Democracy dies in darkness without Official Data.
What is it about?
The main purpose of this article is to show the quantitative relationship between political regimes and the quality of the national statistical systems. The data exploratory analysis, usually treated from a qualitative point of view, shows a strong correlation between democracy and official statistics, a thesis confirmed in all continents. The most democratic countries are the ones with the best statistical performance. In fact, among the top 10 democracies, five are also in the top 10 for statistical performance. The correlation between democracy and statistical performance is about 70 percent, although over the years 2016 - 2022, it has been slightly decreasing. The country's statistical performance is affected by political regime. The main indicators employed for this analysis are the Democracy Index by The Economist, and the Statistical Performance Indicators by the World Bank. The use of these global indicators, encompassing an entire range of years and countries, is unusual in statistical analysis.
Why is it important?
Exploring the nexus of democracy and official data. In a world increasingly shaped by data, the importance of official statistics often remains in shadow, even within national statistics offices. Yet these statistics (like employment rates, gross domestic product and pandemic data) are the lifeblood of democracy, influencing policymaking, media narratives and electoral choices.