New V-Dem Data on the State of Democracy

Scholars, policy makers and journalists from around the world are using data from the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project in order to understand the current challenges to democracy. Today, the V-Dem Institute has released an updated version of its award-winning dataset covering 202 countries from 1789 to 2018.

The new data shows the state of democracy in 2018 and that the global trend of democratic declines continues in 2018. By end of 2018, liberal democratic institutions are eroding noticeably in 24 countries. Many of these countries, such as Brazil, Czech Republic, India, Hungary, Poland, and the United States, are established democracies, and populous. They are home to one third of the world’s population.

2019’s Democracy Report will be published in May. Anna Lührmann, V-Dem Deputy-Director, provides a preview of the main findings of the report: “Democracy is in decline in an unprecedent high number of countries around the globe. This is worrisome. At the same time, the resilience of most democracies in the light of global challenges – digitalization, immigration, financial crisis – gives reason to be optimistic about the future of democracy.”

This year’s new data includes brand new indices and indicators measuring digital society, legitimation and exclusion. The V-Dem data can help to address questions such as: What was democracy like 200 years ago, and what’s the status of democracy today? What is “exclusion” and how does it manifest in societies? Is digital media a challenge to democracy?

Overview of V-Dem Dataset V9

Online graphing via V-Dem Graphing Tools: https://www.v-dem.net/en/analysis/
Free download (SPSS, STATA, CSV, R): https://www.v-dem.net/en/data/data-version-9/
Countries: 202 with coverage 1789-2018
450+ indicators, 81 indices and 5 high-level indices
New indices and indicators on digital society, legitimation and exclusion
Based on 3,000+ local Country Experts from all around the world

Website:
https://www.v-dem.net/en/data/data-version-9/