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  • Worldwide Governance Indicators

    A global compilation of data capturing household, business, and citizen perceptions of the quality of governance in more than 200 countries and territories.

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Overview

Good governance is essential for development. It helps countries improve economic growth, build human capital, and strengthen social cohesion. The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) are designed to help researchers and analysts assess broad patterns in perceptions of governance across countries and over time.

The WGI aggregate data from more than 30 think tanks, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and private firms across the world selected on the basis of three key criteria: 1) they are produced by credible organizations; 2) they provide comparable cross-country data; and 3) they are regularly updated. The data reflect the diverse views on governance of many stakeholders worldwide, including tens of thousands of survey respondents and experts.

We welcome feedback from users – including suggestions for additional data sources. Please email feedback to wgi@worldbank.org.

How to use the WGI

The WGI feature six aggregate governance indicators for over 200 countries and territories over the period 1996–2022:

The WGI are intended for general cross-country comparisons and for evaluating broad trends over time. When evaluations of the governance reforms of specific countries are required, the WGI should be supplemented with more detailed country-specific information. Because they combine information from data sources produced by many institutions, the WGI do not necessarily reflect the view of any individual institution.

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    The WGI were developed in 1999 by two World Bank researchers, Daniel Kaufmann and Aart Kraay. The data are updated annually each September. For questions about the WGI data please contact Aart Kraay.

      How to Cite this Dataset

      Daniel Kaufmann and Aart Kraay (2023). Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2023 Update (www.govindicators.org), Accessed on 10/19/2023.

      Disclaimer: The WGI represent research published to encourage academic debate and analysis. The views expressed in the research methodology do not necessarily represent the views of the World Bank, its Executive Board, or World Bank management.