year, reflecting a loss of the state’s capacity to guarantee basic rights across the territory.
The state of global democracy seems to be turning a corner. Explore our sister organisation’s annual index https://t.co/iPiBygB1nW
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) April 9, 2026
The lowest level since the Uribe era
The current result is as forceful as it is concerning. Since 2006, Colombia had fluctuated within the category of flawed democracies, with moderate variations in its score. Today, however, it falls to the lowest level recorded since then.
During Alvaro Uribe’s administration (2002–2010), the country faced security challenges and armed conflict, but maintained relatively stable institutional indicators. The comparison with the present shows a shift in the nature of the problems: less centered on armed conflict and more on institutional fragility and political confrontation.
The decline does not respond to a single factor, but to an accumulation of tensions that have eroded trust in institutions and weakened their capacity to respond.
What is clear is that, for the British outlet, Colombia’s situation warrants a drop of as many as 13 places in this ranking between 2024 and 2025. The constant clashes between Gustavo Petro’s Executive branch and other branches of government (legislative, judicial, and more recently with the authority of the Central Bank) undermine, according to the study, the functioning of the democratic system.
Additionally, the doubts the president recently raised regarding the electoral process—the country will hold the first round of presidential elections on May 31—also do not help The Economist’s assessment of a democracy that, over recent decades, has survived all kinds of situations.
EIU, our sister organisation, has tracked the decline in the health of democracy since 2006. But the latest index suggests a modest break in the trend https://t.co/boEDtIPd0T pic.twitter.com/PNnnoKsJdh
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) April 8, 2026
Latin America and the world
The study also offers its assessment of the Latin American region and the rest of the world. Latin America is going through a period of democratic decline, with a regional average below the standards of consolidated democracies, despite slight improvement compared to previous years.
In the region, only a small number of countries maintain the status of full democracy, while several have slipped toward hybrid models or systems with greater deficiencies. Polarization, corruption, and institutional weakness are recurring problems.
In this regard, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Chile stood out as the most solid Latin American democracies, while Paraguay and Bolivia showed significant improvements, the latter following elections last year that ended the political crisis that began in 2019 after the departure of Evo Morales, the controversial presidency of Jeanine Añez, and the decline of Luis Arce.
At the global level, the index presents a complex picture. The EIU report evaluates 167 countries and divides them, according to their civil liberties, into full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes. Although some countries have improved their indicators, the global average remains low and most of the population lives under systems that cannot be considered fully democratic.
According to the report, Norway is the most democratic country in the world, a ranking it has maintained for the past 16 years. New Zealand ranks second under this designation, and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden are among the top nations in the index.
The index highlights two cases that, despite persistent challenges, improved their position globally and moved from hybrid regimes to flawed democracies: Malawi and Senegal, both in Africa.
In the first case, The Economist notes that the improvement was due to the peaceful transfer of power following presidential elections seven months ago, in which the opposition candidate defeated the incumbent and judicial institutions demonstrated resilience in handling electoral complaints. In Senegal’s case, its improvement stands out due to institutional reforms that strengthened transparency, including whistleblower protection laws, greater access to public information, and the creation of anti-fraud bodies.