DEMOCRACYS.ORG / COUNTRY BRIEF
Pakistan
Institutions and political conditions · 2025
#126of 179 places
−6.0points since 2015
29.8–45.2source-bound score area*
What the score says
Pakistan scores 37.4 on the Democracys Standard. Its score was 43.4 in 2015, a fall of 6.0 points. The lowest-scoring dimension in 2025 is political equality (26.1).
What drove the change?
The score for Pakistan fell 6.0 points, from 43.4 to 37.4 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
Restrictions on a major party distorted parliamentary competition
The election took place amid a former prime minister’s detention, barriers to his party formally contesting, internet restrictions, violence, and vote-rigging allegations. Freedom House distinguishes this from an unrestricted contest. These conditions affect candidate access, public information, and voters’ ability to exercise meaningful choice.
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 | 30.2 | −13.9 |
| Rights and checks on power | 42.5 | −7.9 |
| Public participation | 47.4 | −5.2 |
| Public reasoning | 43.4 | −12.4 |
| Political equality | 26.1 | +5.7 |
Dimension movements are not additive contributions to the overall score. The method also accounts for weak areas.
Three questions worth investigating
- Do different social groups have equal rights, access, resources, and a real chance to influence political power?
- 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.