A declarative statement is a sentence that conveys information or expresses an idea clearly and directly. It typically provides facts or opinions and ends with a period. For example, "The sky is blue" is a declarative sentence because it states a fact about the world. In programming, a declarative approach focuses on what the outcome should be rather than how to achieve it. This contrasts with imperative programming, which specifies the steps to accomplish a task. Languages like SQL and HTML are considered declarative because they describe the desired result without detailing the control flow.