Swiss survey: Finland ranks among best democracies

Much-vaunted Swiss democracy not exceptional compared with other countries

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Denmark, Finland, and Belgium have the best quality of democracy when compared with 27 other established democracies.
      This information is based on a new democracy barometer conducted at the University of Zurich and the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB).
     
The comparison of 30 established democracies between 1995 and 2005 revealed that there are differences in the quality of democracy, and that the stability of democracy can even vary year by year.
      The barometer uses 100 indicators to measure how well a country complies with the three democratic principles of freedom, equality, and control.
      For example, freedom includes personal freedom and the rule of law. Equality involves political competition and government. Control comprises transparency, representation, and participation.
     
According to the democracy barometer, Denmark has the highest quality of democracy, followed by Finland and Belgium. These countries best fulfill the functions of democracy.
      The comparison also revealed that the democracies in Great Britain, France, Poland, South Africa, and Costa Rica are the lowest in quality.
      The three top democracies were followed by the other Nordic countries, Canada, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the United States.
     
It came as a surprise to the researchers that their native country Switzerland is ”regrettably” only a mediocre performer and ranks fourteenth when compared with the twenty-nine other established democracies that were assayed.
      The democracy barometer can also be used to illustrate developments over time.
      In the course of the research period, nine countries exhibited a negative development in the quality of their democracy.


Links:
  University of Zurich (UZH) news release 27.1.2011

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