More than 80 percent of countries hold regular votes, but fewer than 40 percent meet the standard of elections that are both free and fair. Holding an election is not the same as democracy: a vote can be staged with only one approved candidate, opposition figures can be barred, media can be controlled, and counts can be manipulated. Researchers who measure democracy look at many things beyond the ballot box, including whether people can freely organise, whether courts are independent, and whether the vote is secret and accurately counted. Many countries that vote regularly therefore fall into a middle category of elections without full democratic freedoms. Political scientists distinguish between elections and the wider conditions that make them meaningful.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.