Data Portrait Ukraine

The period from 2000 to 2017 is covered, using data from the V-Dem project. Key trends in the three key areas are highlighted, and Ukraine is compared to selected countries from Eastern Europe. Several key issues that come out as problematic in Ukraine are examined, including the quality of elections, state capture and corruption, and trust in the media and pluralism. During the "Orange period," Ukraine receives its highest scores in the examined period on several key democracy indices. This period is followed by autocratization as President Yanukovych took steps to concentrate power in his hands, by oppressing the opposition, the judiciary, the civil society, and by restricting the freedom of the media. The data portrait finds that in terms of electoral democracy, vote-buying, the accuracy of the voter registry, and the independence of the electoral management body are concerning. In terms of governance, the most problematic issue is the lack of independence of the judiciary and law-enforcement. The portrait also examines key indicators of democracy and election quality, focusing on issues of corruption. The V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index (Polyarchy) is used to measure the extent to which leaders are elected in free and fair elections with extensive suffrage. The index is composed of three main component measures: Clean elections, Freedom of association, and Freedom of expression. As shown in Figure 1, democracy improved significantly in Ukraine during the Orange Revolution in 2004-05, which was a reaction to the increasing authoritarian tendencies during President Leonid Kuchma's second term in office. The inauguration of Viktor Yushchenko as president and Yulia Tymoshenko as prime minister in 2005 marked a significant shift. During that "Orange period," the scores for Ukraine on all democracy indices reach their highest on record, and this is also the only time when Ukraine scores higher than the average for the region. However, an unstable political environment and pervasive corruption stalled the introduction of further reforms for a better functioning democracy. The data portrait also examines the impact of the war in Eastern Ukraine and the loss of Crimea on human rights. The conflict has resulted in significant human rights violations, with approximately 2.7 million people residing in areas controlled by the separatists suffering from violations of their human rights, and about 10,000 people killed since the conflict started. A positive development is that following the Euromaidan protests, the momentum of civil society's growth has continued, and NGOs and voluntary organizations continue to increase their pressure for accountability of the government. The portrait highlights the need for further reforms to improve democracy, governance, and human rights protection in Ukraine. The lack of independence of the judiciary and law-enforcement, state capture by private individuals, and pervasive grand corruption continue to be major challenges. The data suggest that Ukraine has made significant progress in addressing petty or street corruption, but more needs to be done to address these issues. The portrait concludes that Ukraine has made significant progress in some areas, but major challenges remain in terms of democracy, governance, and human rights protection. The lack of independence of the judiciary and law-enforcement, state capture by private individuals, and pervasive grand corruption continue to be major challenges. The data suggest that Ukraine has made significant progress in addressing petty or street corruption, but more needs to be done to address these issues.