Critical Analysis

1. According to the data above, how has the percent of the world living in a democracy changed over the past 200 years?

2. What is the big story this chart tells about changes in democracy in the world?

3. Why do you think that is?

4. What is the most important consequence of this change?

5. Overall, is this good news or bad news?

6. What the heck is a closed anocracy, and is that the direction the U.S. is headed in under Trump?

7. What question do you have about this chart?

8. With the Trump presidency and the rise of authoritarian political party power in Europe what do you think the future of democracy looks like over the next 5 or 10 years?

9. If the % of people worldwide living in democracies has increased, what types of government have most decreased?

10. If you had to extrapolate and predict where we would be in the next 200 years what prediction would you make?

Learning Extension

Check out this cool interactive about changes in democracy over the decades. 

Action Extension

Keep the U.S. a democracy! Go online and Register to vote. If you are not old enough to vote, or already are registered, share this link with your friends on social media.

Visual Extension