🇦🇫 Afghanistan: Politics & Democracy
By V-Dem's measure, no — Afghanistan scores 1.8 on the 0–100 liberal democracy index, which places it firmly in the autocratic range.
Current leaders
Hibatullah Akhundzada
Head of State · Taliban
Mohammad Hasan Akhund
Head of Government · Taliban
Democracy trend
Voting alignment
Afghanistan's closest UN General Assembly voting partners since 1946:
Frequently asked questions
Is Afghanistan a democracy?
By V-Dem's measure, no — Afghanistan scores 1.8 on the 0–100 liberal democracy index, which places it firmly in the autocratic range. It ranks #176 of 179 countries in 2025.
Is democracy in Afghanistan improving or declining?
Afghanistan's V-Dem liberal democracy score has declined by 18.3 points over the past decade, standing at 1.8 in 2025 (1-year change: +0.4).
Who leads Afghanistan?
Hibatullah Akhundzada is Afghanistan's head of state (Taliban); Mohammad Hasan Akhund serves as head of government (Taliban).