DEMOCRACYS.ORG / COUNTRY BRIEF
Brazil
Institutions and political conditions · 2025
#35of 179 places
−2.5points since 2015
72.7–82.6source-bound score area*
What the score says
Brazil scores 76.8 on the Democracys Standard. Its score was 79.3 in 2015, a fall of 2.5 points. The lowest-scoring dimension in 2025 is public participation (61.8).
What drove the change?
The score for Brazil fell 2.5 points, from 79.3 to 76.8 between 2015 and 2025. 1 of the five areas improved while 4 worsened, so the headline combines competing movements. Elections contributed the largest downward push in the score calculation.
This explains movement within the formula, not the causal effect of political events.
2024 context · Freedom House assessment
Accountability and speech disputes unfolded together
Police investigated an alleged plot to block the presidential transfer of power; the report records an indictment, not a conviction, at that stage. Separately, X was temporarily blocked during a dispute over compliance with court requirements. These events raise distinct questions about enforcing constitutional rules and the proportionality of restrictions on communication.
Read the country report · Freedom in the World 2025AI-assisted source summary · not independently expert-reviewed
What this context does—and does not—explain
This is a selected development, not a complete political history. Its date may differ from the selected comparison period. It is not evidence that one event caused a particular number of points, and it may describe progress even when this index declines.
The scores use V-Dem. The narrative summarizes a separate assessment by Freedom House, whose definitions and coverage differ. Neither organization endorses this website. The summary is AI-assisted, source-linked, and has not received independent country-expert review. Source checked October 5, 2026.
Why democracy measures can disagree →Look beneath the headline
| Democracy test | 2025 | Since 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| Free and fair elections | 78.4 | −7.7 |
| Rights and checks on power | 90.8 | +1.6 |
| Public participation | 61.8 | −3.8 |
| Public reasoning | 92.1 | −1.2 |
| Political equality | 63.7 | −1.0 |
Dimension movements are not additive contributions to the overall score. The method also accounts for weak areas.
Three questions worth investigating
- Can people shape public life through civic groups, direct voting, and meaningful local and regional government?
- Which documented changes in laws, institutions, or their implementation occurred during the period?
- What evidence challenges your explanation, and whose experience is missing?
Use primary records and country expertise. A change in an estimate alone does not identify its cause.
Read with care
This is an independent educational beta, not a V-Dem endorsement. Scores are not percentages of democracy or judgments about a people. Small differences may be within uncertainty. *The score area is obtained from source bounds; it is not a formal confidence interval for this composite or its change.