, concluded that democracy deteriorated in 48 countries , improved in 41 and stayed the same in 78 . In most regions , the report said , the level of democracy was lower in 2011 than the previous year . `` 2011 was an exceptionally turbulent year , characterized by sovereign debt crises and weak political leadership in the developed world , dramatic political change and conflict in the Middle East and North Africa and rising social unrest , '' said Laza Kekic , the report 's lead author . The Democracy Index is based on five categories : electoral process and pluralism , civil liberties , how government functions , political participation by the public , and political culture . The analysts measured the level of democracy in 165 nations and two territories , `` which account for almost the entire population of the world , '' the Economist Intelligence Unit said in a release . Using a scale of 0 to 10 , countries were placed in one of four categories : full democracies -LRB- 8-10 -RRB- , flawed democracies -LRB- 6 to 7.9 -RRB- , hybrid regimes -LRB- 4 to 5.9 -RRB- and authoritarian regimes -LRB- 0
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- North Korea , whose leader Kim Jong Il died over the weekend , is the least democratic nation on Earth , according to a newly released report by a British analysis and intelligence firm . The Democracy Index 2011 , compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit , listed Norway as the most democratic nation in the world . The top 10 spots in this year 's index were occupied mostly by European countries . Following Norway were : Iceland , Denmark , Sweden , New Zealand , Australia , Switzerland , Canada , Finland and the Netherlands . Read the full report The United States ranked 19th , down two spots from the 2010 listing . The United States ' 2011 ranking is below Canada -LRB- 8th -RRB- and the United Kingdom -LRB- 18th -RRB- . The United States also ranked below the Czech Republic -LRB- 16th -RRB- , a former Soviet communist satellite that did not become a democracy until 1989 , and the South American nation of Uruguay -LRB- 17th -RRB- , a former right-wing dictatorship that did not return to democracy until 1984 . The Economist Intelligence Unit analysis , released this month