The Economist Intelligence Unit's democracy index ranks Algeria 125th out of 167 countries, putting it among the 55 countries that are considered "authoritarian". These regimes account for 32.9% of the countries we cover, and 36.5% of the total population. Algeria scores lower than Morocco (116th) but better than Egypt (138th), Tunisia (144th) and Libya (159th), its North African peers. Algeria scores particularly poorly for political participation, the functioning of government and the electoral process, but receives better scores for political culture and civil liberties. There is a vocal and vociferous press which offers lively debate, both in French and in Arabic, and there is a degree of protection of freedom of speech and the right to demonstrate and go on strike for workers that belong to trade unions, which compares favourably with the situation in neighbouring Tunisia and many of the countries in the Middle East. However, fundamentally speaking, the substance of democracy-including a political culture based on trust and healthy levels of political participation-is mainly absent in Algeria. This is manifested in low levels of political participation beyond voting (and even turnout at elections is low for many elections, especially local elections), and very low levels of public confidence in state institutions. The generalised political apathy and a lack of genuine choice in the recent presidential election contribute to keeping the scores for political participation and electoral process low. The score for the functioning of government is held back by excessive bureaucracy, obscure decision-making processes and an overall lack of transparency with regard to governance.

Download the numbers in Excel

Since we conducted the last survey in 2008, the constitution was changed to allow the president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, to run for a third term. Political decisions appear to be increasingly concentrated in the hands of the president and prime minister, with even the cabinet now playing a seemingly perfunctory role. Moreover, the president's health is a matter of continual concern as his absence from the day to day operations of government generally means there will be no political activity. Algeria's parliament is elected for five year terms, but its ability to enact policy and legislate is weak. There is no clear successor in place for Mr Bouteflika but the prospect of the prime minister, Ahmed Ouyahia, or Mr Botueflika's younger brother, Said, becoming president appears to be more credible.

Government depends on hydrocarbon revenues to keep population quiescent

Protests and clashes with government forces are becoming increasingly frequent and largely stem from economic demands for better housing, services and more jobs. The government's ability to contain social dissent through an extensive spending programme depends on revenue it accrues from hydrocarbons exports. Should there be a serious dip in oil or gas prices in the forecast period, protests and clashes with the government may be more regular.

Download the numbers in Excel

Democracy index 2010: Democracy in retreat, a free white paper containing the full index and detailed methodology, can be downloaded from www.eiu.com/DemocracyIndex2010.

Note on methodology

There is no consensus on how to measure democracy and definitions of democracy are contested. Having free and fair competitive elections, and satisfying related aspects of political freedom, is the sine qua non of all definitions. However, our index is based on the view that measures of democracy that reflect the state of political freedom and civil liberties are not "thick" enough: they do not encompass sufficiently some crucial features that determine the quality and substance of democracy. Thus, our index also includes measures of political participation, political culture and functioning of government, which are, at best, marginalised by other measures.

Our index of democracy covers 167 countries and territories. The index, on a 0 to 10 scale, is based on the ratings for 60 indicators grouped in five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. The five categories are inter-related and form a coherent conceptual whole. Each category has a rating on a 0 to 10 scale, and the overall index of democracy is the simple average of the five category indices.

The category indices are based on the sum of the indicator scores in the category, converted to a 0 to 10 scale. Adjustments to the category scores are made if countries fall short in the following critical areas for democracy:

• whether national elections are free and fair;
• the security of voters;
• the influence of foreign powers on government; and
• the capability of the civil service to implement policies.

The index values are used to place countries within one of four types of regimes:

• full democracies-scores of 8 to 10;
• flawed democracies-score of 6 to 7.9;
• hybrid regimes-scores of 4 to 5.9;
• authoritarian regimes-scores below 4.