Asia and Australasia

The wide disparities in democratic development across Asia are captured in the results of our

democracy index. The picture is exemplified by the Korean peninsula: South Korea is a full democracy,

ranked 22nd. By contrast, North Korea props up the global listings, coming last of the 167 countries

covered by the index. The average score for the region was only slightly lower in 2011 than in 2010. No

country underwent a change in regime type in 2011.

Although parts of the region—from Myanmar and North Korea to Laos, Vietnam and China—are still

entrenched authoritarian regimes, the past couple of decades have seen the spread of democracy in

the region overall. Over the past decade, some 20 Asian countries have held elections, and many have

undergone peaceful transitions in government. Despite its problems, India remains the world’s most

populous democracy. Yet even in the democratic countries, there are often significant problems in the

functioning of political systems.

Democratic political cultures in Asia are often underdeveloped and shallow, even in the countries

that have democratised. In only nine countries in the region do we rate elections as being both

free and fair. Even in parts of the region that are not authoritarian there is often pressure on the

independent media. In many countries, Asian Barometer polls show that more citizens believe that the

nations’ recent democratic transitions had brought no improvement to their lives than believe that the

changes have been positive.

Although the Asian Barometer Project found that the majority of Asians say they support democratic

ideals, their commitment to limits on a leader’s power is far lower than in most other regions.

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