Hong Kong slips one place in democracy rankings, as mainland rises
South Korea takes top spot in Asia in Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index
Hong Kong’s democracy ranking dropped one place last year, while that of the mainland increased by eight places, according to an annual index just released by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Hong Kong’s new standing is 67 out of 167 countries and territories covered by the Democracy Index 2015. The city received an overall score of 6.5 out of 10, categorised as a “flawed democracy”.
It scored 9.4 in civil liberties but only 4.3 on electoral process and pluralism.
China’s ranking rose eight places to 136th last year, reflecting “rising popular support for the concept of democratic government,” the judges said.
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“This presents a challenge to the ruling Communist Party, which has counted on maintaining the support of the public by guaranteeing increasing prosperity for the burgeoning middle class, and creates a tension as the authorities clamp down on rights and freedoms in other areas,” it added.