Canada has once again received top scores on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) annual Democracy Index, ranking 9th in 2025 and rising sharply from 14th in the previous year.
First published in 2006, the EIU’s index sets out to measure the state of democracy in nearly 200 countries using 60 different indicators across five categories, including: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties.
After a few years of modest ranking drops, Canada posted a strong rebound in the 2025 index, improving its score to 9.08 out of a perfect 10. Global democracy stabilized in 2025 after eight years of decline, with the global average score edging up from 5.17 to 5.19. But despite this slight improvement, full democracies remain rare, and democratic performance continues to vary significantly across regions.
Canadians should be proud!
Below, we take a look at the top Democracy Index 2025 rankings, highlights, and why this all matters for Canada and the world. Also see:
| Country | 2025 Rank | 2024 Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Norway | 1 | 1 |
| New Zealand | 2 | 2 |
| Denmark | 3 | 7 |
| Iceland | 4 | 4 |
| Finland | 5 | 6 |
| Sweden | 6 | 3 |
| Ireland | 7 | 8 |
| Switzerland | 8 | 5 |
| Canada | 9= | 14 |
| Luxembourg | 9= | 10 |
(1) Reversal of Long Democracy Decline: Overall, 2025 marked a pause in the long global democratic decline rather than a full recovery, with stabilization seen after eight consecutive years of deterioration.
(2) Canada Ranks Top 10: Nordic and other established democracies remain global leaders, while Canada’s return to the top 10 strengthens its standing as one of the world’s most stable and democratic resource-producing nations.
(3) Global Democracy Stabilizes: The overall Democracy Index score rose slightly from 5.17 in 2024 to 5.19 in 2025. That increase was modest but important because it interrupted a prolonged period of democratic backsliding.
(4) Canada Helps Lift North America: Canada’s improvement of nearly 0.4 points raised North America’s regional average from 8.27 to 8.37. In contrast, the United States stood out as a major outlier among advanced democracies, continuing to experience democratic deterioration.
(5) Democratic Performance Remains Uneven: Although some regions improved or stabilized, democratic progress remains fragile and inconsistent. The report points to major differences in institutional strength, civil liberties, and government effectiveness across countries and regions.
(6) Geopolitics and Operational Risk Matter: The 2025 report places greater emphasis on the relationship between democracy, geopolitical alignment, and operational risk. In practical terms, this reinforces the idea that stronger democratic institutions can support a more stable and predictable environment for long-term investment.
Stable and transparent governments are built on a strong foundation of civil rights and the rule of law, which is conducive to the creation and unrestricted operation of private businesses. On the other hand, authoritarian regimes that suppress the rights and liberties of their population tend to have the opposite effect, limiting business opportunities for individuals and enterprises not owned by the state.
While democracy isn't the only factor in achieving strong economic performance, it is integral to providing individuals and companies with the political stability and business environment needed to build a foundation for steady growth and investment over the long term.
Canada's position as a world-class leader in social and governance indicators, as shown in the Democracy Index 2025, presents an opportunity to expand our global trade with like-minded nations in critical commodities such as oil, natural gas, and minerals. Canada can – and should – unleash its natural resources onto global markets to help displace supply from less stable producer nations, while continuing to promote democratic values and resource security abroad.
Exporting more Canadian resources to global markets is good for Canadian families, Canadian governments, global human rights, and social progress worldwide – particularly if we can help displace less trustworthy and reliable suppliers that don’t share our values.
| Resource / Sector | Canada’s Global Position |
|---|---|
| Potash | Top producer |
| Uranium | Second-largest producer |
| Hydropower | Third-largest producer |
| Gold | Fourth-largest producer |
| Crude Oil | Fourth-largest producer |
| Diamonds | Fifth-largest producer |
| Natural Gas | Fifth-largest producer |
| Renewable Energy | Sixth-largest producer |
| Electricity | Seventh-largest producer |
| Softwood Lumber | One of the world’s largest producers |
| Agriculture and Agri-food | Top ten global producer |
| Critical Minerals | Top producer and reserve holder of several critical minerals |
The list goes on. We are also a top biofuel producer and have the ninth-largest onshore wind power generation capacity.
In 2023, Canada was the world's third-largest electricity exporter, accounting for about 6 per cent of global exports. We generate around 80 per cent of our electricity from sources such as hydro, nuclear, wind and solar, some of which is exported to the United States.
With global demand for everything from oil and gas to renewables to minerals to food projected to grow over the next several years, Canada’s democratically produced resources are an ideal choice for the world. However, we still face export capacity constraints that are blocking Canadian goods from reaching global markets.
Canada needs to get to work and build the new pipelines, power lines, ports, railways, and roads that will enable us to secure our economic independence and future prosperity.
Most investors today consider a long list of criteria when choosing where to invest their money, including banking infrastructure, economic indicators, fraud and corruption indices, trade relations, and regulatory environments, to name a few.
As the ninth most democratic country on Earth, Canada needs to start asking why so much capital investment and investor confidence have fled our country over the past several years. Canadians must also begin to closely examine why we have difficulty building new natural resource projects, such as LNG export facilities, when there is a clear business case, and other countries are full speed ahead. While recent announcements on major projects are encouraging, there is no time for Canadians to slow down in their support for natural resource development, which will create a stronger, more prosperous future for us all.
It's time for all Canadians to recognize that we are among the most stable and democratic natural resource producers on Earth, and to understand the immense socio-economic benefits our resource industries, particularly the energy sector, deliver for our families from coast to coast.
Canada is one of the few remaining full democracies with an abundance of natural resources, ranging from minerals and softwood to food and energy. More Canadian resources on global markets is good for our nation's economy and future prosperity.
The 2025 Democracy Index reinforces that Canada is not just resource-rich, but institutionally strong. That combination should be seen as a competitive advantage in a world where democratic resilience, investment certainty, and supply security matter more than ever.
We invite you to join us online to learn more about Canada's global rankings on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook today!
Maximizing the value of our natural resources is the smart thing to do. pic.twitter.com/BYA0JIa1f7
— Canada Action (@CanadaAction) July 12, 2026