Regulatory quality

205 countries, 2024. Unit: score 0-100.

First in the ranking
88.5 /100
Singapore
Median country
53.4 /100
half above, half below
Range
22.8 to 88.5
Eritrea - Singapore

How to read it

Across 205 countries worldwide, the highest value is in Singapore (88.5 /100) and the lowest in Eritrea (22.8 /100).

The median country is at 53.4 /100: half are above, half below.

Regulatory Quality (RQ) captures perceptions of the government’s ability to design and implement policies and regulations that promote private sector development. Governance score is a linear transformation of the governance estimate using hypothetical worst-case and base-case countries. It is an absolute score ranging from 0-100. Larger values correspond to better governance.

Compare selected countries · on the world map

Source: World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators · licence

Regulatory quality over time

/100

Ranking of countries

2024
In chart Continent Share of the highest value
1Singapore88.5Asia
2Finland85.8Europe
3Denmark85.3Europe
4New Zealand84.0Oceania
5Luxembourg83.9Europe
6Ireland83.2Europe
7Switzerland82.8Europe
8Hong Kong82.3Asia
9Australia82.0Oceania
10Netherlands82.0Europe
11Sweden81.2Europe
12Norway81.2Europe
13Liechtenstein79.1Europe
14United Kingdom78.7Europe
15Greenland78.6North America
16Germany78.5Europe
17Estonia76.9Europe
18Macao76.5Asia
19Canada76.3North America
20United States76.2North America
21Austria76.2Europe
22Iceland75.8Europe
23Japan75.8Asia
24Lithuania75.2Europe
25Belgium74.5Europe
26Czechia74.3Europe
27France72.9Europe
28United Arab Emirates72.6Asia
29Israel72.4Asia
30Andorra72.2Europe
31Monaco72.2Europe
32United States Virgin Islands72.2North America
33Latvia72.2Europe
34Cayman Islands71.8North America
35South Korea70.8Asia
36Aruba70.3North America
37Qatar70.1Asia
38Bahrain69.8Asia
39Mauritius69.7Africa
40Brunei68.9Asia
41San Marino68.5Europe
42Slovenia67.5Europe
43Chile67.2South America
44Portugal66.5Europe
45Cyprus66.5Asia
46Saudi Arabia66.1Asia
47Oman65.7Asia
48Poland65.7Europe
49Malaysia65.6Asia
50Puerto Rico65.2North America
51Georgia65.1Asia
52Uruguay65.1South America
53Italy65.0Europe
54Antigua and Barbuda64.9North America
55Bermuda64.8North America
56Spain64.7Europe
57Costa Rica64.0North America
58Malta62.6Europe
59Palau62.5Oceania
60Saint Kitts and Nevis62.4North America
61Greece62.4Europe
62Barbados61.8North America
63Slovakia61.2Europe
64Kuwait61.2Asia
65Botswana61.2Africa
66American Samoa61.0Oceania
67Guam61.0Oceania
68Seychelles61.0Africa
69Romania60.9Europe
70Hungary60.1Europe
71Bulgaria59.4Europe
72Croatia59.4Europe
73Jordan59.2Asia
74Rwanda59.1Africa
75North Macedonia59.1Europe
76Dominican Republic58.1North America
77Saint Lucia57.7North America
78Armenia57.0Asia
79Albania57.0Europe
80Namibia57.0Africa
81Azerbaijan57.0Asia
82Montenegro56.9Europe
83Indonesia56.8Asia
84Thailand56.5Asia
85Saint Vincent and the Grenadines56.5North America
86Jamaica56.3North America
87Peru56.2South America
88Philippines56.1Asia
89Serbia56.1Europe
90Fiji55.9Oceania
91Dominica55.8North America
92Grenada55.6North America
93Kazakhstan55.6Asia
94Cabo Verde55.6Africa
95Colombia55.1South America
96Morocco54.4Africa
97Moldova54.1Europe
98South Africa53.9Africa
99Mongolia53.7Asia
100China53.7Asia
101Panama53.7North America
102Ghana53.4Africa
103Bhutan53.4Asia
104India53.3Asia
105Samoa53.3Oceania
106Bahamas53.2North America
107Paraguay52.6South America
108Côte d'Ivoire52.2Africa
109El Salvador52.1North America
110Tonga51.8Oceania
111Mexico51.8North America
112Trinidad and Tobago51.6North America
113Türkiye51.5Asia
114Kosovo51.3Europe
115Argentina51.2South America
116Maldives51.2Asia
117Senegal51.1Africa
118Vietnam50.7Asia
119Benin50.5Africa
120Brazil50.2South America
121Sri Lanka50.1Asia
122Ukraine50.1Europe
123Guatemala50.0North America
124Vanuatu49.7Oceania
125Kenya49.6Africa
126Bosnia and Herzegovina49.3Europe
127Tunisia48.7Africa
128Tuvalu48.5Oceania
129Togo48.4Africa
130Zambia48.2Africa
131Guyana47.8South America
132Belize47.8North America
133Palestine47.5Asia
134Lesotho47.2Africa
135Egypt47.0Africa
136Kiribati47.0Oceania
137Kyrgyzstan46.7Asia
138Uganda46.6Africa
139Nauru46.6Oceania
140Burkina Faso46.6Africa
141Uzbekistan46.6Asia
142Tanzania46.4Africa
143Nepal46.2Asia
144Malawi45.6Africa
145Papua New Guinea45.4Oceania
146Honduras45.0North America
147Cambodia44.9Asia
148Nigeria44.9Africa
149Laos44.8Asia
150Eswatini44.8Africa
151Ecuador44.7South America
152The Gambia44.4Africa
153Marshall Islands44.0Oceania
154Gabon43.5Africa
155Cameroon43.4Africa
156Timor-Leste43.3Asia
157Madagascar43.1Africa
158Algeria43.0Africa
159Tajikistan42.9Asia
160Mali42.8Africa
161Niger42.8Africa
162Federated States of Micronesia42.8Oceania
163Mozambique42.8Africa
164Angola42.7Africa
165Mauritania42.6Africa
166Pakistan42.4Asia
167Burundi42.0Africa
168Ethiopia41.7Africa
169Liberia41.6Africa
170Djibouti41.4Africa
171Solomon Islands40.9Oceania
172São Tomé and Principe40.8Africa
173Guinea40.8Africa
174Suriname40.4South America
175Bangladesh39.9Asia
176Lebanon39.7Asia
177Nicaragua39.2North America
178Iraq38.6Asia
179Sierra Leone38.2Africa
180Russia38.0Europe
181Chad37.7Africa
182Republic of the Congo36.7Africa
183Zimbabwe36.3Africa
184Guinea-Bissau36.1Africa
185Belarus35.4Europe
186Comoros35.2Africa
187Bolivia35.1South America
188Central African Republic34.9Africa
189Democratic Republic of the Congo34.6Africa
190Equatorial Guinea32.8Africa
191Myanmar32.5Asia
192Cuba32.2North America
193Haiti31.8North America
194Iran31.0Asia
195Afghanistan30.6Asia
196Yemen29.9Asia
197Sudan28.6Africa
198Turkmenistan28.2Asia
199Somalia27.6Africa
200Libya27.4Africa
201North Korea25.3Asia
202Venezuela24.8South America
203South Sudan24.4Africa
204Syria23.4Asia
205Eritrea22.8Africa
World Bank, WGI · 2024 · CC BY 4.0 Source and licence

Biggest changes, 2014-2024

% change · 203 countries

Largest increase

  1. Uzbekistan 31.7 → 46.6 +47%
  2. Palau 46.7 → 62.5 +34%
  3. Argentina 38.9 → 51.2 +32%
  4. Zimbabwe 27.9 → 36.3 +30%
  5. Somalia 22.0 → 27.6 +25%

Largest decrease

  1. Yemen 39.9 → 29.9 −25%
  2. Russia 47.8 → 38.0 −20%
  3. Syria 29.0 → 23.4 −20%
  4. Nicaragua 48.5 → 39.2 −19%
  5. Lebanon 47.9 → 39.7 −17%

Continents over time

median country of each continent

Regulatory quality - continent medians

/100

Africa Asia Europe North America South America Oceania

40 50 60 70 80 2004 Africa: 43.3 Asia: 50.02 Europe: 72.88 North America: 59.81 South America: 50.24 Oceania: 52.55 2005 Africa: 44.68 Asia: 51.47 Europe: 74.24 North America: 62.71 South America: 47.98 Oceania: 50.06 2006 Africa: 44.88 Asia: 52.03 Europe: 73.2 North America: 62.64 South America: 46.63 Oceania: 48.64 2007 Africa: 45.54 Asia: 51.77 Europe: 73.33 North America: 64 South America: 46.79 Oceania: 47.7 2008 Africa: 45.93 Asia: 51.2 Europe: 73.43 North America: 62.15 South America: 47.17 Oceania: 44.09 2009 Africa: 45.86 Asia: 52.45 Europe: 72.5 North America: 63.21 South America: 47.12 Oceania: 45.94 2010 Africa: 45.72 Asia: 52.7 Europe: 70.43 North America: 63.95 South America: 47.18 Oceania: 45.69 2011 Africa: 44.56 Asia: 51.74 Europe: 70.08 North America: 63.68 South America: 48.1 Oceania: 46.97 2012 Africa: 43.41 Asia: 50.22 Europe: 69.5 North America: 63.6 South America: 48.34 Oceania: 46.52 2013 Africa: 43.08 Asia: 50.41 Europe: 69.45 North America: 63.08 South America: 48.69 Oceania: 47.19 2014 Africa: 43.12 Asia: 52.36 Europe: 68.1 North America: 60.61 South America: 47.97 Oceania: 50.53 2015 Africa: 43.22 Asia: 52.35 Europe: 69.49 North America: 58.29 South America: 49.17 Oceania: 50.45 2016 Africa: 43.59 Asia: 52.63 Europe: 69.87 North America: 58.55 South America: 51.65 Oceania: 50 2017 Africa: 43.88 Asia: 53.97 Europe: 70.01 North America: 57.92 South America: 52.67 Oceania: 50.02 2018 Africa: 43.17 Asia: 53.78 Europe: 70.26 North America: 58.64 South America: 51.44 Oceania: 50.11 2019 Africa: 43.14 Asia: 53.79 Europe: 70.01 North America: 58.55 South America: 50.05 Oceania: 50.22 2020 Africa: 42.84 Asia: 53.14 Europe: 68.8 North America: 57.57 South America: 49.18 Oceania: 49.2 2021 Africa: 42.74 Asia: 53.42 Europe: 68.98 North America: 57.73 South America: 49.02 Oceania: 49.73 2022 Africa: 42.92 Asia: 53.28 Europe: 68.28 North America: 57.18 South America: 49.49 Oceania: 49.8 2023 Africa: 43.16 Asia: 53.36 Europe: 67.95 North America: 57.21 South America: 49.01 Oceania: 49.8 2024 Africa: 43.21 Asia: 53.58 Europe: 67.98 North America: 56.54 South America: 50.69 Oceania: 50.77 2004 2010 2013 2016 2019 2024

By continent

median country
Africa 43.2 /100
Asia 53.6 /100
Europe 68.0 /100
North America 56.5 /100
South America 50.7 /100
Oceania 50.8 /100

Tick a country in the table to add it to the chart above, up to six at a time. The ranking uses the latest year for which at least half of the countries have a value; countries without a value that year are not listed.