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The Economist Intelligence Unit has released its annual Democracy Index report for 2023, ranking Morocco 93rd out of 167 countries and 2nd in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The report classifies Morocco’s political system as a “hybrid regime,” giving it an overall score of 5.04 out of 10. This places Morocco in the top half of hybrid regimes worldwide. The country showed a small improvement compared to 2022, moving up two spots in the global rankings.
The Democracy Index measures the state of democracy based on five categories: electoral process/pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties. Morocco earned middling scores across all categories, reflecting the partial reforms and gradual democratization over the past two decades.
In the electoral process category, Morocco scored 5.25 out of 10, with the report indicating that recent reforms allowed for relatively free and fair parliamentary elections in 2021. However, the report added, the royal palace still holds sway in approving candidates.
Meanwhile, the “functioning of government” category received a score of 4.64, as corruption and lack of transparency remain issues.
Morocco earned 5.56 for political participation. Turnout rebounded to 50% in the 2021 elections after falling in 2016. Yet overall participation remains lower than in the Arab Spring era. For political culture, which measures democratic attitudes, Morocco scored 5.63. Public support for democracy has trended downward regionwide amid economic frustrations.
The civil liberties score stood at 4.12. While recent reforms have enabled gains for media and women’s rights, speech on the status of Western Sahara, Islam, or the monarchy remains restricted, the report noted. And LGBTQ rights are nearly absent.
Morocco remains a bright spot in a troubled region
Yet Morocco ranked only behind Tunisia (82nd) in the region. Mauritania (108th), Algeria (110th), Qatar (111th), Lebanon (112th), Kuwait (114th), and Palestine (115th) made up the rest of the top Arab states.
Worldwide, Norway claimed the top spot, followed by New Zealand and Iceland in 3rd. Afghanistan, Myanmar, North Korea, Central African Republic, Syria, and Turkmenistan occupied the bottom rankings.
The number of “full democracies” worldwide held steady at 24. However, the share of the global population living in full democracies declined as “flawed” and “hybrid” regimes backslid. Just 7.8% of the world’s population now lives in a full democracy.
Meanwhile, the global average democracy score fell to 5.23, down from 5.29 in 2022. This marks a new low since the index began in 2006, reflecting a trend of democratic regression and stagnation in recent years. A total of 68 of countries registered score declines in 2023.
Western Europe was the lone region to show democratic gains, with its score slightly improving to 8.37. However, even this score remains below the region’s pre-pandemic and longer-term highs. Meanwhile, every other region from the Americas to Asia declined.
The report’s title, ‘Age of Conflict,’ points to rising great power rivalries and numerous regional wars undermining democracy. Conflicts are concentrated in non-democracies and struggling hybrid regimes. However, the report argues, democracies have also struggled to manage political conflicts at home.
Even developed democracies like the US face internal divides and institutional dysfunction that suggests the post-WWII democratic model is faltering. On the geopolitical front, Western powers appear unable to prevent wars from breaking out and seem less willing to intervene. This underscores the report’s theme of democracy in retreat amidst a volatile new era.
Read also: Moroccan Democracy Lies Between ‘Authoritarianism and Democracy’
The report also stated that the Middle East and North Africa region “remains firmly at the bottom of the 2023 Democracy Index.” Beyond the “flawed democracy” of Israel and “hybrid regimes” of Tunisia and Morocco, the rest of the region’s 20 states are classified as “authoritarian.” Conflict and backsliding have cemented MENA as the world’s lowest scoring region, with its average score deteriorating to an all-time low of 3.23 this year.
Within this troubled regional landscape, Morocco represented a relatively bright spot with its incremental gains. Gradual reforms, particularly in election laws, women’s rights, and media freedoms, enabled Morocco to outperform most peers. Significant restrictions persist and substantial room for improvement remains. But the country continues on a slow path of liberalization.
