Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Museum Popularity in the South Caucasus
In the South Caucasus there is a tension between the
desire to leave the Soviet past behind and the desire to re-evaluate history.
Museums are one of the arenas in which the past, culture and
history of any country (or nation) are captured. The International Council of
Museums defines a museum as “A permanent institution for charity, to the service of the society
and of its development”. This blog shows the changing
situation of museums in the South Caucasus and reveals that the attendance rate
is highest in Armenia although the country has the fewest number of museums in
the region.
According to the national statistics offices of
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia (the State Statistical
Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia and the National Statistics Office of Georgia),
Azerbaijan is home to the largest number of museums in the region (227 in
Azerbaijan, 183 in Georgia and 99 in Armenia). Azerbaijan has the largest
population of the three states and Georgia has the greatest density of museums
relative to its size and population. Additionally, Azerbaijan and Georgia have
experienced the greatest increase in the number of museums. There has been a
steady increase between 2005 and 2011 in Azerbaijan and a sharp increase from
2010 to 2011 in Georgia. Armenia, with the smallest population, also has the
fewest museums in the region.
Despite the fact that there were half as many museums in
Armenia as in the other two countries in 2011, official statistics reveal that
museum attendance is the highest in Armenia. Annual museum attendance in
Armenia was relatively steady from 2005 to 2009 and then rose sharply after
2009. The number of visitors has almost tripled in Armenia since 2005, which
reflects growing interest in museums in Armenia. The attendance rate in Armenia
is more than three times higher than in Georgia even though there are almost
twice as many museums in Georgia than in Armenia.
The increase in museum attendance in Armenia might be due
to a number of factors, such as exhibition
content, reduced ticket prices, effective advertising campaigns, and other
possibilities. Additionally, tourism is one factor that might have an impact on
museum attendance. However, data from the World Tourism Organization
reveals that tourism was lowest in Armenia among all three South Caucasus
countries from 2009-2011. In the last year, the tourism rate in Armenia was
half that in Azerbaijan and four times lower than in Georgia. Thus, these
numbers might suggest that museum attendance rates in Armenia are driven by
locals rather than foreign visitors.
Data from the 2011 Caucasus Barometer (CB) also confirms
that Armenians are the most keen to visit museums (or art galleries). CB data also
indicate that this activity is most popular among women than men.
There is also a
difference in the predominant type of museums found in each of the three
countries: historical, memorial, local lore, arts and other. Museums engaged in collection, protection and
the study of historical materials and monuments are predominant in
all three countries. Again, data from the national statistics offices reveal
a different distribution of the museums in the South Caucasus; memorial museums
are the majority in Georgia, while most museums specialize in local lore and
history in Azerbaijan, and the majority of museums are devoted to art in
Armenia. The size of every museum possibly also affects its attendance rates, yet there is no data
comparing their sizes in the region.
This blog shows that the number of museums negatively
correlates with their attendance. Armenia has the fewest museums, yet it has
the highest museum attendance rate. To add, it seems that museum visits are
accelerated by locals in Armenia.
What types of museums do you find most
appealing? What do you think explains the sharp growth of museum visits in
certain countries?
You can also explore the CB data sets on
similar questions by visiting CRRC’s interactive Online Data Analysis tool at http://www.crrc.ge/oda/.
Posted by
Unknown
at
12:55 PM
0
comments
Links to this post
Labels: Museums, South Caucasus, Tourism, World Tourism Organization
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Education in Azerbaijan: A Snapshot
According to last month’s World Bank Azerbaijan Partnership Program Snapshot, there is an increased sense
of urgency in Azerbaijan for long-term reform of the country’s education system.
In its one-page education summary, the report describes Azerbaijan’s high
primary school enrollment but details three important concerns: 1) low
preschool enrollment, 2) low participation in higher education, and 3) an overall
low quality of education.
According to Azerbaijan’s
State Statistics Committee, only 16% of children between the ages of one and
five attended preschool in 2012. However, there is a large gap in preschool
attendence between urban and rural areas; in urban areas 23% of children aged
1-5 attend preschool, while this figure is 8.6% in rural areas.
Created with data from the State Statistics Committee
The World Bank reports a slightly higher preschool
enrollment rate in Azerbaijan at 27%, while the 2011 PIRLS-an international reading assessment study- reports
that 36% of Azerbaijani fourth grade children attended preschool. Azerbaijan has
one of the highest percentages of children without a preschool education among
the 45 countries included in the PIRLS study.
*All data is from
2011 except the “Like countries” category which uses the latest available data
from each country. (This was 2011 for all countries except 2012 for Kazakhstan,
2008 for Georgia, 2010 for Turkey, and Turkmenistan is not included because there
is no data). Created with data from the World Bank. Downloaded from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRE.ENRR/countries?display=default.
Low rates of preschool
enrollment in Azerbaijan are particularly puzzling because Azerbaijan is also
an upper middle income country according to the World Bank, yet it has a much lower preschool enrollment rate than many other upper
middle income countries. Additionally, most Azerbaijanis place high value on
preschool education. According to the the 2011 Caucasus Barometer, 85% of Azerbaijanis agreed that kindergarten is an
important part of a child’s development.
The Caucasus Research
Resource Centers. (2011) “Caucasus Barometer". Retrieved through ODA -
http://www.crrc.ge/oda/ on {May 2, 2013}. Available at http://www.crrc.ge/oda/?dataset=17&row=176
However, nearly 100% of
Azerbaijani children attended primary school (grades 1 to 4) in 2011 according
to Azerbaijan’s State Statistics Committee. This puts
Azerbaijan on pace to achieve full primary school enrollment which is the major
educational metric tracked by the Millennium Development Goals. World Bank data corroborates high primary school
enrollment rates, but suggests that a small proportion of children (4%) may not
attend school at all. The gap between gross and net enrollment suggests that
some children attend primary school outside the suggested age range— they either
enroll late or finish late.
World Bank data on gross enrollment, net enrollment, and primary completion
rate (male and female).
State Statistics Committee education data. *For a full explanation of
gross and net enrollment see this helpful post by Friedrich Huebler.
According to the World Bank,
Azerbaijan’s university enrollment rate is 20%— the second lowest in the CIS
region and well below the averages for Europe and Central Asia, for upper
middle income countries, and for “like countries” in Central Asia and the
Caucasus. In fact, within the CIS only Uzbekistan (and possibly Turkmenistan but
there is no data) shows a lower percentage of students attending university
than Azerbaijan (9%).
Nevertheless, enrollment
figures are increasing. The percent of secondary school graduates who have been
accepted to university has risen from 21.7% to 27.4% since 2010. The number of
students enrolling in university each year has risen 16% over the last three
years, even though the percent of applicants has remained relatively constant
at 60%. This means that more applicants are being accepted.
University Enrollment in
Azerbaijan
State Students Admission Commission (SSAC) data compiled from annual
reports available at http://www.tqdk.gov.az/az/statistics/.
Despite the fact that the
‘success’ rate for university applicants has risen by over 24% in the past
three years, score distributions from the 2010-2012 State Students Admissions
Commission university admissions exams show slightly decreasing scores during
this time period. A possible explanation for the increasing number of students
accepted with lower scores is that the test is becoming more difficult while the
university admissions cut-off for lower scores has become more flexible.
State Students Admission
Commission (SSAC) data compiled from annual reports available at http://www.tqdk.gov.az/az/statistics/
Although Azerbaijan’s
education system is making strides, there is still a lot of work to be done to
create an inclusive system that provides opportunities for all children, and which
develops Azerbaijan’s human capital. Azerbaijan’s spending on education has
increased from 1.2 to 1.4 billion AZN between 2010 and 2012, but this is a decrease
from 10% to 8.8% of the state’s total spending (because overall state spending
has increased by a much higher percentage). Spending on education is currently
3.5% of the GDP, and while education spending is not considered to be a good
indicator of education quality, the overall downward trend of social spending on
education might be a problem.
Contributed by Vitaly Radsky from the Center for Innovations in Education Policy Unit, and former CRRC International Fellow
Contributed by Vitaly Radsky from the Center for Innovations in Education Policy Unit, and former CRRC International Fellow
Posted by
Unknown
at
10:40 AM
0
comments
Links to this post
Labels: Azerbaijan, Caucasus Barometer, Education, Higher Education, School, University, World Bank
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Freedom of Press in the South Caucasus
Freedom of press is one of the indicators of a free
society (e.g., immunity of communications media from censorship or governmental
control). Freedom House’s 2012 analysis of Freedom of Press found that only 14.5% of the world’s population live in countries with
a free press, while 45% have a partly free press, and 40.5% live in an
environment without a free press. As for
the South Caucasus region, Georgia was classified as having a partly free press
ranking 111 out of 197 countries,
similar to Bangladesh, Kenya and Mauritania which were among countries
classified as partly free. Both Armenia (rank 149) and Azerbaijan (rank 172)
were classified as having a “not free” press. This blog discusses the changing
situation with regard to media freedom in the South Caucasus, as well as
perceptions of trust in the media. It also highlights a gap between media
freedom and trust in media in the region.
The Freedom of Press survey was first conducted in
1980 and has annually assessed the level of media freedom and editorial
independence worldwide ever since. Freedom House provides analytical reports
for 197 countries and territories and assigns them with a total score from 0
(best) to 100 (worst). The score is composed of 23 methodological questions
that are divided into three categories: legal, political and economic
environment. Primary attention is given to the political environment for press
circulation, referring to the ability to operate freely and without fear of
persecution. The degree to which each country permits the free flow of news and
information determines the classification of its media as “Free,” “Partly
Free,” or “Not Free.” Countries scoring 0 to 30 are regarded as having a “Free”
media, while scores of 31 to 60 indicate “Partly Free”, and 61 to 100
represents “Not Free”.
In 2012 Georgia was the only country to make significant
improvement in the region of Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia – it moved
from 55 to 52 points (out of 100). This was primarily due to the establishment
of new publications, the issue of a broadcast license to a media group critical
to the government (TV9), and enforced provisions for media ownership. However,
a few deficiencies have remained. For instance, the Georgian National
Communications Commission has been broadly
reported to have limitations, delays in the access to information, and a lack
of independence from political parties.
The report also identified Azerbaijan, Russia and
Kazakhstan as countries of special concern in the region (i.e. not free).
Freedom House’s country overview of Azerbaijan explains that journalists
continue to be persecuted and imprisoned, authorities use economic and
political pressure to maintain control over major media outlets, and the 2000
Law on Mass Media remains inoperative.
In Armenia,
press freedom also remains restricted. The media environment remains controlled
despite several amendments and legal protections that have been in place since
the 2008 presidential election. In addition, close ties between government
authorities and media owners encourage journalist self-censorship, particularly
in the broadcast sector.
Freedom House data also allows us to follow its Freedom of
Press index over time. According to the index, freedom of press has worsened
(again, 0=best and 100=worst) in Armenia and Azerbaijan since 1994. Furthermore, while
press freedom in Armenia has worsened from 1994 to 2009, there was a slight
improvement from 2009 to 2012. The freedom of press index has fluctuated more
in Azerbaijan, although it steadily deteriorated from 2004 to 2012. Georgia’s
index sharply improved from 1994 to 2000, after which it worsened from 2000 to
2009, and began improving again from 2009 to 2012.
It is also difficult to find a direct link between changing freedom of
press since 1994 and trust in the media. According to the Caucasus Barometer
(CB) survey, the level of trust in the media has also varied in these countries
from 2008 to 2012. The
overall picture that emerges after combining results from the CB and the
freedom of press index is interesting. Although the Freedom of Press index has
slightly worsened from 2011 to 2011 in Azerbaijan, trust in the media during
that period sharply increased. On the contrary, Georgian trust in the media has
decreased since 2009 although the index of freedom of press improved. Thus, the
freedom of press index does not directly tell us much about how much societies trust media.
The South
Caucasus has not yet achieved a completely free press. However, according to
Freedom House, freedom of the press index is improving in Georgia, whereas the
index is stable in Armenia and worsening in Azerbaijan. This blog discussed
major criticisms about the press environment by Freedom House, as well as the
interchanging level of trust in the media in the South Caucasus.
You are
invited to see the full 2012 Freedom House report and to
find out more about trust in institutions using the CRRC
Caucasus Barometer.
Posted by
Unknown
at
1:38 PM
0
comments
Links to this post
Labels: Freedom House, Freedom of expression, Media, South Caucasus, Trust
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
A Contradiction Between Civil Liberties and Democracy in Azerbaijan
Many conversations about civil liberties focus on the freedom of expression and
belief, associational and organizational rights, rule of law, personal autonomy
and individual rights. According to Freedom
House, these civil liberties play an essential role in measuring the
robustness of democracies worldwide. CRRC data from the 2012 Caucasus Barometer
(CB) shows a disjoint between perceptions of democracy and civil liberties in
Azerbaijan. Specifically, the data suggest that in Azerbaijan, which is
categorized as a Not-Free country according to the Freedom House 2012 rankings, people perceive that their country is either a full
democracy or one with minor problems more than the other two South Caucasus
countries. This
blog reveals the ambiguity of the relationship between civil liberties and
perceptions of democracy in Azerbaijan and provides comparisons with Georgia
and Armenia.
Democracy means something different to different people. The perception
of democracy is different in three countries of the South Caucasus. For
instance, even though the Economist
Intelligence Unit rankings show Azerbaijan as an authoritarian regime, Azerbaijanis
themselves perceive their country to be more democratic than citizens in
Armenia and Georgia. Despite the fact that Azerbaijanis recognize a number of weaknesses
of civil liberties in their country (e.g., an unfair court system and
controlled freedom of expression), the 2012 CB shows that about half of the
population assess Azerbaijan as a full democracy or democracy with minor
problems.
Less than a half of Azerbaijanis identified the most recent
national election (2010 parliamentary election) as fair, compared to 54% of Armenians
(2012 parliamentary election) and 87% of Georgians (2012 parliamentary election).
Azerbaijanis are also more skeptical about their participation in elections and
its importance for citizens although voting in fair
elections is an essential feature of a functioning democracy. Two thirds (68%) of Azerbaijanis
say they would participate in a presidential election the following Sunday, and
approximately one fourth (24%) doubt that voting is important for citizens. While these results focus specifically on electoral process, they are also
major indicators of civil liberties.
Freedom of assembly and expression are additional indicators of
democracy. Over half of Armenians (66%) and Georgians (55%) agreed that people
should take part in protest actions against the
government to show the government that the people are in charge, whereas
only 29% of Azerbaijanis said the same. There is a similar tendency regarding
freedom of expression. Just under half of the Azerbaijan population (47%) think
people have the right to openly say what they think (in comparison with two
thirds in other two countries). Additionally, 19% of Azerbaijanis agreed that
it is important for a good citizen to be critical towards the government,
compared to more than half of Georgian and Armenian populations (55% and 53%
respectively).
CB data also suggest
a strong feeling of inequality before the law and government in all three
countries. Only half of the populations in Azerbaijan and Georgia believe that
people are treated fairly by the government, whereas one fifth of Armenians
agreed. Additionally, the results are even more controversial regarding the
legal system; only around one tenth (approximately 13%) of each population
believes their court system treats everyone equally. This means that laws,
policies, and practices do not guarantee equal treatment of various segments of
the population. However, one third of Azerbaijanis
trust in their court system although the majority does not believe that it is
equal for everyone.
Despite problems
with certain civil liberties in the South Caucasus, many people still believe
that their country is a democracy or a democracy with minor problems. This is
most recognizable in Azerbaijan where many people distrust court system, question
the fairness of elections, and remain concerned about the right to criticize
the government or participate in protest actions. Moreover, the Economist Intelligence Unit named Azerbaijan a strong authoritarian regime
although half of the population believes it is represented by a democratic
government or a democracy with minor problems. This seeming contradiction in
perceptions of democracy as measured by subjective and objective measures would
be an excellent topic for further research.
Posted by
Unknown
at
12:22 PM
0
comments
Links to this post
Labels: Azerbaijan, Civil Society, Democracy, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of expression, Trust
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)