Wikipedia:RfA reform 2011/Downturns

While declining RfA figures have been noted for quite some time, 2011, particularly from August on, has seen some very significant downturns, including several all time lows.
 * Good news
 * August saw the lowest number of unsuccessful candidacies (4) since August 2004.
 * Last month, September, saw only one unsuccessful RfA&mdash;the lowest number of unsuccessful candidacies since we began recording them (in April 2004)!
 * As can be seen from the above chart, the number of monthly unsuccessful candidacies has declined in general.


 * Bad news
 * August 2011 saw only one promotion, a monthly low that has only been reached one other time in RfA history (December 2010).
 * The number of monthly candidacies has reached an all time low, with August and September each seeing only 5 RfAs and October seeing only 6.
 * The number of promotions has also reached an all time low: So far, there have been 46 promotions this year. At this point in 2010, there had been 65 promotions. At this point in 2009, there had been 96. At this point in 2003, there had been 89 promotions.

For the purposes of this page, "RfA" refers to the current process (which was created in June 2003). "All time low" is not rhetoric, it literally means the lowest level in all of RfA history.
 * Notes

(Courtesy of WereSpielChequers)
 * Tabular overview