The world has become much more democratic over the last two centuries… [but] [d]emocracy is in decline, regardless of how we measure it — the number of democracies has declined; fewer people are living in democracies, countries; and people on average have fewer democratic rights, and more people live in autocratizing countries.

Bastian Herre, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Max Roser (2013) – “Democracy“. Published online at OurWorldInData.org.

Our World in Data is a fantastic and fascinating resource. Their recently revamped section on democracy is well worth checking out for a quantitive view on what I think is the most important issue of our times.