Bangladesh’s score in the latest Democracy Index fell to its lowest in a decade, reveals the Economist Intelligence Unit in its annual snapshot of the state of democracy worldwide. Bangladesh ranks 92nd on the Democracy Index 2017 out of 165 countries and two territories, with an overall score of 5.43 out of 10 points, the worst ever performance since the index was introduced in 2006. A year ago, it ranked 84th with a score of 5.73 on the 2016 index. Although Bangladesh’s points in all other categories remain essentially unchanged, the score in civil liberties dropped from 6.76 in 2006 to 5.29 in 2017, causing concerns among rights activists. Bangladesh seen as a ‘hybrid regime’Given the overall score, the 2017 index classified Bangladesh as a hybrid regime, a category of the countries that score between four and six on the index.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 02, 2018 16:18 UTC