Voice and accountability

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

First in the ranking
90.6 /100
Norway
Median country
55.8 /100
half above, half below
Range
16.8 to 90.6
Eritrea - Norway

How to read it

Across 205 countries worldwide, the highest value is in Norway (90.6 /100) and the lowest in Eritrea (16.8 /100).

The median country is at 55.8 /100: half are above, half below.

Voice and Accountability (VA) captures perceptions of the extent to which citizens can participate in selecting their government including electoral integrity, and of accountability mechanisms for citizens—reflected in the ability to access information, governmental oversight bodies, and a robust traditional/digital media landscape. Governance score is a linear transformation of the governance estimate using…

Compare selected countries · on the world map

Source: World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators · licence

Voice and accountability over time

/100

Ranking of countries

2024
In chart Continent Share of the highest value
1Norway90.6Europe
2Denmark90.0Europe
3Finland89.3Europe
4Sweden87.1Europe
5New Zealand86.4Oceania
6Luxembourg86.0Europe
7Netherlands85.8Europe
8Switzerland85.6Europe
9Ireland85.5Europe
10Germany84.8Europe
11Australia83.3Oceania
12Canada83.2North America
13Belgium83.1Europe
14Iceland81.8Europe
15Estonia81.6Europe
16Austria81.4Europe
17Greenland81.4North America
18Liechtenstein80.1Europe
19United Kingdom79.6Europe
20Portugal79.0Europe
21Czechia78.8Europe
22San Marino78.7Europe
23Uruguay78.3South America
24Lithuania78.2Europe
25Tuvalu77.7Oceania
26Guam77.4Oceania
27France77.0Europe
28Spain76.9Europe
29Latvia76.6Europe
30Japan76.4Asia
31Italy75.5Europe
32Slovenia75.4Europe
33Palau75.0Oceania
34Costa Rica74.6North America
35Chile74.3South America
36Barbados74.2North America
37Kiribati73.9Oceania
38Aruba73.6North America
39Cayman Islands73.6North America
40Marshall Islands73.6Oceania
41American Samoa73.1Oceania
42Slovakia73.1Europe
43Malta73.0Europe
44Federated States of Micronesia72.7Oceania
45Samoa72.4Oceania
46Cyprus72.4Asia
47United States72.4North America
48French Polynesia72.2Oceania
49Monaco71.5Europe
50Tonga71.2Oceania
51South Korea71.0Asia
52Cabo Verde70.7Africa
53Andorra70.7Europe
54Greece70.5Europe
55Poland70.0Europe
56New Caledonia69.6Oceania
57Croatia68.2Europe
58Seychelles68.0Africa
59Saint Lucia67.5North America
60South Africa67.5Africa
61Nauru67.3Oceania
62Bahamas66.5North America
63Antigua and Barbuda65.8North America
64Saint Vincent and the Grenadines65.7North America
65Vanuatu65.4Oceania
66Jamaica65.3North America
67Saint Kitts and Nevis64.9North America
68Panama64.6North America
69Trinidad and Tobago64.0North America
70Bhutan63.9Asia
71Montenegro63.7Europe
72Romania63.6Europe
73Argentina63.6South America
74Dominica63.5North America
75Grenada63.5North America
76Puerto Rico63.5North America
77Mauritius63.3Africa
78Timor-Leste62.9Asia
79Namibia62.7Africa
80Fiji62.7Oceania
81Solomon Islands62.6Oceania
82Brazil62.4South America
83Botswana62.0Africa
84Israel62.0Asia
85Moldova61.8Europe
86Bulgaria60.6Europe
87Ghana60.4Africa
88Dominican Republic60.4North America
89São Tomé and Principe59.7Africa
90Kosovo59.6Europe
91Mongolia59.1Asia
92Armenia59.0Asia
93Belize58.7North America
94North Macedonia58.1Europe
95Macao58.0Asia
96Suriname57.8South America
97Peru57.6South America
98Singapore57.5Asia
99Colombia57.5South America
100Senegal57.1Africa
101Albania56.6Europe
102Hungary56.4Europe
103Nepal55.8Asia
104India55.5Asia
105Ecuador55.0South America
106Guyana55.0South America
107Malawi54.9Africa
108Ukraine54.9Europe
109Liberia54.9Africa
110Sri Lanka54.6Asia
111Malaysia54.6Asia
112Paraguay54.2South America
113Lesotho54.1Africa
114Indonesia53.8Asia
115The Gambia53.7Africa
116Georgia52.4Asia
117Hong Kong51.2Asia
118Papua New Guinea51.1Oceania
119Mexico50.9North America
120Kenya50.6Africa
121Philippines50.6Asia
122Benin50.2Africa
123Bosnia and Herzegovina49.9Europe
124Zambia49.7Africa
125Maldives49.6Asia
126Bolivia49.2South America
127Serbia48.7Europe
128Guatemala48.6North America
129Sierra Leone47.9Africa
130Thailand47.1Asia
131Rwanda46.5Africa
132Côte d'Ivoire46.1Africa
133Tanzania45.6Africa
134Honduras45.4North America
135Tunisia44.9Africa
136Jordan44.4Asia
137Kuwait44.3Asia
138Madagascar44.2Africa
139Nigeria44.1Africa
140Morocco44.1Africa
141Lebanon43.3Asia
142Guinea-Bissau43.2Africa
143El Salvador43.0North America
144Brunei42.8Asia
145Kyrgyzstan42.8Asia
146Kazakhstan42.6Asia
147United Arab Emirates41.9Asia
148Oman41.3Asia
149Mauritania40.7Africa
150Qatar40.1Asia
151Burkina Faso40.0Africa
152Niger39.9Africa
153Togo39.8Africa
154Mozambique39.2Africa
155Uganda39.1Africa
156Gabon39.0Africa
157Iraq39.0Asia
158Uzbekistan38.6Asia
159Algeria38.5Africa
160Angola38.3Africa
161Türkiye37.7Asia
162Vietnam37.6Asia
163Bangladesh36.5Asia
164Pakistan36.4Asia
165Guinea35.7Africa
166Democratic Republic of the Congo35.6Africa
167Mali35.5Africa
168Comoros35.2Africa
169Cameroon35.1Africa
170Ethiopia35.1Africa
171Djibouti35.1Africa
172Zimbabwe34.8Africa
173Haiti34.7North America
174Cuba34.6North America
175Central African Republic33.9Africa
176Republic of the Congo33.8Africa
177Bahrain33.7Asia
178Libya33.5Africa
179Palestine33.3Asia
180Eswatini33.3Africa
181Russia32.0Europe
182Laos31.1Asia
183Burundi30.7Africa
184Azerbaijan30.5Asia
185Chad30.3Africa
186Saudi Arabia29.8Asia
187Iran29.7Asia
188Somalia29.3Africa
189Egypt28.8Africa
190Tajikistan28.1Asia
191China27.9Asia
192Cambodia27.6Asia
193Belarus27.3Europe
194Yemen27.1Asia
195Nicaragua26.8North America
196Equatorial Guinea26.7Africa
197Venezuela25.0South America
198Syria24.5Asia
199Sudan23.9Africa
200South Sudan23.7Africa
201North Korea22.1Asia
202Turkmenistan21.1Asia
203Myanmar19.7Asia
204Afghanistan19.2Asia
205Eritrea16.8Africa
World Bank, WGI · 2024 · CC BY 4.0 Source and licence

Biggest changes, 2014-2024

% change · 203 countries

Largest increase

  1. The Gambia 35.7 → 53.7 +50%
  2. Uzbekistan 30.0 → 38.6 +29%
  3. Sri Lanka 44.7 → 54.6 +22%
  4. Fiji 51.5 → 62.7 +22%
  5. Tuvalu 66.0 → 77.7 +18%

Largest decrease

  1. Afghanistan 35.8 → 19.2 −46%
  2. Nicaragua 46.0 → 26.8 −42%
  3. Myanmar 33.4 → 19.7 −41%
  4. Mali 52.8 → 35.5 −33%
  5. Venezuela 34.9 → 25.0 −28%

Continents over time

median country of each continent

Voice and accountability - continent medians

/100

Africa Asia Europe North America South America Oceania

30 40 50 60 70 80 1996 Africa: 39.58 Asia: 40.99 Europe: 76.27 North America: 70.53 South America: 57.6 Oceania: 75.5 1998 Africa: 38.3 Asia: 40.76 Europe: 77.06 North America: 70.2 South America: 59.64 Oceania: 74.05 2000 Africa: 38.25 Asia: 42.16 Europe: 76.76 North America: 69.56 South America: 61.21 Oceania: 73.83 2002 Africa: 41.39 Asia: 43.18 Europe: 75.09 North America: 69.23 South America: 61.94 Oceania: 73.19 2003 Africa: 42.27 Asia: 43.6 Europe: 75.66 North America: 70.15 South America: 61.68 Oceania: 72.98 2004 Africa: 43.16 Asia: 43.46 Europe: 74.79 North America: 65.92 South America: 59.14 Oceania: 67.03 2005 Africa: 44.52 Asia: 45.21 Europe: 76.1 North America: 71.32 South America: 59.07 Oceania: 68.43 2006 Africa: 45.28 Asia: 45.93 Europe: 76.72 North America: 71.21 South America: 60.09 Oceania: 67.73 2007 Africa: 45.03 Asia: 46.82 Europe: 76.82 North America: 71.53 South America: 59.52 Oceania: 70.91 2008 Africa: 43.88 Asia: 47.06 Europe: 75.85 North America: 71.49 South America: 59.87 Oceania: 70.44 2009 Africa: 42.18 Asia: 46.21 Europe: 76.25 North America: 70.22 South America: 59.58 Oceania: 70.34 2010 Africa: 42.58 Asia: 45.13 Europe: 75.62 North America: 70.26 South America: 59.49 Oceania: 69.01 2011 Africa: 43.34 Asia: 46.57 Europe: 75.08 North America: 70.2 South America: 59.49 Oceania: 68.73 2012 Africa: 42.74 Asia: 46.52 Europe: 74.75 North America: 70.62 South America: 59.2 Oceania: 69.59 2013 Africa: 42.7 Asia: 45.45 Europe: 73.38 North America: 70.45 South America: 58.72 Oceania: 69.45 2014 Africa: 44.52 Asia: 44.89 Europe: 74.63 North America: 70.53 South America: 58.66 Oceania: 69.53 2015 Africa: 45.01 Asia: 45.89 Europe: 74.47 North America: 67.42 South America: 58.39 Oceania: 69.17 2016 Africa: 44.06 Asia: 45.55 Europe: 74.5 North America: 67.31 South America: 58.57 Oceania: 68.82 2017 Africa: 44.75 Asia: 43.65 Europe: 73.52 North America: 66.2 South America: 57.45 Oceania: 68.88 2018 Africa: 44.41 Asia: 42.97 Europe: 72.43 North America: 65.12 South America: 58.52 Oceania: 70.86 2019 Africa: 44.87 Asia: 43 Europe: 74.65 North America: 65.68 South America: 58.73 Oceania: 72.78 2020 Africa: 44.93 Asia: 42.93 Europe: 74.78 North America: 65.64 South America: 58.8 Oceania: 72.23 2021 Africa: 43.32 Asia: 42.44 Europe: 74.62 North America: 65.08 South America: 57.43 Oceania: 72.63 2022 Africa: 43.34 Asia: 42.76 Europe: 75.28 North America: 64.64 South America: 57.37 Oceania: 72.07 2023 Africa: 43.07 Asia: 43.17 Europe: 76.09 North America: 64.67 South America: 58.06 Oceania: 71.94 2024 Africa: 39.91 Asia: 42.7 Europe: 76.06 North America: 64.57 South America: 57.55 Oceania: 72.52 1996 2007 2011 2015 2024

By continent

median country
Africa 39.9 /100
Asia 42.7 /100
Europe 76.1 /100
North America 64.6 /100
South America 57.6 /100
Oceania 72.5 /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.