New Delhi: Autocracies outnumber democracies in the world today, the annual V-Dem report finds, offering a tally of 92 autocracies and 87 democracies at the end of 2025. India is among the most populous electoral autocracies in the world.This democracy report is among the most cited across the world and is brought out by the V-Dem Institute of the University of Gothenburg. The 2026 report is titled ‘Democracy Report 2026: Unraveling The Democratic Era.’Democracy is back to 1978 levels for the average global citizen. The gains of the “third wave of democratization”, starting 1974 in Portugal, are almost eradicated, the report notes.For the first time in 50 years, the US is no longer a liberal democracy. 74% of the world population now live in autocracies.At the end of 2025, four of the five world’s most populous countries are autocracies (India, China, Indonesia, and Pakistan). The USA, under Donald Trump, is rapidly autocratising, the report says.Electoral autocracy is the most populous regime type in 2025, and subjects nearly half of the world population – 46% (3.8 billion) – to itself. India, Pakistan, and most recently also Indonesia, are among the most populous electoral autocracies in the world.India remains an “electoral autocracy”, a zone it entered in 2017.Out of 179 countries, India is 105 on the liberal democracy index. Last year it ranked 100.On the electoral democracy index, it is 106, on the liberal component index it is at 99, and on the egalitarian component index at 138. It fares at 83 on the participatory component index, and at 100 on the deliberative component index. The trends in South and Central Asia diverge, but by country-averages, democracy in this continent is much below most of the world and relatively stable. The average citizen, however, is suffering the most severe autocratisation across all regions. The 2025 scores fall back to the same level as in 1976, the report says, adding that India as the most populous country in the world, is driving much of this deterioration.However, autocratic regressions in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are also contributing substantially, the report notes. The report was brought out before the elections in Bangladesh in which Tarique Rahman was elected prime minister earlier this year.In South and Central Asia, only 2% of people enjoy (electoral) democracy and are all in Nepal and Sri Lanka. A negligibly small proportion resides in the three “grey zone” democracies – Bhutan, Mongolia, and The Maldives. A vast majority – 85% – live in electoral autocracies, such as India, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan. Closed autocracies, such as Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, now account for 13% of the population, with Bangladesh descending into this category in 2025.In South and Central Asia, Sri Lanka is the only (7% of the region) democratising country. India is among four countries (29% of the region) that are autocratising, along with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan.The report says that India’s autocratisation (“since 2009”) is a slow but systematic dismantling of democratic institutions. The report says:“The ruling anti-pluralist, Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Modi’s derailing of democracy include deteriorations in freedom of expression and independence of the media, harassments of journalists critical of the government, and attacks on civil society and the opposition.”India also finds mention in that part of the report that notes that a broad set of print/broadcast media perspectives is disappearing in 22 countries, and that 21 countries are seeing print/broadcast media’s critical review of government decisions and actions vanishing. The US is also among these countries.Freedom of expression is the most hard-hit, the report finds – with 44 countries declining in 2025. Media censorship remains the most common tactic among autocratising governments with 32 countries (73%) resorting to it.India is also among countries where there is a weakening of the extent to which the legislature investigates in practice if governments engage in illicit actions.The USA and India are also among countries where the engaged society indicator is worsening and the range of consultation before important decisions are made is declining.The level of democracy for the average citizen in Western Europe and North America is also at its lowest level in over 50 years, primarily due to ongoing autocratisation in the USA. The report identifies 10 new autocratisers in 2025, among which is the United Kingdom.It also says that repression of civil society has surged to affect 30 autocratising countries.