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If is to rule the country for another two years, he will become the longest-ruling non-royal leader in history in the 20th and 21st centuries. Biya holds extensive powers and has been accused of voter fraud to continue to stay in power in the West African country. Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro currently holds the record after being in office for 52 years.

Authoritarian leaders and national heroes

Most of the leaders on the list were authoritarian leaders who suppressed most forms of political opposition. However, some of them were also leaders of independence movements against colonial powers and thus national heroes to many, such as Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Fidel Castro, the longest-ruling non-royal leader since 1900, is remembered by some first and foremost for his suppression of political opponents and human rights violations, while others see the former Cuban president as a symbol of anti-imperialist struggle and a man who achieved almost universal access to health care and education for his inhabitants.

Measuring democracy and authoritarianism

A range of rankings weighting different factors try to measure the level of democracy and freedom in the world. Freedom House's Freedom in the World is probably the most referred to, but the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) is also widely referred to, as it includes more dimensions than Freedom House's. In 2024, Afghanistan was ranked as the least democratic country in the world by the EIU, while Norway ranked as the most democratic.