Ukraine falls heavily in another democracy rating

Ukraine has slipped in the latest Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index from 67th to 79th place out of 167 countries.  If in 2010, Ukraine was considered a flawed democracy over problems with the rule of law, but in other areas observing rights and freedoms, it has now sunk to the ranks of a hybrid democracy, where elections are not free and fair and social liberties are partially observed.  Lower is only the fourth category, that being authoritarian regimes.

Only fair to mention that the press release from the Economic Intelligence Unit is entitled “Democracy under stress” and states that the average democracy score for 2011 in most countries is lower than a year ago. “There was a decline in the average score for Eastern Europe and small declines for both Asia and Latin America. These were offset by increase in average scores in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Sub-Saharan Africa.” 

The report can be downloaded by registering here