India has slid to the 106th position among 179 countries on the V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index for 2025, the lowest such score for the country since 1975, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday, citing the research institute's latest data. The V-Dem Institute placed India in the category of an "electoral autocracy" and also recorded a low showing on its Liberal Democracy Index.
Opposition reaction and political context
Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P. Chidambaram highlighted the ranking on social media. In a post on X, Chidambaram wrote:
"Without comment: India ranks 106th among 179 countries on the Electoral Democracy Index. V-Dem's democracy index score for India is at its lowest since 1975."
The Congress has been using international indices and reports to criticise the government’s record on democratic norms. The party's Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has previously alleged irregularities in the electoral process using the phrase "vote chori" in public remarks, the report noted.
What V-Dem measured
The V-Dem Institute, based at the Department of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg, employs several indices to assess different aspects of democracy. For 2025, V-Dem assigned India a score of 0.38 on the Electoral Democracy Index and a score of 0.26 on the Liberal Democracy Index, according to the Economic Times account of the report.
- Electoral Democracy Index: 0.38 (ranked 106th of 179)
- Liberal Democracy Index: 0.26 (ranked 105th)
- V-Dem classifies India as an electoral autocracy and points to a long-term deterioration since 2009
The institute uses population-weighted measures and country averages to estimate how much democracy the average citizen experiences, the Economic Times report said. V-Dem's analysis cited declines in freedom of expression, pressures on an independent media, harassment of critical journalists and constraints on civil society and the opposition as contributing factors to the fall in scores.
Regional comparison and methodology
V-Dem's regional observations, as reported, indicate that in South and Central Asia only a small proportion of the population enjoys what the institute defines as electoral democracy. Nepal and Sri Lanka were identified as the regional exceptions where electoral democracy persists, while countries such as Kazakhstan and Pakistan were grouped with India under the electoral autocracy label. Afghanistan and Turkmenistan were listed as closed autocracies.
The report's methodology, according to the Economic Times summary, gives equal weight to democratic advances in small and large countries by using country averages. V-Dem is led by Associate Professor Steven Wilson and operates from the University of Gothenburg.
Possible consequences and reactions
The publication of V-Dem's rankings is likely to intensify domestic political debate around institutional autonomy, media freedom and the rule of law. Opposition leaders have seized on the findings to press the government for explanations and corrective action. Government spokespeople were not quoted in the Economic Times article; it remains to be seen how the administration will respond to the report's characterisation and its specific criticisms.
| Index | Score (2025) | India's Rank (of 179) |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index | 0.38 | 106 |
| Liberal Democracy Index | 0.26 | 105 |
V-Dem's categorisation and numerical scores provide a comparative snapshot rather than a legal or policy judgement. Analysts and policymakers often debate the implications of such indices, including their methodology and the extent to which they capture on-the-ground realities. The Economic Times noted V-Dem's conclusion of a slow process of autocratisation beginning around 2009.
As the political conversation unfolds, readers and decision-makers will be watching for official responses, independent assessments and any proposed measures to address the concerns raised by the report.
