Democracy Tracker
The Democracy Tracker provides event-centric, monthly information on democracy and human rights developments in 173 countries. Event reports describe a change to the status-quo of the state of democracy at the country level. They include a description of the event, indications of the specific aspects of democracy that have been impacted, the magnitude of the impact, links to original sources and keywords to enable further research. Click on the country hexagons below to read the most recent developments, or hover over to the country profiles menu at the top to access the full data and analysis of a specific country.
Positive and Negative Events in October 2025
Australia
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Czechia
France
Guatemala
Latvia
Malawi
New Zealand
Oman
Qatar
South Africa
United States of America
Afghanistan
Albania
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Chad
China
Djibouti
Ecuador
Fiji
Georgia
Kenya
Lesotho
Mali
Morocco
Pakistan
Russian Federation
Senegal
Tunisia
Ukraine
Venezuela
Madagascar
Sudan
*Assessments are relative to each country and do not represent comparisons or rankings between countries.
May 2022
Malaysia
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Critical Events To Watch in October 2025
Africa • Madagascar
On 14 October, Colonel Michael Randrianirina announced that the army unit he commanded had taken power and suspended the constitution and several government institutions, including the Senate and the High Constitutional Court (HCC) (although both have subsequently been allowed to operate). The development came three days after the unit, the Army Corps of Personnel and Administrative and Technical Services (CAPSAT), came out onto the streets in support of Gen Z protesters, who had been calling for the resignation of the now-deposed president, Andry Rajoelina. The announced takeover immediately followed the National Assembly’s impeachment of Rajoelina for fleeing the country, prompting the HCC to hand presidential power to Randrianirina. Randrianirina was then inaugurated as interim president on 17 October and then appointed a largely civilian cabinet that he said would govern the country alongside a military-led committee for a transitional period of up to two years, ending with elections.
Asia and the Pacific • Japan
On 21 October, Sanae Takaichi of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was elected by both chambers of the National Diet (parliament) as Japan’s first woman to serve as Prime Minister. Takaichi secured 237 votes out of 465 in the lower house and 125 of 246 votes in the upper house runoff. Takaichi had been appointed president of the LDP on 4 October, following Shigeru Ishiba's resignation in September after recent election losses. Takaichi now leads a minority government, formed as part of a new coalition with the Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party). While her victory represents a significant milestone in gender representation, political experts remain uncertain whether her conservative ideology will enhance women’s political empowerment. Takaichi’s new 19-member cabinet remains dominated by men, with two women alongside herself, including Satsuki Katayama, Japan’s first woman serving as Finance Minister.
Americas • United States of America
On 18 October, an estimated 7 million people across all 50 states and about 2,600 locations took part in the ‘No Kings’ protests against President Donald Trump. The peaceful mobilizations, one of the largest in U.S. history and the largest of this century, voiced opposition to the Trump administration’s policies and agenda, including its immigration strategy, the reversal of respect for certain rights and attempts to broaden presidential power. Trump and other government officials attempted to discredit the movement, labelling it ‘anti-American’ and organized by the ‘radical’ left. Despite attempts by some officials to characterize participants as violent, the demonstrations were overwhelmingly peaceful, with only minor clashes involving counter-protesters. The protest surpassed the attendance records of the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June (nearly 6 million people in attendance) and the 2017 Women’s March (nearly 5.3 million in attendance).
Europe • France
On 29 October, Parliament passed an amendment to the penal code, adding consent to the legal definition of rape and sexual assault. While previously the definition was limited to the use of violence, coercion, threat or surprise, it now extends to all sexual acts performed without ‘free, and informed, specific, prior and revocable’ consent. The debate over the necessity of the reform was reignited following the December 2024 trial connected to the Gisèle Pelicot case, who was the victim of serial rape while drugged by her now ex-husband. The law specifies that consent must be evaluated according to the circumstances and cannot be inferred from ‘silence or lack of reaction’ of the victim. The legislation was introduced by MPs from the Green and Renaissance parties in January 2025, following a parliamentary fact-finding mission, and was promulgated by President Emmanuel Macron on 6 November.
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Democracy Notes & Commentary
Line goes down: Or, how not to read a democracy report
October 06, 2025
Democracy Notes Explainer: What is democratic resilience?
October 02, 2025
La démocratie au-delà de la citoyenneté : une séance de questions-réponses sur l'initiative du Parlement des exilés en France
September 29, 2025
Monthly Event Reports
See all the information related to countries that have updates this month.
Africa
MRT
MLI
CMR
CAF
GNB
TCD
MAR
GAB
GHA
CIV
SDN
BFA
LSO
MDG
MWI
TUN
ZAF
CPV
SEN
TZA
KEN
DJI
ZWE
DZA
AGO
BEN
BWA
BDI
COM
COD
EGY
GNQ
ERI
ETH
GMB
SWZ
GIN
LBR
LBY
MUS
MOZ
NAM
NER
NGA
COG
RWA
SLE
SOM
SSD
TGO
UGA
ZMB
Americas
PER
CRI
GTM
ARG
BRA
COL
ECU
VEN
USA
MEX
CAN
HTI
BRB
BOL
CHL
CUB
DOM
SLV
GUY
HND
JAM
NIC
PAN
PRY
SUR
TTO
URY
Asia and the Pacific
JPN
CHN
AUS
PAK
NZL
AFG
IDN
KHM
FJI
TWN
LKA
MYS
MMR
TLS
BGD
BTN
PRK
IND
KAZ
KGZ
LAO
MDV
MNG
NPL
PNG
PHL
KOR
SGP
SLB
TJK
THA
TKM
UZB
VUT
VNM
Europe
CZE
ALB
LVA
EST
UKR
RUS
GEO
IRL
FRA
PRT
ESP
HUN
GBR
KSV
TUR
ARM
CHE
SVK
AUT
AZE
BLR
BEL
BIH
BGR
HRV
CYP
DNK
FIN
DEU
GRC
ISL
ITA
LTU
LUX
MLT
MDA
MNE
NLD
MKD
NOR
POL
ROU
SRB
SVN
SWE
Western Asia
SYR
PSE
LBN
QAT
OMN
IRQ
BHR
IRN
ISR
JOR
KWT
SAU
ARE
YEM
May 2022
Malaysia
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