Data source: The World Bank
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.
The WGI feature six aggregate governance indicators for over 200 countries and territories over the period 1996 - 2024:
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.
When using this dataset, please cite as:
(Kaufmann & Kraay,
2024)
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Browse variables and select them for download.
wbgi_cce
Control of Corruption - Estimate: 'Control of Corruption' measures perceptions of corruption, conventionally defined as the exercise of public power for private gain. The particular aspect of corrupti ...
wbgi_ccn
Control of Corruption - Number of Sources.
wbgi_ccs
Control of Corruption - Standard Errors.
wbgi_gee
Government Effectiveness - Estimate: 'Government Effectiveness' combines into a single grouping responses on the quality of public service provision, the quality of the bureaucracy, the competence of ...
wbgi_gen
Government Effectiveness - Number of Sources.
wbgi_ges
Government Effectiveness - Standard Errors.
wbgi_pve
Political Stability and Absence of Violence- Estimate: 'Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism' measures perceptions of the likelihood of political instability and/or politically-motiva ...
wbgi_pvn
Political Stability and Absence of Violence - Number of Sources.
wbgi_pvs
Political Stability and Absence of Violence - Standard Errors.
wbgi_rle
Rule of Law - Estimate: 'Rule of Law' includes several indicators which measure the extent to which agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society. These include perceptions of the incide ...
wbgi_rqe
Regulatory Quality - Estimate: 'Regulatory Quality' includes measures of the incidence of market-unfriendly policies such as price controls or inadequate bank supervision, as well as perceptions of th ...
wbgi_rqn
Regulatory Quality - Number of Sources.
wbgi_rqs
Regulatory Quality - Standard Errors.
wbgi_vae
Voice and Accountability - Estimate: 'Voice and Accountability' includes a number of indicators measuring various aspects of the political process, civil liberties and political rights. These indicato ...
wbgi_van
Voice and Accountability - Number of Sources.
wbgi_vas
Voice and Accountability - Standard Errors.