Turkey ranks 149th of 173 countries on rule of law in global democracy report

16.09.2026

By SCF

Source: https://stockholmcf.org/turkey-ranks-149th-of-173-countries-on-rule-of-law-in-global-democracy-report/

Turkey was ranked 149th out of 173 countries on rule of law in a global democracy report released Tuesday, with the country also classified as a low performer on all four measures that make up the category.

The Global State of Democracy 2026 report by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) gave Turkey a rule-of-law score of 0.229 on a scale from zero to one. It ranked Turkey 149th, tied with Cameroon. The report put Turkey’s estimated ranking range at 145th to 155th, reflecting statistical uncertainty in the measurement.

In its assessment of Europe, the Stockholm-based intergovernmental organization identified Turkey, Azerbaijan and Russia as low performers across all four factors used to measure rule of law: absence of corruption, judicial independence, personal integrity and security and predictable enforcement of laws.

Turkey was also ranked in the lower part of the global tables in two of the report’s three other broad categories of democratic performance. It ranked 135th in rights, with a score of 0.317, and 137th in participation, with a score of 0.398. Its strongest result was in representation, where it ranked 103rd with a score of 0.435.

International IDEA does not combine those four categories — representation, rights, rule of law and participation — into a single overall democracy ranking. Each category is assessed separately through factors covering areas such as elections, civil liberties, judicial independence and civic participation.

The findings are based on data through the end of 2025. International IDEA said its democracy indices cover 173 countries and use a range of indicators to track changes in democratic performance over time. The 2026 report was released September 15.

Rule of law was the weakest of the four categories globally in 2025, according to the report. Seventy-one countries, or 41 percent of those assessed, were classified as low performers, while 29 countries recorded declines compared with their performance five years earlier.

The broader assessment also found that democratic setbacks continued to outnumber improvements worldwide. Ninety-eight countries, or 57 percent of those assessed, declined in at least one measure of democratic performance compared with 2020, while 55 countries, or 32 percent, improved in at least one measure. Most measurements, however, showed no significant change.

The report said freedom of expression recorded the most widespread deterioration, declining in 42 countries, while press freedom fell in 23 percent of countries and access to justice declined in 18 percent.

International IDEA also examined the relationship between democratic performance and armed conflict. It said countries that have some democratic procedures but lack effective political competition or enforceable rights have historically been involved in conflicts more often than either consolidated democracies or fully autocratic states. The report said the relationship between democracy and conflict is complex and did not make a specific conflict prediction for Turkey.

The organization said 65 violent conflicts were recorded worldwide in 2025, the highest number since the Uppsala Conflict Data Program’s series began in 1946.

International IDEA is an intergovernmental organization with 35 member states that works on democratic institutions and processes. It is headquartered in Stockholm.