---
title: "Ecuador: Politics & Democracy | Model Diplomat"
description: "Ecuador politics: ranks #79 of 179 on the V-Dem liberal democracy index in 2025 (score 38.6/100). Current leaders, democracy trend since 1946, and upcoming elections."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/ecuador"
---

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# 🇪🇨 Ecuador: Politics & Democracy

Only partially — Ecuador's V-Dem liberal democracy score of 38.6 (0–100 scale) puts it in hybrid territory: some electoral competition exists, but liberal-democratic checks are weak.

Liberal democracy rank (2025)

\#79 of 179

Score (0–100)

38.6

10-year change

+12.3

[Full rankings →](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/democracy-index)

## Current leaders

Daniel Noboa

Head of State · National Democratic Action

since 2023-11-23

## Democracy trend

Ecuador — V-Dem liberal democracy index, 1900–2025 (0–100 scale). Latest: 38.6 in 2025.

## Voting alignment

Ecuador's closest UN General Assembly voting partners since 1946:

[Suriname · 93.2%](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/ecu-vs-sur)[São Tomé & Príncipe · 92.3%](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/ecu-vs-stp)[Seychelles · 92.2%](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/ecu-vs-syc)[All friends & foes →](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/ecuador)

## Frequently asked questions

Is Ecuador a democracy?

Only partially — Ecuador's V-Dem liberal democracy score of 38.6 (0–100 scale) puts it in hybrid territory: some electoral competition exists, but liberal-democratic checks are weak. It ranks #79 of 179 countries in 2025.

Is democracy in Ecuador improving or declining?

Ecuador's V-Dem liberal democracy score rose by 12.3 points over the past decade (an improvement on this index), standing at 38.6 in 2025 (1-year change: −5.7).

Who leads Ecuador?

Daniel Noboa is Ecuador's head of state (National Democratic Action).

## More on Ecuador

[Full country profile](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/ecuador)[Blocs & alliances](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/ecuador/blocs-alliances)[Treaties](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/ecuador/treaties)[Background](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/ecuador/background)[Politics & democracy](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/ecuador)

- [Ecuador's UN voting friends & foes](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/ecuador)
- [Where Ecuador ranks on the global democracy index](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/democracy-index)
- [Upcoming elections worldwide](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/elections)
- [UN General Assembly voting by topic](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/un)

Data source: Coppedge, Michael et al. 'V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v16', Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project, https\://www\.v-dem.net, CC BY 4.0.