The country secured the 148th spot in the Democracy Index 2023, an annual ranking compiled by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) of the United Kingdom, sharing the position with China.

The EIU has been publishing the Democracy Index since 2006, rating countries across five categories and then classifying them according to regime type.

Researchers continue to place Uzbekistan among states with an authoritarian regime, evaluating the country’s democratic situation at only 2.12 points out of 10. 

The EIU report notes that “authoritarian” Central Asia experienced “a slight improvement” over the past year.

Tajikistan is positioned at 155th, and Turkmenistan is near the end of the list, at 162nd place. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have climbed up seven steps, respectively, to 109th and 120th positions.