New York Launch of the Global State of Democracy Report 2019

H.E. Ms. Maria Bassols Delgado, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations

"Despite all the progress made politically, economically, and socially, the state of democracy has continued to decline with states not striving for high goals. The world has proceeded to become more democratic, but quantity and quality are not the same.

Professor Abraham Lowenthal, Professor Emeritus of International Relations, University of Southern California

"The GSoD Report measures the main components of democracy, looks into the future and studies potential problems. The report is useful for both scholars and practitioners because of the significant statistical data it offers."

Ms. Gulden Turkoz-Cosslett, Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director, UNDP

"The report provides important points for organizations like the UN to pick up on, and it is important to understand the role that democracy has on sustainable development. The data collected by this report and provided, thus, are of immense importance."

Dr. Annika Silva-Leander, Head of Democracy Assessment and Political Analysis, International IDEA

"Some of the positive key findings of the report are : 1) Democracy is more democratic than it has ever been, as all regions are more democratic now than they were 40 years ago; 2) Democracy continues to spread to nations that have never been democracies; 3) Democracy has proven resilient in countries that endure democracy; 4) Democracy is an enabler of sustainable development.

Dr. Massimo Tommasoli, Permanent Observer for International IDEA to the United Nations

"At the end of the day we are talking about how democracy delivers and we have produced a couple of papers that are part of this analysis of the Global State of Democracy (they are available online) and they look specifically at how the sustainable development goals framework can be measured by making use of data from the Global State of Democracy. "

Dr. Kevin Casas-Zamora, Secretary-General, International IDEA

"The data [of the GSoD Report] can help multilateral and international organizations identify priority areas for reform and priority countries for support. But it also provides arguments and analytical tools for civil society organizations advocating for democracy. Crucially, the report also fills an important knowledge gap, looking at the links between democracy and sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda."