The Democracy Index 2011

The results of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Democracy Index 2011 show that democracy has been under intense pressure in many parts of the world. In most regions the average democracy score for 2011 is lower than in 2010, including the developed countries of North America and Western Europe. 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 index released on first week of January 2012.

According to 'The Democracy Index 2011 : Democracy under stress' Nepal is ranked 108^th among 167 countries and territories. In the index other South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation (SAARC)'s members are India 39^th, Sri Lanka 57^th, Bangladesh 83^rd, Bhutan 104^th and Pakistan 105^th. Maldives is not included in the index.

The United States ranks 19th, one notch below the United Kingdom. At the bottom of the Democracy Index 2011 rankings, at 167th, is North Korea.

A total of 53 countries, including all three Baltic states, are considered flawed democracies. Hybrid regimes are found in 37 countries, while authoritarianism reigns in 52.

The report scores countries based on five measures: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Based on their scores, countries are placed in one of four different regime categories: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes.

It said almost one-half of the world’s population lives in a democracy of some sort, although only 11 per cent reside in full democracies, adding that some 2.6 billion people, more than one-third of the world’s population, still lives under authoritarian rule with a large share being in China.

The report said flawed democracies are concentrated in Latin America and eastern Europe, and to a lesser extent in Asia.

“This has affected mainly electronic media, which is often under state control or heavy state influence ‑ although repression and infringements of the freedom of expression have also extended to the print media and, most recently, the Internet,” said the report. The ranking shows the first 10 full democracies as Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Canada, Finland and the Netherlands.

And according to the report, the last 10 authoritarian regimes are Syria, Iran, Central African Republic, Saudi Arabia, Equatorial Guinea, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Chad and North Korea

The report said free and fair elections and civil liberties are necessary conditions for democracy, but they are unlikely to be sufficient for a full and consolidated democracy if unaccompanied by transparent and at least minimally efficient government, sufficient political participation and a supportive democratic political culture.

However, the report said: “It is not easy to build a sturdy democracy. Even in long-established ones, democracy can corrode if not nurtured and protected.”

World Press Freedom Index 2011

Nepal ranked 106th in World Press Freedom Index 2011/2012. Nepal witnessed a modest improvement in press freedom last year improving the ranking in the Press Freedom Index by 13 positions, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on 25th January 2012.

 “In Nepal, a decline in attacks by Maoist groups in the south and greater efficiency on the part of the justice system account for the modest improvement in the country’s ranking,” RSF said. “However, press freedom was marred by threats and attacks by politicians and armed groups throughout the year.” 

Nepal is ranked 106th. The country was at 119th position in Press Freedom Index 2010.

Nepal’s ranking is however one of the best ranking that the South Asian nations received. Only Bhutan (70) and Maldives (73) are ahead of Nepal while Bangladesh (129), India (131), Afghanistan (150), Pakistan (151) and Sri Lanka (163) all rank lower than Nepal.

The media freedom watchdog also added that the Nepali journalists were regularly subjected to threats from rival political groups and their supporters in 2011.

The report noted that violence and censorship on the rise in Asia as violence and impunity persist in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Philippines. It also noted more repression on press in Sri Lanka, Vietnam and China.

The Index assesses condition of freedom of expression in 179 countries, with first places occupied by Finland, Norway, Estonia, the Netherlands and Austria.

“With 10 deaths in 2011, Pakistan was the world’s deadliest country for journalists for the second year in a row,” the report said.

“This year’s index sees many changes in the rankings, changes that reflect a year that was incredibly rich in developments, especially in the Arab world,” RSF said on global review of media freedom. 

“Many media paid dearly for their coverage of democratic aspirations or opposition movements. Control of news and information continued to tempt governments and to be a question of survival for totalitarian and repressive regimes. The past year also highlighted the leading role played by netizens in producing and disseminating news.”

Syria, Bahrain, Yemen received their worst ever press freedom ranking Wednesday in Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) index for 2011, a tumultuous year that saw the downfall of several Arab dictators.

Eritrea, North Korea and Turkmenistan came right at the bottom of the 10th annual list by the press freedom group, with the same clutch of European states -- led by Finland, Norway and Estonia -- at the top.

This year's index saw many changes in the rankings that reflect a year in which many media organisations paid dearly for their coverage of popular uprisings against veteran autocratic leaders, RSF said.

"Control of news and information continued to tempt governments and to be a question of survival for totalitarian and repressive regimes," said the Paris-based group.

RSF said it was no surprise that the same trio of countries -- Eritrea, North Korea and Turkmenistan -- were bottom of the list because they were "absolute dictatorships that permit no civil liberties".

"They are immediately preceded at the bottom by Syria, Iran and China, three countries that seem to have lost contact with reality as they have been sucked into an insane spiral of terror," it said. 

Bahrain and Vietnam -- both described as "quintessential oppressive regimes" -- were also down at the bottom, while RSF said "other countries such as Uganda and Belarus have also become much more repressive".

Tunisia rose 30 places from last year's index to 134th but "has not yet fully accepted a free and independent press", according to RSF.

Bahrain, now ranked 173rd, fell 29 places because of its "relentless crackdown on pro-democracy movements, its trials of human rights defenders and its suppression of all space for freedom," the group said.

Egypt fell 39 places to 166th "because the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, in power since February, dashed the hopes of democrats by continuing the (ousted president Hosni) Mubarak dictatorship's practices."

"Total censorship, widespread surveillance, indiscriminate violence and government manipulation made it impossible for journalists to work" in Syria last year, which fell to 176th position in the index.

Elsewhere, pro-democracy movements that tried to follow the Arab example were ruthlessly suppressed, with, for example, many arrests made in Vietnam (172nd), said RSF. 

In China, which ranks 174th, the government responded to regional and local protests and to public impatience with scandals by feverishly reinforcing its system of controlling news and information, it said.

China carried out extrajudicial arrests and stepped up internet censorship, it added. 

In Azerbaijan (162nd), there was a dramatic rise in the number of arrests, as the government jailed netizens, abducted opposition journalists and barred foreign reporters in order to impose a news blackout on unrest, it said.

Led by President Yoweri Museveni, Uganda (139th) launched "an unprecedented crackdown on opposition movements and independent media after the elections in February". 

Similarly, Chile (80th) fell 47 places because of its many freedom of information violations, committed very often by security forces during student protests. 

The United States (47th) also owed its fall of 27 places to the many arrests of journalists covering Occupy Wall Street protests. 

The index highlighted the divergence of some European countries from the rest of the continent. 

The crackdown on protests after President Alexander Lukashenko's re-election caused Belarus to fall 14 places to 168th. 

Turkey (148th) lost 10 places because it failed to carry out promised reforms and launched a wave of arrests of journalists that was without precedent since the military dictatorship, RSF said.

Within the European Union, the index reflected a continuation of the distinction between states like Finland and Netherlands that have always had a high ranking and states like Bulgaria (80th), Greece (70th) and Italy (61st).

RSF noted South Sudan among its "noteworthy changes" of 2011, pointing out that the new nation had entered the index in a respectable position (111th) for what is a breakaway from one of the worst ranked countries, Sudan (170th). 

But it said that Africa also saw the biggest falls in the index. 

All countries

1 Finland

- Norway

3 Estonia

- Netherlands

5 Austria

6 Iceland

- Luxembourg

8 Switzerland

9 Cape Verde

10 Canada

- Denmark

12 Sweden

13 New Zealand

14 Czech Republic

15 Ireland

16 Cyprus

- Jamaica

- Germany

19 Costa Rica

20 Belgium

- Namibia

22 Japan

- Surinam

24 Poland

25 Mali

- Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)

- Slovakia

28 United Kingdom

29 Niger

30 Australia

- Lithuania

32 Uruguay

33 Portugal

34 Tanzania

35 Papua New Guinea

36 Slovenia

37 El Salvador

38 France

39 Spain

40 Hungary

41 Ghana

42 South Africa

- Botswana

44 South Korea

45 Comoros

- Taiwan

47 United States of America

- Argentina

- Romania

50 Latvia

- Trinidad and Tobago

52 Haiti

53 Moldova

54 Hong-Kong

- Mauritius

- Samoa

57 United States of America (extra-territorial)

58 Malta

- Bosnia and Herzegovina

- Guyana

61 Italy

62 Central African Republic

63 Lesotho

- Sierra Leone

- Tonga

66 Mozambique

67 Mauritania

68 Croatia

- Burkina Faso

70 Bhutan

- Greece

72 Nicaragua

73 Maldives

- Seychelles

75 Guinea-Bissau

- Senegal

77 Armenia

78 Kuwait

79 Togo

80 Serbia

- Bulgaria

- Chile

- Paraguay

84 Kenya

- Madagascar

86 Guinea

- Kosovo

- Timor-Leste

- Zambia

90 Congo

91 Benin

92 Israel (Israeli territory)

93 Lebanon

94 Macedonia

95 Dominican Republic

96 Albania

97 Cameroon

- Guatemala

99 Brazil

100 Mongolia

101 Gabon

102 Cyprus (North)

103 Chad

104 Ecuador

- Georgia

106 Nepal

107 Montenegro

108 Bolivia

- Kyrgyzstan

110 Liberia

111 South Sudan

112 United Arab Emirates

113 Panama

114 Qatar

115 Peru

116 Ukraine

117 Cambodia

- Fiji

- Oman

- Venezuela

- Zimbabwe

122 Algeria

- Tajikistan

- Malaysia

125 Brunei

126 Nigeria

127 Ethiopia

128 Jordan

129 Bangladesh

130 Burundi

131 India

132 Angola

133 Israel (extra-territorial)

134 Tunisia

135 Singapore

- Honduras

137 Thailand

138 Morocco

139 Uganda

140 Philippines

141 Gambia

142 Russia

143 Colombia

144 Swaziland

145 Democratic Republic of Congo

146 Indonesia

- Malawi

148 Turkey

149 Mexico

150 Afghanistan

151 Pakistan

152 Iraq

153 Palestinian Territories

154 Kazakhstan

- Libya

156 Rwanda

157 Uzbekistan

158 Saudi Arabia

159 Côte d’Ivoire

- Djibouti

161 Equatorial Guinea

162 Azerbaijan

163 Sri Lanka

164 Somalia

165 Laos

166 Egypt

167 Cuba

168 Belarus

169 Burma

170 Sudan

171 Yemen

172 Vietnam

173 Bahrein

174 China

175 Iran

176 Syria

177 Turkmenistan

178 North Korea

179 Eritrea

Daily Lives and Corruption, Public Opinion in S. Asia

More than one in three people who deal with public services in South Asia pay bribes, according to a new survey published on 22^nd December 2011.

In the report, titled “Daily Lives and Corruption, Public Opinion in South Asia,” anticorruption group Transparency International surveyed 7,500 people between 2010 and 2011 in Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on the frequency of bribes in those countries.

The survey asks respondents whether they think corruption has increased and which institutions are considered most corrupt. It also asks if people have paid a bribe in the past 12 months, to whom and for what.

“With bribery such a big a part of life for South Asians, you can see why so many people are angry at their governments for not tackling corruption. People are sick of paying bribes just to get on with their daily lives, and they are sick of the sleaze and undue influence of public servants,” Rukshana Nanayakkara, TI’s senior program coordinator for South Asia, said in a news release.

Political parties and the police are the most corrupt institutions in each of the six countries, followed closely by legislatures and public officials, according to the survey. Officials overseeing land deals were the next likely to demand a bribe, the survey found.

Bangladesh has the most rampant corruption, with 66% of people saying they pay bribes to public institutions. Meanwhile, two-thirds of Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis who dealt with the police ended up paying a bribe.

The study also found that most people think corruption is on the rise in the region, with 62% of those interviewed saying they believe corruption has become worse in the past three years. But 83% of people said they were ready get involved in fighting corruption.

39% of people report paying a bribe in the past 12 months. The result was startlingly high in Bangladesh at 66 per cent, followed by India and Pakistan, with 54 per cent and 49 per cent respectively reporting having paid a bribe to one of nine service providers in the past 12 months. 

62% of people feel that corruption in their country has increased in the past three years. This was felt most strongly in India and Pakistan, where three out of four people felt that corruption had increased over the past three years. Government leaders were named as the most trusted to fight corruption by 38% of people.

Government leaders were named as the most trusted to fight corruption in Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The media was the most trusted institution in India and Nepal. In Pakistan the highest proportion of people reported that they trust ‘nobody’ to fight corruption.

81% of people agree that ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption. People are especially positive in the Maldives and Pakistan, where 90 per cent and 89 per cent respectively agree that ordinary people can make a difference. 

Outlook for Remittance Flows 2012-14

Nepal has ranked 6th among all countries across the globe that receive more remittances as a share of gross domestic product in 2011, says a report released on 1st December 2011 of the World Bank on Migration and Development.

The Outlook for Remittance Flows 2012-14 estimates that Nepal will receive around US$ 400 million worth of remittances from its overseas workers in 2011, making remittances stand at 20 percent of country´s total GDP. 

“Tajikistan, Lesotho, Samoa, Moldova and Kyrgyz Republic are the top five countries receiving more remittances as a share of GDP, and Nepal stands at the 6th place,” says the report. Remittances received by these top five countries were equal to 31 percent, 29 percent, 25 percent, 23 percent and 21 percent of their respective GDPs.

The new estimates show that the top recipients of remittances among developing countries in 2011 are India (US$58 billion), followed by China (US$57 billion), Mexico (US$ 24 billion) and the Philippines (US$ 23 billion). Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Vietnam, Egypt and Lebanon are other large recipients in terms of US dollar.

The report estimates that remittance flows to developing countries in 2011 could have touched US$ 351 billion. This is 8 percent growth over what those countries received in 2010 and well above the growth forecast of 7.3 percent that the WB had made earlier.

When flows to high-income countries are included, the global remittance flows could touch US$406 billion this year.

“And this is the first time since the global financial crisis that remittance flows to all developing regions have increased in 2011”, reads the report. 

The report attributes the rise in remittance flows to countries like Nepal to high oil prices, something which enabled Gulf countries to hire more workers and pay them better than the past few years. The depreciation of local currency, which enabled families back home enjoy net exchange rate gains, also contributed in the flow of remittances in countries like Nepal.

Such finding of the WB matches with the figures that the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) released recently. The latest macro-economic report that NRB made public on Wednesday says Nepal received some Rs 75 billion worth of remittances over the first quarter of this fiscal year, which is about 28 percent rise over remittances received in the same period last year.

The report further adds that even though remittances to developing countries grew in 2011, they are vulnerable to the uncertain economic prospects in the migrant destination countries. Following this rebound, the WB predicts that the remittance flows to developing countries could continue in a range of 7-8 percent per annum and reach US$441 billion by 2014.

The remittances are expected to increase 8.0 percent to $351 billion in 2011, 7.3 percent to $377 billion in 2012, 7.9 percent to $406 billion in 2013, and 8.4 percent to $441 billion in 2014.

Global remittance flows, including those to high-income countries, are expected to exceed $515 billion by 2014.

Remittances to the developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific are projected to rise 7.6 percent to $101 billion in 2011 and 7.3 percent to $109 billion in 2012. They are forecast to increase by another 8.0 percent to $117 billion in 2013 and 8.7 percent to $127 billion by 2014.

The World Bank report says that high oil prices, which have hovered over $100 a barrel in recent months, continue to provide a much-needed cushion for migrant employment in, and remittance flows from, the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) and Russia. Oil driven economic activities and increased spending on infrastructure development are making these countries attractive for migrants from developing countries.

The report acknowledges that the remittance costs have fallen steadily from 8.8 percent in 2008 to 7.3 percent in the third quarter of 2011. However, it pinpoints that the cost is still too high, especially in Africa and other small nations where remittances provide a lifeline to the poor.

Following such finding, the WB has pressed the countries across the globe to improve the data on remittances at the national and bilateral levels.

Corruption Perception Index - 2011

Nepal is the second most corrupt country in the South Asia, according to an annual report  by the global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI).

The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2011, published by TI on 1st December 2011, Nepal is ranked at the154th position on the list of the least corrupt countries. Last year, Nepal was placed in the 146th position.  

Among the South Asian countries, Bhutan is the least corrupt country placed in the 38th position and Afghanistan being the most corrupt country ranked in the 182th position.

Similarly, Sri Lanka is placed in the 86th, India in the 95th, Bangladesh in the 120th and Pakistan and the Maldives jointly in the 134th positions.

The TI report says that corruption continues to plague too many countries around the world. According to the Transparency International’s 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index, some governments failing to protect citizens from corruption be it abuse of public resources, bribery or secretive decision-making.

Transparency International warned that protests around the world, often fuelled by corruption and economic instability, clearly show citizens feel their leaders and public institutions are neither transparent nor accountable enough.

The 2011 index scores 183 countries and territories from 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean) based on perceived levels of public sector corruption. It uses data from 17 surveys that look at factors such as enforcement of anti-corruption laws, access to information and conflicts of interest. Two-thirds of ranked countries score less than five. New Zealand ranks first, followed by Finland and Denmark. Somalia, North Korea (included in the index for the first time) and Myanmar are last.

1. New Zealand 9.5

• 2. Denmark 9.4

• 2. Finland 9.4

4. Sweden 9.3

5. Singapore 9.2

6. Norway 9.0

7. Netherlands 8.9

• 8. Australia 8.8

• 8. Switzerland 8.8

10. Canada 8.7

11. Luxembourg 8.5

12. Hong Kong 8.4

13. Iceland 8.3

• 14. Germany 8.0

• 14. Japan 8.0

• 168. Angola 2.0

• 168. Chad 2.0

• 168. Democratic Republic of Congo 2.0

• 168. Libya 2.0

• 172. Burundi 1.9

• 172. Equatorial Guinea 1.9

• 172. Venezuela 1.9

• 175. Haiti 1.8

• 175. Iraq 1.8

• 177. Sudan 1.6

• 177. Turkmenistan 1.6

• 177. Uzbekistan 1.6

• 180. Afghanistan 1.5

• 180. Myanmar 1.5

• 182. North Korea 1.0

• 182. Somalia 1.0

Human Development Report 2011

Nepal has improved itself in 21st annual Human Development Index (HDI), according to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Its HDI stands at 0.458, which gives the country a rank of 157 out of 187 countries with comparable data, said the report published first week of November 2011 globally.

The index forms part of the UN Development Report, and this year it is focused on environment, sustainability and inequality.

However, Nepal still ranks in the Low Human Development group among the four — Very High Human Development, High Human Development, Medium Human Development and Low Human Development — groups.

 “The HDI of South Asia as a region increased from 0.356 in 1980 to 0.548 at present, placing Nepal below the regional average, the annual flagship publication of the UNDP said, adding that the HDI trends tell an important story both at the national and regional level and highlight the very large gaps in well-being and life chances that continue to divide the interconnected world.

The HDI measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development — a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.

Data availability determines HDI country coverage. To enable cross-country comparisons, the HDI is, to the extent possible, calculated based on data from leading international data agencies and other credible data sources available at the time of writing.

Each year since 1990, the UNDP has been publishing the Human Development Index (HDI), which was introduced as an alternative to conventional measures of national development like level of income and the rate of economic growth.

The index represents a push for a broader definition of well-being and provides a composite measure of three basic dimensions of human development including health, education and income.

The report said income distribution has worsened in most of the world - with Latin America the worst region.

By 2050, in an ‘environmental challenge’ scenario factoring in the effects of global warming on food production and pollution, the average HDI would be 12 per cent lower in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa than would otherwise be the case, the report estimated, adding that bold global action is urgently required for sustainable development, but local initiatives to support poor communities can be both highly cost-effective and environmentally beneficial.

Adverse environmental factors are expected to drive up world food prices by up to 30-50 per cent in the coming decades, the report has warned.

Food production must rise to meet the demands of growing populations, but the combined environmental effects of land degradation, water scarcity and climate change will restrict supply, the report says adding that income poverty and malnutrition could worsen if the prices of key staples rise.

It has also called for a currency transaction tax to help the world’s poorest countries deal with the effects of climate change. “In updated analysis prepared for this report, the North-South Institute estimates that a tax of 0.005 per cent would yield around $40 billion a year,” the annual Report, said, adding that the revenue potential is thus huge.

Half of the malnutrition cases in the world arise from environmental factors, according to the UNDP.

High living standards need not be carbon-fuelled and follow the examples of the richest countries, says the Report, presenting evidence that while Carbon dioxide emissions have been closely linked with national income growth in recent decades, fossil-fuel consumption does not correspond with other key measures of human development. “Growth driven by fossil fuel consumption is not a prerequisite for a better life in broader human development terms,” it said, adding that investments that improve equity—in access, for example, to renewable energy, water and sanitation, and reproductive healthcare — could advance both sustainability and human development.

The Report has also called for electricity service to be provided to the 1.5 billion people who are now off the power grid. It can be done both affordably and sustainably, without a significant rise in carbon emissions.

Overall, this year’s annual human development ranking showed progress made in the quality of life. However, when adjusted against inequalities among the population, there was an overall drop of 23 per cent in the quality of living this year.

In the South Asian region, Bangladesh ranked 146, India 134, Sri Lanka 97, the Maldives 109 and Bhutan 141.

Norway, Australia, the Netherlands, the United States and New Zealand were the top five respectively, while Burundi, Niger and the Democratic Republic of the Congo came last. This year, that spot is taken again by the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the life expectancy is less than 50 years and the gross national income is $280 a person, or about 75 cents a day.

However, when adjusted for inequalities, some countries fell off their top rankings.

Economic Freedom of the World Report 2011

The Economic Freedom of the World Report 2011 released on 19th September 2011 says Nepal's rank slid to 129 out of 141 countries this year. With a score of 5.50 (out of 10), Nepal continued to be one of the least free countries in the world in case of economic freedom.

Nepal continued to fare dismally in economic freedom, an indicator which highlights people's freedom to choose and undertake business activities, due to weak enforcement of industrial and consumer laws, low commitment of country's interim constitution and ongoing political discourse on security of property rights.

The report notes that not just Nepal, but all the countries across the globe performed badly during the year, particularly as enforcement of stringent financial and other sector regulations in the wake of global financial crisis ate up freedom. 

This year, the average global economic freedom score fell to 6.64, the lowest in nearly three decades, from 6.67 in 2008, reads a statement.

Among all 141 countries covered by the report, Hong Kong retained the highest rating for economic freedom, scoring 9.01 out of 10. Other top economically free countries include Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Chile, United Kingdom, Mauritius and the United States. Similarly, Hong Kong scores 9.01 out of 10, followed by Singapore (8.68), New Zealand (8.20), Switzerland (8.03), Australia (7.98), Canada (7.81), Chile (7.77), the United Kingdom (7.71), Mauritius (7.67), and the United States (7.60).

This year Zimbabwe maintains the lowest level of economic freedom among the 141 jurisdictions measured. Myanmar, Venezuela, Angola, and Democratic Republic of Congo round out the bottom five nations.

The Economic Freedom of the World Report uses 42 different measures and rank economic freedom under five broader indicators like size of government, legal structure and security of property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade internationally and regulation of credit, labor and business.

Sadly, Nepal's scores on all those indicators fell down this year, with score remaining the least on indicator related to legal structures and security of property rights. 

The report shows that individuals living in countries with high levels of economic freedom enjoy higher level of prosperity, greater individual freedoms and longer life spans.