Access LSEG's Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) data, providing country analysis and forecasts to government and industry.

The Democracy Index is based on 60 indicators, grouped into five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation and political culture. Countries are given a rating on a zero to ten scale, and the overall index is the average of the five total category scores. Each country is then grouped into four types of regimes, based on their average score: "full democracies", "flawed democracies", "hybrid regimes" and "authoritarian regimes". For additional details, please refer to: https://www.eiu.com/n/global-themes/democracy-index/ The data included in Data360 is a subset of the data available from the source. Please refer to the source for complete data and methodology details.

The longest serving state leader in an authoritarian country as of June 2025 was *********, the current President of ********. However, some see *****************************, the President of *****************, as the longest ruling leader because **** was Prime Minister from 1975 to 1982 before assuming the role of President. ****** has ruled ******************since 1979, meaning that he has held office for ** years. ************** seized power in a coup d'état from his uncle and his son, ****************************, is the country's vice president and posed to be the country's next President after his father. Differences of authoritarianism The list of the longest serving authoritarian leaders only shows a limited picture of authoritarian states. Some authoritarian countries change rulers regularly, but not through free and fair elections. The individual characteristics of Obiang's personal rule in Equatorial Guinea and the Islamic Republic under Ali Khamenei in Iran are substantial. What all these regimes have in common is the oppression of a political opposition through coercive means and the absence of free and fair elections. Over the past ten years, there has been a decline in liberal democracies, but the number of democracies in the world is still significantly higher today than it was after the end of the Cold War. The most authoritarian states A range of rankings weighting different factors try to measure the level of democracy and freedom in the world. Freedom House's Freedom in the World is probably the most referred to, but the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) is also widely referred to as it includes more dimensions than Freedom House's. In 2022, Afghanistan was ranked as the least democratic country in the world by the EIU, while Norway ranked as the most democratic.

If Cameroon's President Paul Biya is to rule the country for another three years, he will become the longest ruling non-royal leader in history in the **** and **** centuries. Biya holds extensive powers and has been accused of voter fraud to continue to stay in power in the West African country. Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro currently holds the record after being in office for 52 years. Authoritarian leaders and national heroes Most of the leaders on the list were authoritarian leaders who suppressed most forms of political opposition. However, some of them were also leaders of independence movements against colonial powers and thus national heroes to many, such as Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Fidel Castro, the longest ruling non-royal leader since 1900 is remembered by some first and foremost for his suppression of political opponents and human rights violations, while other see the former Cuban President as a symbol of anti-imperialist struggle and a man who achieved almost universal access to health care and education for his inhabitants. Measuring democracy and authoritarianism A range of rankings weighting different factors try to measure the level of democracy and freedom in the world. Freedom House's Freedom in the World is probably the most referred to, but the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) is also widely referred to as it includes more dimensions than Freedom House's. In 2023, China was ranked as the least democratic country in the world by the EIU, while Norway ranked as the most democratic.