Since 1789, the organization The Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) has been analyzing the level of democracy in various countries around the world.
According to the 2026 report, Mongolia ranked 75th in the Democracy Index. In comparison, in the reports for 2024 and 2025, the country was in 81st place in the Liberal Democracy Index, indicating a significant improvement of six positions this year. Details are presented in the latest report published by the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg, which is also reported by MiddleAsianNews.
Data provided by the Government's Public Relations Department indicate that Mongolia achieved the greatest progress in the Consultative Democracy Index, rising 25 positions to 40th place. This is linked to an increased focus on discussing political issues and considering diverse viewpoints in the decision-making process, as noted in the report.
In Civil Control, we pay attention to reports from several research institutes, including V-Dem, which brings together the efforts of over 4,000 scholars worldwide. This initiative creates the world's largest dataset on democracy, comprising over 31 million data points for 202 countries from 1789 across 600 different indicators.
Within this study, the data is grouped into six main indices.
The Liberal Democracy Index includes both liberal and electoral aspects of democracy, based on 71 indicators that are part of two other indices: the Liberalism Index and the Electoral Democracy Index.
The Electoral Democracy Index. It covers not only the level of conducting fair and free elections in states but also the real freedom of expression and access to alternative sources of information.
The Liberalism Index. According to the V-Dem concept, the liberal principle of democracy emphasizes the protection of individual and minority rights from the tyranny of both the state and the majority. It also includes "horizontal" accountability mechanisms among equal institutions that ensure effective checks and balances, particularly limiting the powers of the executive branch. This is achieved through the rule of law, constitutionally protected civil liberties, an independent judiciary, and a strong parliament that can hold the executive accountable. Three indicators reflecting these aspects are: equality before the law and individual freedoms, judicial constraints on the executive, and legislative constraints on the executive.
The Egalitarianism Index. This index measures how equal opportunities for participation in political life are available to all social groups. The main idea is that democracy should be a system of governance "by the people," where citizens can participate in various forms, such as informed voting, expressing opinions, demonstrations, or influencing policy. The egalitarian principle is related to political participation, as systematic inequality in rights and resources among certain social groups hinders their ability to run for office and engage in governance. A more equitable distribution of resources among groups promotes political equality and, consequently, democracy.
The Participation Index. The principle of participation emphasizes the importance of active citizen engagement in all political processes, both electoral and non-electoral. This index considers four aspects of participation: civil society organization, mechanisms of direct democracy, as well as participation and representation through local and regional authorities.
The Consultative Component Index assesses how successfully the consultative principle of democracy is implemented. It evaluates how political decisions are made in a process that includes public discussion focused on the common good, as opposed to emotional appeals or parochial interests. According to this principle, democracy requires respectful dialogue at all levels of decision-making, from preference formation to final choice, among informed and competent participants open to argumentation.
