US democracy indicators fall to lowest levels in 50 years, report finds

International Idea's annual Global State of Democracy report has found key United States democratic indicators — press freedom and judicial independence — at their lowest levels in half a century.

• The Stockholm-based institute's report covers 174 countries and measures democratic performance since 1975.
• The report found 2025 marked an 11th consecutive year in which more countries declined than improved democratically, the longest continuous downturn on record.
• Secretary-General Kevin Casas-Zamora said Trump's refusal to concede the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack fueled a global "epidemic of election denialism."
• The report ranked the rule of law as the weakest democracy area globally, with 71 countries — 41 percent of those assessed — performing at low levels and 29 registering downturns.
• The report described the US as the “most prominent example and accelerator” of democratic erosion, citing Trump's accumulation of executive power and attacks on institutions.