V-Dem Democracy Report 2026 — India Ranked 106th in Electoral Democracy Index
11 September 2026
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Mehnat Aapki, Guidance Humari
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V-Dem Democracy Report 2026 — India Ranked 106th in Electoral Democracy Index
Context
The V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, released its Democracy Report 2026, titled “Unraveling the Democratic Era?”. In its Electoral Democracy Index (EDI), India has been placed at 106th position. V-Dem’s 2026 dataset assesses 179 countries and examines democracy beyond the holding of elections alone.
Historical Background
V-Dem, or Varieties of Democracy, is an academic research project that measures democracy through five broad dimensions: electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative and egalitarian democracy. Its annual democracy reports have been published since 2017. The latest Dataset Version 16 was released in March 2026.
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V-Dem Democracy Report 2026 ranks India 106th in Electoral Democracy Index, classifying it as electoral autocracy. Analysis of methodology and implications for Indian democracy.
Keywords
V-Dem Democracy ReportElectoral Democracy IndexIndia democracy rankingVarieties of Democracyelectoral autocracyUniversity of Gothenburgdemocracy indicesinstitutional checks