| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Electoral democracy index | 0.104 indexV-Dem [2025] |
| Liberal democracy index | 0.077 indexV-Dem [2025] |
| Government effectiveness | 1.26 indexWorld Bank WGI [2024] |
| Rule of law | 0.497 indexWorld Bank WGI [2024] |
| Control of corruption | 1.17 indexWorld Bank WGI [2024] |
| Voice & accountability | -0.854 indexWorld Bank WGI [2024] |
| Political stability | 0.789 indexWorld Bank WGI [2024] |
| Regulatory quality | 1.13 indexWorld Bank WGI [2024] |
| Cabinet fragmentation index | 0.5 indexWB DPI [2023] |
| Governing majority margin | 1 %WB DPI [2020] |
| Parties in executive cabinet | 40WB DPI [2023] |
| Women in parliament | 50 %WB Gender [2024] |
| Constitutional history supplement | No authoritative open source found |
| Legal system | mixed system of Islamic (sharia) law and civil lawCIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive |
| Suffrage (voting rights) | limited; note: rulers of the seven emirates each select a proportion of voters for the Federal National Council (FNC) that accounts for about 12 percent of Emirati citizensCIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive |
previous 1971 (provisional); latest drafted in 1979, became permanent May 1996
Source: CIA World Factbook (Historical Archive — final edition) · CC0 · Edition 2026-05
How to read these indices
V-Dem democracy indices range from 0 to 1 — higher values mean stronger democratic institutions. World Bank WGI governance estimates range from about −2.5 to +2.5, where higher is better. These are comparative indices across countries, not absolute scores.
