Polity scores. As discussed previously, Polity scores measure a country’s level of political openness on a continuum, which ranges from −10 (most autocratic) to +10 (most democratic).4 Full democracies, such as the United Kingdom, receive a Polity score of +10. The most autocratic dictatorships, such as Kim Jong Un’s North Korea, receive a −10. Other countries are somewhere in the middle. For example, the United States was scored a +10, Russia +4, and China −5. Positive six and above is the standard cutoff to qualify as a democracy in the modern international system.
