Democracy Index 2019: Bangladesh moves eight ranks higher

Bangladesh has been placed eight positions on the latest Democracy Index, compared to the previous year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, or EIU.

The country ranks 80th with an overall score of 5.88 on the Democracy Index 2019, up from the 88th position with a score of 5.57, a year ago.

Despite the gains, Bangladesh has been classified as a hybrid regime and lags behind neighboring India, which dropped 10 places to the 51st spot with a score of 6.90.

According to the report, the average global score for democracy fell from 5.48 in 2018 to 5.44 in 2019, which is the worst average global score since the index was first produced in 2006.

It came after the Indian government stripped the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) state of its special status by repealing two key constitutional provisions granting it powers of autonomy.

Meanwhile, a separate citizenship registration exercise in Assam, a state in north-eastern India, has excluded 1.9m from the final list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Meanwhile, China was now ranked near the bottom of the rankings at 153rd place with a score of 2.26 as discrimination against minorities in the country intensified over the past year.