The Global State of Democracy 2021: Building Resilience in a Pandemic Era (Summary)

Democracy is at risk. Its survival is endangered by a perfect storm of threats, both from within and from a rising tide of authoritarianism. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated these threats through the imposition of states of emergency, the spread of disinformation, and crackdowns on independent media and freedom of expression. The Global State of Democracy 2021 shows that more countries than ever are suffering from ‘democratic erosion’ (decline in democratic quality), including in established democracies. International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy Reports review the state of democracy around the world. Access the digital version to download PDFs or read online

For quick access to the key facts and findings of the different reports, please download our summary. This document is intended to provide readers with the highlights across the five reports in one (short) document. The summary specifically focus on the challenges and opportunities that were identified in each of the reports. The key facts and findings from the Global report and some regional reports are also available in Arabic,  Bahasa Indonesia, French and Spanish.