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Methodology
Why the Democratic Quality Index uses a geometric mean
DQI = (V-Dem Liberal Democracy Index × Freedom House score/100 × (180 - RSF rank)/180 × V-Dem Core Civil Society Index)^(1/4). A geometric mean is used so that a collapse in any single dimension drags the whole index down, and a country with strong elections but no press freedom is correctly penalised. An arithmetic mean would hide this. RSF ranked between 167 and 179 countries before 2013 and 180 since, so the rank term is on a slightly different scale in the early years.
What follows. Democratic quality is multiplicative. One weak pillar undermines the rest.
Democratic Quality Index, 0 to 1
2004-2013 average 0.57; 2014-2026 average 0.37; latest 0.28 in 2026. Source, method and every year.
One of 37 readings of the dataset. Data vintage 2026-10-19. Cite as Raman, V.S., Some Perspective: India's Political Economy, 2004-2026, someperspective.info, CC BY 4.0.