CHART OF THE WEEK
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has ranked Namibia 57th worldwide and fifth in Africa in the 2023 Democracy Index, with a score of 6.52.Namibia is one of six African countries classified as a 'flawed democracy' (a score between six and eight). Mauritius is the only African country classified as a 'full democracy' (a score greater than eight).
In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a democratic reversal was observed in 2023, with the average score falling from 4.14 to 4.04 as 18 out of 44 SSA countries saw declines.
The greatest and most sustained deterioration in SSA was driven by adverse developments in West and Central Africa, most notably a wave of military coups across the Sahel. Over the past two decades, 25 of the 54 countries in Africa have experienced a coup or coup attempt.
Surveys of the EIU suggest that public support for military takeovers reflects dissatisfaction with political systems and poverty across the continent. The failure of political incumbents to uphold democratic values and deliver good governance and economic progress has discredited electoral democracy for an increasing number of Africans over time.
Namibia's scores in each sub-category of the 2023 Democracy Index are significantly higher than the SSA scores and the Middle East and North African scores.
The EIU noted that greater democracy is associated with greater peace and quality of life. However, corruption, which is a factor in the index score, also indirectly affects other factors, and the SSA region was deemed the most corrupt region in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index.
Greater corruption is also associated with lower voter turnout - which also drags the Democracy Index score down. Botswana, ranked the third least corrupt African country in 2023 with a score of 59/100 (100 being completely clean), saw a strong voter turnout of 84% in the 2019 general elections, and had the second highest Democracy Index score in Africa (7.73).
Namibia scored 49/100 in the Corruption Perceptions Index, while voter turnout in the 2019 general elections was underwhelming as only 60% of registered voters chose to do so, which is in line with the average SADC voter turnout.
However, despite South Africa's Democracy Index score of 7.05 ranking fourth in Africa, their corruption score was 41/100 - their worst ever performance, indicating the greatest level of corruption in their history. In the 2024 general elections, voter turnout was just 59% - the lowest in the post-apartheid era, and a significant drop from the 66% turnout in 2019.