Two benchmark rankings point to a decline in democracy around the world in 2020. In Africa, the 10 most democratic countries no longer include Benin, but include Malawi.
“A Leaderless Struggle for Democracy” is the uncomplimentary title of Freedom House’s latest annual report. This independent American think tank measures the evolution of civil liberties and democracy in the world. Its ranking, published on March 11, worries about a general decline in 2020 against the backdrop of Covid-19.
Africa is no exception to the global trend, with very few champions making progress, according to Freedom House’s parameters. Cape Verde is an exception, with a score of 92 out of 100, better than France’s 90. The Portuguese-speaking archipelago is followed by two other island states: Mauritius has the same score as Greece (87) and Sao Tome and Principe (84) is one point ahead of the United States.
Ghana (82) tied with Poland and South Africa (79), three points ahead of Israel. Namibia and Seychelles (77) are better than Brazil (74), while Botswana (72), Senegal and Tunisia (71) are a step above Hungary (69) and India (67).
Mali’s score fell by 11 points, from 44 out of 100 in 2019 to 33 in 2020, the year of a new coup d’état in Bamako. Benin has suffered the biggest drop of all, falling 14 points from 79 to 65 between 2019 and 2020, which means it has disappeared from the top ten democracies in Africa and lost the label of “free country”.
For its part, Senegal, another “showcase” of democracy in Africa, fell seven points between 2017 and 2020 and is no longer among the “free” countries, of which there are only nine in Africa. Like India in 2020, Senegal falls back into the group of “partially free” nations, along with Malawi (66), Madagascar (60) and Burkina Faso (54), as well as the many states that do not have the Freedom House democratic average, such as Kenya (48), Nigeria (45) and Côte d’Ivoire (44).
Finally, among the so-called “unfree” countries, some of the most populous nations in Africa stand out: Ethiopia (22), Democratic Republic of Congo (20) and Egypt (18). Other strategic countries that play key roles in their subregions, such as Rwanda (21), Chad (17), and Cameroon (16), also stand out for their authoritarian leanings. At the bottom, Eritrea and South Sudan (2) fall between North Korea (3) and Syria (1).
It is worth noting that Malawi moved up five places in 2020 due to its Constitutional Court’s decision to annul the results of a disputed presidential election in 2019, which was held again in June 2020 under more transparent conditions. Malawi and Madagascar are among only five countries in Africa to have advanced in 2020
Mali shows the largest global decline in 2020. It drops 11 places to 111ᵉ, just behind Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire. Along with Algeria and Burkina Faso, Mali also moves from the category of “hybrid regimes” to “authoritarian regimes,” also falling to Freedom House’s list of “unfree” countries. The EIU explains: “Mali does not have full control of its territory and rampant insecurity led to a coup in August 2020 by officers aggrieved by the lack of progress against jihadist insurgents. A junta set up a transitional government, overturning the results of the largely free and transparent March legislative elections. ”
The other big African drop seen in 2020 was Togo, which fell 15 places to 141st, between Cuba and Cameroon, “due to a deeply flawed election and the subsequent crackdown on the opposition.”