Latvia and its Baltic neighbors Estonia and Lithuania are among a long list of “flawed democracies” around the world, according to a new report from The Economist magazine released in December.

The publication’s Economist Intelligence Unit ranked 167 countries and territories in its Democracy Index 2011, placing Latvia at 48th overall—one notch better than last year.

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.

Just 25 countries, led by Norway, are considered full democracies, according to the 2011 report. 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.

“Much of eastern Europe illustrates the difference between formal and substantive democracy,” according to the report. “The new EU (European Union) members from the region have pretty much equal level of political freedoms and civil liberties as the old developed EU, but lag significantly in political participation and political culture—a reflection of widespread anomie and weaknesses of democratic development.”

The Czech Republic, ranked No. 16, is the only country from Eastern Europe to make it into the top tier of full democracies.

Scandinavia swept the top four spots in the rankings. Norway at No. 1 is followed by Iceland, Denmark and Sweden. The Top 10 full democracies are rounded out by New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Canada, Finland and the Netherlands.

The United States ranks 19th, one notch below the United Kingdom.

Among the Baltic states, only Latvia’s ranking improved, rising from 49th in the 2010 index. Estonia dropped a spot from 33rd in 2010 to 34th in 2011. Lithuania, at No. 41, remains unchanged.

Russia ranked 117th, placing it in the list of authoritarian regimes. The announcement in September that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will again seek the presidency of Russia is “a retrograde and cynical step,” according to the report.

“It marked a decisive step in Russia’s long-running slide towards outright authoritarianism,” according to the report. “The decision has made a mockery of the institution of the presidency and the electoral process.”

At the bottom of the Democracy Index 2011 rankings, at 167th, is North Korea.

The report also notes how public opinion has changed in countries such as Latvia. Results of the Life in Transition Surveys conducted by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank in 2006 and 2010 show that support for democracy declined in parts of Eastern Europe.

“In 11 transition countries, 50 percent of respondents or fewer express a preference for democracy, with support being lowest in Serbia, Latvia, Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Bosnia & Hercegovina,” according to the Democracy Index 2011 report. “The widespread disenchantment with democracy in the region, especially in the richer economies, does not necessarily reflect a hankering for authoritarianism or a return to the communist past. Rather, it seems to reflect the exhaustion
of contemporary political systems and a general unfocused disillusion, apathy and disengagement.”

The number of new immigrants from Latvia settling in Ireland appears to have dropped by nearly 30 percent last year compared to 2010, suggest data compiled by government authorities.

Last year, a total of 2,195 persons from Latvia registered for Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs), which are used in Ireland for various transactions with the government, according to the Department of Social Protection in Dublin.

The decrease continues a general trend in the number of Latvian residents filing for PPSNs during the past several years. While PPSN registrations are not a direct marker of the number of immigrants, they generally are considered to represent trends.

Declining economic conditions in Ireland in the past two years have slowed the flow of migrants from Eastern Europe.

The number of people from Latvia who filed for PPSNs exploded in 2004 after the country joined the European Union, easing the flow of labor across borders. That year, 6,266 persons from Latvia filed for PPSNs, a fourfold increase over 2003.

In 2005, the number of PPSN registrations Latvia peaked at 9,328. Every year since then the numbers have dropped—except in 2009 when the figure increased by 5 percent over 2008.

Since 2000, according to the Department of Social Protection data, a total of 48,031 PPSNs have been issued to persons from Latvia.

A national referendum on whether Russian should become Latvia’s second official language is set for Feb. 18, the Central Election Commission announced Jan. 3 in Rīga.

The referendum will decide whether proposed legislation to amend the constitution will be adopted. The legislation would change five sections in the constitution, including Paragraph 4, which sets Latvian as the sole official language.

At least half of all eligible voters, or nearly 772,000 citizens, would need to vote in favor of the referendum question for it to pass, according to Latvian law.

Many political observers have commented that the referendum has little chance of passing, but the fact that the language issue has come this far has sharpened discord between ethnic Latvians and ethnic Russians in Latvia. Both President Andris Bērziņš and Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis in their New Year’s messages to the nation reiterated the centrality of the Latvian language.

“No matter what your decision will be about participating in the referendum and your vote in it, know that a vote in favor of changing the status of the official language will be a vote against Latvia as a state,” Bērziņš said.

The issue of Russian as a second state language was propelled by the pro-Russian Dzimtā valoda (Native Language) organization. It gathered enough signatures on a petition to spark a citizen initiative, which in turn garnered more than 183,000 signatures to bring the proposed legislation before the Saeima. The parliament, as expected, on Dec. 22 rejected the bill on its first reading.

Under Latvian law, that normally would force a national referendum. However, taking the issue to the voters was inevitable because of the proposal to change Paragraph 4 of the constitution, which is possible only through a referendum.

Polling stations will be set up across Latvia and abroad, according to the Central Election Commission, and voting by absentee ballot also will be available.