Home › Indicators › Voice and accountability (WGI)
Voice and accountability (WGI)
What this indicator measures
World Bank indicator that sums up the perceived freedom of citizens to choose their government, as well as freedom of expression, association and the press. It aggregates many surveys and expert assessments.
How to read this?
The higher (positive) the value, the more say citizens have; the lower (negative), the less they have.
Ranking : ranked from highest to lowest
In brief
Voice and accountability (WGI): across 203 countries and territories, values range from -2.35 (Eritrea) to 1.82 (Norway), with a world median of 0.02. Data: 2024–2025. The top 10% of countries exceed 1.25, while the bottom 10% stay below -1.54. By continent, the median is highest in Europe (1.11) and lowest in Africa (-1).
Median by continent
- Europe 1.11 (44)
- Oceania 0.91 (18)
- North America 0.55 (27)
- South America 0.05 (12)
- Asia -0.83 (48)
- Africa -1 (51)
Why this indicator matters
This indicator sums up the perceived freedom of citizens to choose their government and to express themselves, associate and get information freely. It allows a comparison of the room given to citizens' voices.
What makes this indicator vary
The differences come from the political regime, democratic tradition, press freedom and civil society. They shift with reforms, crises and changes of power.
Reading precautions
These are perceptions drawn from surveys and expert opinions, with a margin of uncertainty. The scale is relative: zero corresponds to the world average, and values run from negative to positive. Small differences are not significant.
Full ranking
ranked from highest to lowest
| Rank | Country | Value | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1er | 🇳🇴 Norway | 1.82 | 2025 |
| 2e | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 1.78 | 2025 |
| 3e | 🇫🇮 Finland | 1.69 | 2025 |
| 4e | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 1.63 | 2025 |
| 5e | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 1.61 | 2025 |
| 6e | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 1.6 | 2025 |
| 7e | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 1.6 | 2025 |
| 8e | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 1.59 | 2025 |
| 9e | 🇩🇪 Germany | 1.54 | 2025 |
| 10e | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 1.54 | 2025 |
| 11e | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1.5 | 2025 |
| 12e | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 1.43 | 2025 |
| 13e | 🇬🇱 Greenland | 1.42 | 2025 |
| 14e | 🇦🇹 Austria | 1.42 | 2025 |
| 15e | 🇦🇺 Australia | 1.42 | 2025 |
| 16e | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 1.36 | 2025 |
| 17e | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 1.34 | 2025 |
| 18e | 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein | 1.34 | 2025 |
| 19e | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 1.28 | 2025 |
| 20e | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 1.27 | 2025 |
| 21e | 🇹🇻 Tuvalu | 1.26 | 2025 |
| 22e | 🇸🇲 San Marino | 1.24 | 2025 |
| 23e | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | 1.21 | 2025 |
| 24e | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 1.18 | 2025 |
| 25e | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 1.18 | 2025 |
| 26e | 🇫🇷 France | 1.16 | 2025 |
| 27e | 🇱🇻 Latvia | 1.12 | 2025 |
| 28e | 🇪🇸 Spain | 1.12 | 2025 |
| 29e | 🇦🇼 Aruba | 1.11 | 2025 |
| 29e | 🇰🇾 Cayman Islands | 1.11 | 2025 |
| 31e | 🇯🇵 Japan | 1.11 | 2025 |
| 32e | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 1.1 | 2025 |
| 33e | 🇧🇧 Barbados | 1.09 | 2025 |
| 34e | 🇮🇹 Italy | 1.08 | 2025 |
| 35e | 🇬🇺 Guam | 1.07 | 2024 |
| 36e | 🇸🇾 Syria | 1.05 | 2025 |
| 37e | 🇦🇸 American Samoa | 1.04 | 2024 |
| 38e | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | 1.04 | 2025 |
| 39e | 🇨🇱 Chile | 1.04 | 2025 |
| 40e | 🇰🇮 Kiribati | 1.03 | 2025 |
| 41e | 🇵🇼 Palau | 1.01 | 2025 |
| 42e | 🇲🇹 Malta | 0.98 | 2025 |
| 43e | 🇲🇨 Monaco | 0.94 | 2025 |
| 44e | 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands | 0.92 | 2025 |
| 45e | 🇼🇸 Samoa | 0.92 | 2025 |
| 46e | 🇫🇲 Micronesia | 0.9 | 2025 |
| 47e | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 0.9 | 2025 |
| 48e | 🇨🇻 Cape Verde | 0.88 | 2025 |
| 49e | 🇵🇫 French Polynesia | 0.88 | 2025 |
| 50e | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 0.88 | 2025 |
| 51e | 🇬🇷 Greece | 0.86 | 2025 |
| 52e | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 0.85 | 2025 |
| 53e | 🇵🇱 Poland | 0.82 | 2025 |
| 54e | 🇹🇴 Tonga | 0.81 | 2025 |
| 55e | 🇦🇩 Andorra | 0.79 | 2025 |
| 56e | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 0.74 | 2025 |
| 57e | 🇱🇨 St. Lucia | 0.74 | 2025 |
| 58e | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 0.68 | 2025 |
| 59e | 🇸🇨 Seychelles | 0.68 | 2025 |
| 60e | 🇺🇸 United States | 0.64 | 2025 |
| 61e | 🇧🇸 Bahamas | 0.63 | 2025 |
| 62e | 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands | 0.62 | 2025 |
| 63e | 🇻🇨 St. Vincent & Grenadines | 0.61 | 2025 |
| 64e | 🇲🇺 Mauritius | 0.61 | 2025 |
| 65e | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | 0.59 | 2025 |
| 66e | 🇰🇳 St. Kitts & Nevis | 0.58 | 2025 |
| 67e | 🇦🇬 Antigua & Barbuda | 0.55 | 2025 |
| 68e | 🇻🇺 Vanuatu | 0.55 | 2025 |
| 69e | 🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago | 0.55 | 2025 |
| 70e | 🇳🇷 Nauru | 0.54 | 2025 |
| 71e | 🇩🇲 Dominica | 0.5 | 2025 |
| 72e | 🇬🇩 Grenada | 0.48 | 2025 |
| 73e | 🇵🇦 Panama | 0.48 | 2025 |
| 74e | 🇦🇷 Argentina | 0.45 | 2025 |
| 75e | 🇷🇴 Romania | 0.44 | 2025 |
| 76e | 🇹🇱 Timor-Leste | 0.43 | 2025 |
| 77e | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 0.42 | 2025 |
| 78e | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | 0.4 | 2025 |
| 79e | 🇧🇼 Botswana | 0.4 | 2025 |
| 80e | 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico | 0.39 | 2025 |
| 81e | 🇮🇱 Israel | 0.39 | 2025 |
| 82e | 🇳🇦 Namibia | 0.37 | 2025 |
| 83e | 🇬🇭 Ghana | 0.36 | 2025 |
| 84e | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | 0.34 | 2025 |
| 85e | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 0.27 | 2025 |
| 86e | 🇲🇩 Moldova | 0.26 | 2025 |
| 87e | 🇸🇷 Suriname | 0.24 | 2025 |
| 88e | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | 0.24 | 2025 |
| 89e | 🇫🇯 Fiji | 0.22 | 2025 |
| 90e | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | 0.21 | 2025 |
| 91e | 🇧🇿 Belize | 0.21 | 2025 |
| 92e | 🇸🇹 São Tomé & Príncipe | 0.2 | 2025 |
| 93e | 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | 0.19 | 2025 |
| 94e | 🇸🇳 Senegal | 0.16 | 2025 |
| 95e | 🇦🇱 Albania | 0.13 | 2025 |
| 96e | 🇦🇲 Armenia | 0.12 | 2025 |
| 97e | 🇱🇸 Lesotho | 0.1 | 2025 |
| 98e | 🇽🇰 Kosovo | 0.08 | 2025 |
| 99e | 🇳🇨 New Caledonia | 0.07 | 2025 |
| 100e | 🇬🇾 Guyana | 0.06 | 2025 |
| 101e | 🇨🇴 Colombia | 0.04 | 2025 |
| 102e | 🇱🇷 Liberia | 0.02 | 2025 |
| 103e | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 0.01 | 2025 |
| 104e | 🇲🇼 Malawi | -0.01 | 2025 |
| 105e | 🇭🇺 Hungary | -0.04 | 2025 |
| 106e | 🇵🇪 Peru | -0.05 | 2025 |
| 107e | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | -0.08 | 2025 |
| 108e | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | -0.08 | 2025 |
| 109e | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | -0.11 | 2025 |
| 110e | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | -0.14 | 2025 |
| 111e | 🇮🇳 India | -0.15 | 2025 |
| 112e | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | -0.17 | 2025 |
| 113e | 🇳🇵 Nepal | -0.17 | 2025 |
| 114e | 🇸🇬 Singapore | -0.17 | 2025 |
| 115e | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | -0.17 | 2025 |
| 116e | 🇬🇲 Gambia | -0.21 | 2025 |
| 117e | 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea | -0.24 | 2025 |
| 118e | 🇵🇭 Philippines | -0.26 | 2025 |
| 119e | 🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina | -0.26 | 2025 |
| 120e | 🇲🇽 Mexico | -0.28 | 2025 |
| 121e | 🇿🇲 Zambia | -0.31 | 2025 |
| 122e | 🇰🇪 Kenya | -0.33 | 2025 |
| 123e | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | -0.34 | 2025 |
| 124e | 🇧🇯 Benin | -0.34 | 2025 |
| 125e | 🇬🇪 Georgia | -0.36 | 2025 |
| 126e | 🇷🇸 Serbia | -0.41 | 2025 |
| 127e | 🇲🇴 Macao SAR China | -0.42 | 2025 |
| 128e | 🇲🇻 Maldives | -0.46 | 2025 |
| 129e | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | -0.47 | 2025 |
| 130e | 🇹🇭 Thailand | -0.52 | 2025 |
| 131e | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | -0.52 | 2025 |
| 132e | 🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire | -0.54 | 2025 |
| 133e | 🇱🇧 Lebanon | -0.59 | 2025 |
| 134e | 🇭🇳 Honduras | -0.59 | 2025 |
| 135e | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | -0.65 | 2025 |
| 136e | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | -0.65 | 2025 |
| 137e | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | -0.66 | 2025 |
| 138e | 🇲🇦 Morocco | -0.69 | 2025 |
| 139e | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | -0.72 | 2025 |
| 140e | 🇯🇴 Jordan | -0.75 | 2025 |
| 141e | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | -0.75 | 2025 |
| 142e | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | -0.76 | 2025 |
| 143e | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | -0.79 | 2025 |
| 144e | 🇮🇶 Iraq | -0.82 | 2025 |
| 145e | 🇬🇦 Gabon | -0.83 | 2025 |
| 146e | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | -0.84 | 2025 |
| 147e | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | -0.9 | 2025 |
| 148e | 🇲🇷 Mauritania | -0.9 | 2025 |
| 149e | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | -0.92 | 2025 |
| 150e | 🇧🇳 Brunei | -0.95 | 2025 |
| 151e | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | -0.96 | 2025 |
| 152e | 🇦🇴 Angola | -1 | 2025 |
| 153e | 🇺🇬 Uganda | -1.01 | 2025 |
| 154e | 🇹🇬 Togo | -1.04 | 2025 |
| 155e | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | -1.07 | 2025 |
| 156e | 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau | -1.08 | 2025 |
| 157e | 🇰🇲 Comoros | -1.08 | 2025 |
| 158e | 🇩🇿 Algeria | -1.09 | 2025 |
| 159e | 🇴🇲 Oman | -1.11 | 2025 |
| 160e | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | -1.11 | 2025 |
| 161e | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | -1.13 | 2025 |
| 162e | 🇳🇪 Niger | -1.14 | 2025 |
| 163e | 🇬🇳 Guinea | -1.18 | 2025 |
| 164e | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | -1.2 | 2025 |
| 165e | 🇨🇩 Congo - Kinshasa | -1.2 | 2025 |
| 166e | 🇭🇹 Haiti | -1.23 | 2025 |
| 167e | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | -1.25 | 2025 |
| 168e | 🇲🇱 Mali | -1.25 | 2025 |
| 169e | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | -1.26 | 2025 |
| 170e | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | -1.27 | 2025 |
| 171e | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | -1.27 | 2025 |
| 172e | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | -1.28 | 2025 |
| 173e | 🇨🇬 Congo - Brazzaville | -1.28 | 2025 |
| 174e | 🇶🇦 Qatar | -1.3 | 2025 |
| 175e | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | -1.3 | 2025 |
| 176e | 🇩🇯 Djibouti | -1.33 | 2025 |
| 177e | 🇱🇾 Libya | -1.44 | 2025 |
| 178e | 🇷🇺 Russia | -1.44 | 2025 |
| 179e | 🇸🇿 Eswatini | -1.45 | 2025 |
| 180e | 🇹🇩 Chad | -1.45 | 2025 |
| 181e | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | -1.47 | 2025 |
| 182e | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | -1.53 | 2025 |
| 183e | 🇧🇮 Burundi | -1.54 | 2025 |
| 184e | 🇸🇴 Somalia | -1.59 | 2025 |
| 185e | 🇨🇺 Cuba | -1.62 | 2025 |
| 186e | 🇮🇷 Iran | -1.63 | 2025 |
| 187e | 🇪🇬 Egypt | -1.64 | 2025 |
| 188e | 🇱🇦 Laos | -1.64 | 2025 |
| 189e | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | -1.65 | 2025 |
| 190e | 🇨🇳 China | -1.72 | 2025 |
| 191e | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | -1.73 | 2025 |
| 192e | 🇧🇾 Belarus | -1.74 | 2025 |
| 193e | 🇾🇪 Yemen | -1.75 | 2025 |
| 194e | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | -1.75 | 2025 |
| 195e | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | -1.75 | 2025 |
| 196e | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | -1.76 | 2025 |
| 197e | 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea | -1.79 | 2025 |
| 198e | 🇸🇩 Sudan | -1.99 | 2025 |
| 199e | 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan | -2.01 | 2025 |
| 200e | 🇲🇲 Myanmar (Burma) | -2.09 | 2025 |
| 201e | 🇰🇵 North Korea | -2.13 | 2025 |
| 202e | 🇦🇫 Afghanistan | -2.18 | 2025 |
| 203e | 🇪🇷 Eritrea | -2.35 | 2025 |
Frequently asked questions
Which country has the highest value for "Voice and accountability (WGI)"?
The highest value is in Norway, at 1.82 (2025).
Which country has the lowest value for "Voice and accountability (WGI)"?
The lowest value is in Eritrea, at -2.35 (2025).
What is the world median value of "Voice and accountability (WGI)"?
The world median is 0.02, calculated across 203 countries: half of the countries are above it, the other half below.
What is the value of "Voice and accountability (WGI)" for France?
France scores 1.16 (2025), ranking 26 out of 203 countries (ranked from highest to lowest).
Where does the "Voice and accountability (WGI)" data come from?
It comes from Banque mondiale – Worldwide Governance Indicators (GOV_WGI_VA.EST). Site last updated: November 8, 2026. Each country is shown with the year of its most recent value.
How do I read the scale of this indicator?
Zero corresponds to the world average. A positive value indicates a better situation than this average, a negative value a worse one.
What does this indicator bring together?
It brings together the perceived freedom to choose one's government, as well as freedom of expression, association and the press.
Source and update
Source : Banque mondiale – Worldwide Governance Indicators (GOV_WGI_VA.EST). Site last updated: November 8, 2026.
Indicators in the same category : Governance & Rule of Law
- Absence of corruption in the judiciaryThis expert-based V-Dem score estimates how often corruption occurs in the courts. A high score means less judicial corruption, a negative score more.
- Control of corruption (WGI)World Bank indicator that summarizes perceptions of the extent to which public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and the capture of the state by elites.
- Government effectiveness (WGI)World Bank indicator that sums up the perceived quality of public services, of the civil service, of its independence from political pressure, and of the reliability of the policies pursued.
- Rule of law index (V-Dem)This V-Dem index estimates the extent to which the government respects the law, courts are independent, laws are transparent, justice is accessible, corruption is absent and the administration is impartial.
- Judicial constraints on the executive indexThis V-Dem index estimates the extent to which the executive respects the constitution and court rulings, and the extent to which courts are independent.
- Political corruption indexThis V-Dem index estimates the extent to which a country is affected by political corruption: bribes in the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, and embezzlement of public funds.
- Corruption Perceptions IndexThis Transparency International index scores perceived corruption in the public sector from 0 (very corrupt) to 100 (very clean): bribes, embezzlement, favoritism. It is calculated from several surveys of experts and business leaders, not from cases tried in court.
- Regulatory quality (WGI)World Bank indicator that sums up perceptions of the government's ability to put in place rules and policies that allow the private sector to develop.
- Political stability and absence of violence (WGI)World Bank indicator that summarizes perceptions of the likelihood that the government will be destabilized or overthrown by violent or unlawful means, including terrorism.
- Rule of law (WGI)A World Bank indicator that summarises perceptions of citizens' confidence in the rules of society: contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts, and the likelihood of crime and violence.