WASHINGTON, Dec 24: Muslim countries are suffering from an acute “democracy deficit”, with only 23 per cent of them enjoying the benefits of democratically-elected governments compared to 75 per cent for non-Islamic states, according to a new report made public here.

The annual survey by Freedom House, which categorizes all countries as “free,” “partly free” and “not free,” expressed concern that as 2001 wound down, the international community confronted “a widespread terrorist threat emanating from a fanatical global revolutionary movement that claimed origins in an extremist interpretation of Islam.”

According to the human rights group, 121 out of the world’s 192 countries were electoral democracies in 2001. However, only 11 of the 47 nations with an Islamic majority fell into that category.

And, none of the 16 Arab states of the Middle East and North Africa was a democracy this year, the report said.

By contrast, of the 145 states that make up the non-Islamic world, 110 were electoral democracies.

In addition, Freedom House pointed to a serious lack of civil liberties in the Muslim world.

Only one country with an Islamic majority — the West African nation of Mali — was rated by the organization as “free.” Eighteen ended up in the “partly free” column and 28 were deemed “not free,” according to the survey.—AFP