Independent rankings built from public data — every figure traceable to the body that published it.
Report year 2005Data year 2005
Regulatory Quality (−2.5 to 2.5)Higher is better — rank 1 leadsPublished by World Bank Group
24 reference years (1996–2022), covering 181 to 200 countries, as published by the World Bank in the Worldwide Governance Indicators. The dimension captures how far a government is seen to formulate and enforce rules that let a private sector work — licensing, price controls, barriers to trade and entry, and the burden of regulation generally. ⚠ IT MEASURES THE QUALITY OF REGULATION AS PERCEIVED, NOT THE QUANTITY. A country can score well with a great deal of regulation, if that regulation is seen to work; this is not an index of deregulation. ⚠ It is built from surveys of firms, households and expert assessments, so it reports PERCEPTIONS rather than an audit of the statute book. ⚠ THE WORLD BANK PUBLISHES NO COMPOSITE WGI SCORE AND RANKS NOBODY. The Bank's own "Rank" column is a PERCENTILE (0 = worst governed, 100 = best), not an ordinal place, and is stored as `percentile_rank`; the POSITION on the statistics page is derived here by ordering the score and labelled as ours. ⚠ The same numbers also appear as a column of `government-effectiveness`, by construction — both are read from the same sheet in the same pass, so they cannot drift. ⚠ Promoted to an indicator on 2026-09-10; it had been carried as a column only since 2026-09-07.
Regulatory Quality 2005 — World Bank Group
Cite as: World Bank. Worldwide Governance Indicators. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Estimates as published by the World Bank in the Worldwide Governance Indicators. The dimension captures how far a government is seen to formulate and enforce rules that let a private sector work — licensing, price controls, barriers to trade and entry, and the burden of regulation generally. ⚠ It measures the QUALITY of regulation as perceived, not the QUANTITY: a country can score well with a great deal of regulation, if that regulation is seen to work. ⚠ The World Bank publishes no composite WGI score and ranks nobody — the percentile rank here is a position on a 0–100 scale, not a place in a list.
200 rows × 4 columns · imported from the publisher’s published data file on
Select any column heading to sort by it; select it again to reverse.
| Country | ISO Code | Regulatory Quality (−2.5 to 2.5) | Percentile Rank, Regulatory Quality (0–100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong SAR, China | HKG | 2.1232 | 88.349 |
| Denmark | DNK | 2.0112 | 86.582 |
| Finland | FIN | 1.9787 | 86.070 |
| Netherlands | NLD | 1.9779 | 86.058 |
| Singapore | SGP | 1.9438 | 85.518 |
| Luxembourg | LUX | 1.8854 | 84.599 |
| Ireland | IRL | 1.8846 | 84.585 |
| New Zealand | NZL | 1.8626 | 84.239 |
| United Kingdom | GBR | 1.8448 | 83.958 |
| Liechtenstein | LIE | 1.8230 | 83.614 |
| Iceland | ISL | 1.8062 | 83.349 |
| Australia | AUS | 1.8023 | 83.288 |
| Canada | CAN | 1.7710 | 82.793 |
| Austria | AUT | 1.7537 | 82.520 |
| Switzerland | CHE | 1.7444 | 82.375 |
| United States | USA | 1.7387 | 82.285 |
| Sweden | SWE | 1.7023 | 81.711 |
| Andorra | AND | 1.6454 | 80.813 |
| Norway | NOR | 1.6423 | 80.764 |
| Chile | CHL | 1.6182 | 80.384 |
| Germany | DEU | 1.5056 | 78.609 |
| Estonia | EST | 1.4710 | 78.062 |
| Bermuda | BMU | 1.4678 | 78.012 |
| Cayman Islands | CYM | 1.4678 | 78.012 |
| Spain | ESP | 1.4363 | 77.515 |
| Belgium | BEL | 1.4127 | 77.143 |
| Cyprus | CYP | 1.3793 | 76.617 |
| France | FRA | 1.3268 | 75.788 |
| Anguilla | AIA | 1.2902 | 75.211 |
| Macao SAR, China | MAC | 1.2902 | 75.211 |
| Virgin Islands (U.S.) | VIR | 1.2902 | 75.211 |
| Taiwan, China | TWN | 1.2856 | 75.138 |
| Barbados | BRB | 1.2632 | 74.786 |
| Portugal | PRT | 1.2536 | 74.633 |
| Hungary | HUN | 1.2519 | 74.607 |
| Bahamas, The | BHS | 1.2495 | 74.570 |
| Japan | JPN | 1.2240 | 74.167 |
| Slovak Republic | SVK | 1.2054 | 73.874 |
| Brunei Darussalam | BRN | 1.1720 | 73.348 |
| Czechia | CZE | 1.1663 | 73.257 |
| Malta | MLT | 1.1387 | 72.821 |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | KNA | 1.1274 | 72.644 |
| Aruba | ABW | 1.1126 | 72.411 |
| Puerto Rico | PRI | 1.1126 | 72.411 |
| Lithuania | LTU | 1.0775 | 71.856 |
| Latvia | LVA | 0.9713 | 70.182 |
| Israel | ISR | 0.9163 | 69.315 |
| Italy | ITA | 0.9063 | 69.156 |
| Korea, Rep. | KOR | 0.8757 | 68.673 |
| Greece | GRC | 0.8384 | 68.086 |
| Bahrain | BHR | 0.8246 | 67.868 |
| Botswana | BWA | 0.8047 | 67.554 |
| Slovenia | SVN | 0.7822 | 67.199 |
| Poland | POL | 0.7800 | 67.165 |
| Oman | OMN | 0.7692 | 66.994 |
| Guam | GUM | 0.7574 | 66.809 |
| Costa Rica | CRI | 0.6683 | 65.403 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | TTO | 0.6579 | 65.238 |
| St. Lucia | LCA | 0.6432 | 65.008 |
| Bulgaria | BGR | 0.6354 | 64.884 |
| South Africa | ZAF | 0.6343 | 64.866 |
| American Samoa | ASM | 0.5798 | 64.008 |
| United Arab Emirates | ARE | 0.5730 | 63.900 |
| St. Vincent and the Grenadines | VCT | 0.5661 | 63.791 |
| Malaysia | MYS | 0.5598 | 63.692 |
| Cook Islands | COK | 0.5045 | 62.819 |
| Micronesia, Fed. Sts. | FSM | 0.4809 | 62.447 |
| Mauritius | MUS | 0.4589 | 62.100 |
| El Salvador | SLV | 0.4294 | 61.635 |
| Kuwait | KWT | 0.4106 | 61.339 |
| Croatia | HRV | 0.4102 | 61.332 |
| Dominica | DMA | 0.3518 | 60.412 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | ATG | 0.3478 | 60.348 |
| Mexico | MEX | 0.3327 | 60.110 |
| Uruguay | URY | 0.3256 | 59.998 |
| Jordan | JOR | 0.3212 | 59.928 |
| Thailand | THA | 0.3177 | 59.873 |
| Panama | PAN | 0.3129 | 59.797 |
| Samoa | WSM | 0.2383 | 58.621 |
| Jamaica | JAM | 0.2253 | 58.416 |
| Philippines | PHL | 0.1743 | 57.612 |
| Qatar | QAT | 0.1714 | 57.566 |
| Grenada | GRD | 0.1376 | 57.033 |
| Türkiye | TUR | 0.1284 | 56.888 |
| Armenia | ARM | 0.1206 | 56.765 |
| Maldives | MDV | 0.1085 | 56.574 |
| Namibia | NAM | 0.0969 | 56.390 |
| Brazil | BRA | 0.0948 | 56.358 |
| Belize | BLZ | 0.0728 | 56.011 |
| Colombia | COL | 0.0560 | 55.746 |
| Peru | PER | 0.0032 | 54.913 |
| Romania | ROU | -0.0098 | 54.709 |
| Saudi Arabia | SAU | -0.0158 | 54.614 |
| Mongolia | MNG | -0.1506 | 52.487 |
| Tunisia | TUN | -0.1539 | 52.436 |
| Bhutan | BTN | -0.1573 | 52.383 |
| India | IND | -0.1775 | 52.064 |
| Seychelles | SYC | -0.1794 | 52.034 |
| North Macedonia | MKD | -0.1863 | 51.925 |
| Uganda | UGA | -0.1907 | 51.855 |
| Sri Lanka | LKA | -0.1916 | 51.842 |
| Nicaragua | NIC | -0.1918 | 51.837 |
| Russian Federation | RUS | -0.2339 | 51.174 |
| Lebanon | LBN | -0.2382 | 51.106 |
| Tuvalu | TUV | -0.2448 | 51.002 |
| China | CHN | -0.2756 | 50.516 |
| Ghana | GHA | -0.2995 | 50.139 |
| Dominican Republic | DOM | -0.3099 | 49.975 |
| Senegal | SEN | -0.3173 | 49.858 |
| Bolivia | BOL | -0.3223 | 49.780 |
| Mauritania | MRT | -0.3332 | 49.608 |
| Georgia | GEO | -0.3366 | 49.554 |
| Albania | ALB | -0.3557 | 49.254 |
| Vanuatu | VUT | -0.3642 | 49.119 |
| Cabo Verde | CPV | -0.3682 | 49.056 |
| Kenya | KEN | -0.3701 | 49.026 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BIH | -0.3843 | 48.802 |
| Indonesia | IDN | -0.4030 | 48.506 |
| Mali | MLI | -0.4053 | 48.470 |
| Honduras | HND | -0.4152 | 48.315 |
| Gabon | GAB | -0.4182 | 48.267 |
| Fiji | FJI | -0.4191 | 48.253 |
| Ukraine | UKR | -0.4233 | 48.186 |
| Tanzania | TZA | -0.4478 | 47.800 |
| Guatemala | GTM | -0.4529 | 47.721 |
| Madagascar | MDG | -0.4551 | 47.685 |
| Benin | BEN | -0.4867 | 47.187 |
| Nepal | NPL | -0.4938 | 47.075 |
| Morocco | MAR | -0.4959 | 47.042 |
| Egypt, Arab Rep. | EGY | -0.4998 | 46.981 |
| Cambodia | KHM | -0.5047 | 46.904 |
| Vietnam | VNM | -0.5216 | 46.636 |
| Kyrgyz Republic | KGZ | -0.5273 | 46.547 |
| Azerbaijan | AZE | -0.5422 | 46.311 |
| Guyana | GUY | -0.5511 | 46.170 |
| Malawi | MWI | -0.5725 | 45.834 |
| Kazakhstan | KAZ | -0.5786 | 45.737 |
| Pakistan | PAK | -0.5839 | 45.655 |
| Mozambique | MOZ | -0.5850 | 45.636 |
| Moldova | MDA | -0.5881 | 45.587 |
| Argentina | ARG | -0.5984 | 45.424 |
| Marshall Islands | MHL | -0.5991 | 45.413 |
| Zambia | ZMB | -0.6029 | 45.355 |
| West Bank and Gaza | PSE | -0.6192 | 45.097 |
| Algeria | DZA | -0.6244 | 45.015 |
| Lesotho | LSO | -0.6306 | 44.917 |
| Eswatini | SWZ | -0.6335 | 44.872 |
| Gambia, The | GMB | -0.6355 | 44.840 |
| Burkina Faso | BFA | -0.6458 | 44.678 |
| Suriname | SUR | -0.6537 | 44.553 |
| Djibouti | DJI | -0.6616 | 44.428 |
| Yemen, Rep. | YEM | -0.7156 | 43.576 |
| Serbia | SRB | -0.7171 | 43.553 |
| Niger | NER | -0.7244 | 43.439 |
| Rwanda | RWA | -0.7590 | 42.892 |
| Paraguay | PRY | -0.7595 | 42.885 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | STP | -0.7910 | 42.388 |
| Cameroon | CMR | -0.7981 | 42.276 |
| Tonga | TON | -0.8451 | 41.535 |
| Papua New Guinea | PNG | -0.8535 | 41.402 |
| Ecuador | ECU | -0.8611 | 41.282 |
| Ethiopia | ETH | -0.9322 | 40.160 |
| Kiribati | KIR | -0.9606 | 39.712 |
| Guinea | GIN | -0.9726 | 39.524 |
| Tajikistan | TJK | -0.9735 | 39.510 |
| Bangladesh | BGD | -0.9816 | 39.381 |
| Nigeria | NGA | -1.0190 | 38.792 |
| Timor-Leste | TLS | -1.0910 | 37.656 |
| Venezuela, RB | VEN | -1.1020 | 37.482 |
| Côte d’Ivoire | CIV | -1.1157 | 37.267 |
| Syrian Arab Republic | SYR | -1.1162 | 37.259 |
| Guinea-Bissau | GNB | -1.1307 | 37.030 |
| Sierra Leone | SLE | -1.1531 | 36.676 |
| Togo | TGO | -1.1649 | 36.491 |
| Sudan | SDN | -1.1658 | 36.477 |
| Solomon Islands | SLB | -1.1681 | 36.441 |
| Burundi | BDI | -1.1965 | 35.992 |
| Congo, Rep. | COG | -1.1979 | 35.971 |
| Lao PDR | LAO | -1.2263 | 35.522 |
| Belarus | BLR | -1.2548 | 35.073 |
| Iran, Islamic Rep. | IRN | -1.2647 | 34.916 |
| Chad | TCD | -1.2716 | 34.808 |
| Central African Republic | CAF | -1.3253 | 33.961 |
| Libya | LBY | -1.3537 | 33.513 |
| Haiti | HTI | -1.4081 | 32.656 |
| Angola | AGO | -1.4092 | 32.638 |
| Congo, Dem. Rep. | COD | -1.4233 | 32.416 |
| Iraq | IRQ | -1.4332 | 32.259 |
| Cuba | CUB | -1.4526 | 31.953 |
| Eritrea | ERI | -1.4664 | 31.736 |
| Comoros | COM | -1.5218 | 30.862 |
| Equatorial Guinea | GNQ | -1.6100 | 29.471 |
| Uzbekistan | UZB | -1.6128 | 29.427 |
| Afghanistan | AFG | -1.6164 | 29.370 |
| Liberia | LBR | -1.6675 | 28.565 |
| Somalia, Federal Republic of | SOM | -1.9183 | 24.608 |
| Zimbabwe | ZWE | -1.9804 | 23.629 |
| Korea, Dem. People's Rep. | PRK | -2.0647 | 22.300 |
| Turkmenistan | TKM | -2.0857 | 21.968 |
| Myanmar | MMR | -2.3132 | 18.381 |