Independent rankings built from public data — every figure traceable to the body that published it.
Report year 2014Data year 2014
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 2014 — 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.
207 rows × 4 columns · imported from the publisher’s published data file on
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| Country | ISO Code | Regulatory Quality (−2.5 to 2.5) | Percentile Rank, Regulatory Quality (0–100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | SGP | 2.1612 | 88.948 |
| New Zealand | NZL | 2.0123 | 86.600 |
| Hong Kong SAR, China | HKG | 1.9897 | 86.243 |
| Switzerland | CHE | 1.9141 | 85.051 |
| Finland | FIN | 1.8789 | 84.496 |
| Norway | NOR | 1.7656 | 82.709 |
| Australia | AUS | 1.7469 | 82.414 |
| United Kingdom | GBR | 1.7334 | 82.201 |
| Sweden | SWE | 1.7258 | 82.080 |
| Macao SAR, China | MAC | 1.7043 | 81.742 |
| Canada | CAN | 1.6824 | 81.397 |
| Netherlands | NLD | 1.6632 | 81.094 |
| Denmark | DNK | 1.6615 | 81.067 |
| Ireland | IRL | 1.6556 | 80.974 |
| Luxembourg | LUX | 1.5853 | 79.865 |
| Liechtenstein | LIE | 1.5569 | 79.417 |
| Germany | DEU | 1.5568 | 79.416 |
| Estonia | EST | 1.5190 | 78.820 |
| Greenland | GRL | 1.4966 | 78.466 |
| Chile | CHL | 1.3239 | 75.742 |
| Austria | AUT | 1.3187 | 75.661 |
| Japan | JPN | 1.2995 | 75.358 |
| United States | USA | 1.2857 | 75.139 |
| Taiwan, China | TWN | 1.2542 | 74.643 |
| Aruba | ABW | 1.2442 | 74.485 |
| Iceland | ISL | 1.1981 | 73.758 |
| Mauritius | MUS | 1.1373 | 72.799 |
| Andorra | AND | 1.0925 | 72.093 |
| United Arab Emirates | ARE | 1.0740 | 71.802 |
| Israel | ISR | 1.0392 | 71.252 |
| France | FRA | 1.0322 | 71.142 |
| Latvia | LVA | 1.0179 | 70.917 |
| Brunei Darussalam | BRN | 1.0142 | 70.859 |
| Lithuania | LTU | 1.0104 | 70.798 |
| Korea, Rep. | KOR | 0.9938 | 70.536 |
| Cyprus | CYP | 0.9876 | 70.439 |
| Cayman Islands | CYM | 0.9621 | 70.036 |
| Belgium | BEL | 0.9346 | 69.603 |
| Puerto Rico | PRI | 0.9313 | 69.551 |
| Malaysia | MYS | 0.8828 | 68.786 |
| Malta | MLT | 0.8732 | 68.635 |
| Poland | POL | 0.8658 | 68.517 |
| Georgia | GEO | 0.8195 | 67.787 |
| Czechia | CZE | 0.8125 | 67.678 |
| Oman | OMN | 0.7763 | 67.105 |
| Slovak Republic | SVK | 0.7274 | 66.334 |
| Botswana | BWA | 0.7234 | 66.271 |
| Uruguay | URY | 0.7214 | 66.240 |
| Qatar | QAT | 0.7015 | 65.926 |
| Spain | ESP | 0.6969 | 65.854 |
| Bahrain | BHR | 0.6266 | 64.745 |
| Anguilla | AIA | 0.6189 | 64.624 |
| Bermuda | BMU | 0.6189 | 64.624 |
| Virgin Islands (U.S.) | VIR | 0.6189 | 64.624 |
| Portugal | PRT | 0.5981 | 64.295 |
| Slovenia | SVN | 0.5400 | 63.379 |
| Costa Rica | CRI | 0.5248 | 63.140 |
| St. Vincent and the Grenadines | VCT | 0.4361 | 61.740 |
| Hungary | HUN | 0.4352 | 61.727 |
| St. Lucia | LCA | 0.4245 | 61.557 |
| South Africa | ZAF | 0.4017 | 61.198 |
| Romania | ROU | 0.3877 | 60.977 |
| Panama | PAN | 0.3859 | 60.949 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | ATG | 0.3821 | 60.889 |
| Italy | ITA | 0.3783 | 60.830 |
| Dominica | DMA | 0.3780 | 60.824 |
| Türkiye | TUR | 0.3689 | 60.681 |
| Barbados | BRB | 0.3642 | 60.607 |
| Bahamas, The | BHS | 0.3568 | 60.490 |
| Bulgaria | BGR | 0.3083 | 59.725 |
| North Macedonia | MKD | 0.2802 | 59.282 |
| Peru | PER | 0.2604 | 58.969 |
| Colombia | COL | 0.2563 | 58.905 |
| Montenegro | MNE | 0.2298 | 58.487 |
| Mexico | MEX | 0.2083 | 58.149 |
| Saudi Arabia | SAU | 0.1947 | 57.933 |
| El Salvador | SLV | 0.1904 | 57.866 |
| Namibia | NAM | 0.1780 | 57.671 |
| Thailand | THA | 0.1597 | 57.382 |
| Greece | GRC | 0.1537 | 57.287 |
| American Samoa | ASM | 0.1453 | 57.154 |
| Guam | GUM | 0.1453 | 57.154 |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | KNA | 0.1453 | 57.154 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | TTO | 0.1343 | 56.981 |
| Armenia | ARM | 0.1234 | 56.809 |
| Rwanda | RWA | 0.1193 | 56.744 |
| Croatia | HRV | 0.1191 | 56.741 |
| Jordan | JOR | 0.1046 | 56.512 |
| Grenada | GRD | 0.0621 | 55.841 |
| Philippines | PHL | 0.0596 | 55.804 |
| Albania | ALB | 0.0565 | 55.754 |
| Jamaica | JAM | 0.0551 | 55.732 |
| Morocco | MAR | 0.0501 | 55.653 |
| Indonesia | IDN | 0.0028 | 54.907 |
| Serbia | SRB | 0.0018 | 54.891 |
| Sri Lanka | LKA | -0.0063 | 54.763 |
| Samoa | WSM | -0.0360 | 54.294 |
| Brazil | BRA | -0.0365 | 54.287 |
| Kuwait | KWT | -0.0651 | 53.837 |
| Seychelles | SYC | -0.0885 | 53.467 |
| Moldova | MDA | -0.1363 | 52.713 |
| Ghana | GHA | -0.1383 | 52.682 |
| West Bank and Gaza | PSE | -0.1442 | 52.589 |
| Kazakhstan | KAZ | -0.1482 | 52.525 |
| Dominican Republic | DOM | -0.1491 | 52.512 |
| China | CHN | -0.1691 | 52.195 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BIH | -0.1859 | 51.930 |
| Cabo Verde | CPV | -0.1957 | 51.777 |
| Kosovo | XKX | -0.2134 | 51.498 |
| Fiji | FJI | -0.2462 | 50.981 |
| Papua New Guinea | PNG | -0.2588 | 50.781 |
| Vanuatu | VUT | -0.2619 | 50.733 |
| Maldives | MDV | -0.2630 | 50.715 |
| Senegal | SEN | -0.2658 | 50.671 |
| Azerbaijan | AZE | -0.2770 | 50.494 |
| Tonga | TON | -0.2875 | 50.329 |
| Paraguay | PRY | -0.2948 | 50.214 |
| Mongolia | MNG | -0.3096 | 49.980 |
| Kenya | KEN | -0.3260 | 49.721 |
| Burkina Faso | BFA | -0.3527 | 49.300 |
| Tunisia | TUN | -0.3534 | 49.289 |
| Eswatini | SWZ | -0.3806 | 48.860 |
| India | IND | -0.3809 | 48.855 |
| Nicaragua | NIC | -0.4022 | 48.519 |
| Uganda | UGA | -0.4078 | 48.430 |
| Tanzania | TZA | -0.4227 | 48.195 |
| Lebanon | LBN | -0.4418 | 47.895 |
| Zambia | ZMB | -0.4419 | 47.894 |
| Lesotho | LSO | -0.4431 | 47.874 |
| Russian Federation | RUS | -0.4502 | 47.763 |
| Guatemala | GTM | -0.4728 | 47.406 |
| Vietnam | VNM | -0.4871 | 47.181 |
| Palau | PLW | -0.5186 | 46.683 |
| Kyrgyz Republic | KGZ | -0.5415 | 46.323 |
| Côte d’Ivoire | CIV | -0.5487 | 46.209 |
| Belize | BLZ | -0.5535 | 46.133 |
| Benin | BEN | -0.5574 | 46.072 |
| Guyana | GUY | -0.5788 | 45.734 |
| Mozambique | MOZ | -0.5801 | 45.714 |
| Honduras | HND | -0.5844 | 45.646 |
| Cambodia | KHM | -0.6122 | 45.208 |
| Gambia, The | GMB | -0.6173 | 45.127 |
| Ukraine | UKR | -0.6229 | 45.038 |
| Mali | MLI | -0.6482 | 44.640 |
| Suriname | SUR | -0.6486 | 44.634 |
| Kiribati | KIR | -0.6670 | 44.343 |
| Gabon | GAB | -0.6875 | 44.020 |
| Tuvalu | TUV | -0.7135 | 43.609 |
| Nepal | NPL | -0.7168 | 43.558 |
| Djibouti | DJI | -0.7205 | 43.500 |
| Malawi | MWI | -0.7226 | 43.466 |
| Bhutan | BTN | -0.7275 | 43.388 |
| Egypt, Arab Rep. | EGY | -0.7425 | 43.152 |
| Lao PDR | LAO | -0.7457 | 43.102 |
| Niger | NER | -0.7469 | 43.083 |
| Pakistan | PAK | -0.7485 | 43.058 |
| Ecuador | ECU | -0.7604 | 42.870 |
| Nigeria | NGA | -0.7940 | 42.340 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | STP | -0.7965 | 42.302 |
| Micronesia, Fed. Sts. | FSM | -0.8080 | 42.120 |
| Cameroon | CMR | -0.8084 | 42.114 |
| Liberia | LBR | -0.8265 | 41.827 |
| Togo | TGO | -0.8298 | 41.775 |
| Mauritania | MRT | -0.8328 | 41.729 |
| Bolivia | BOL | -0.8423 | 41.578 |
| Burundi | BDI | -0.8596 | 41.305 |
| Cook Islands | COK | -0.8847 | 40.909 |
| Niue | NIU | -0.8847 | 40.909 |
| Sierra Leone | SLE | -0.8894 | 40.836 |
| Madagascar | MDG | -0.8935 | 40.772 |
| Belarus | BLR | -0.8947 | 40.752 |
| Bangladesh | BGD | -0.8965 | 40.724 |
| Ethiopia | ETH | -0.9044 | 40.599 |
| Timor-Leste | TLS | -0.9126 | 40.470 |
| Nauru | NRU | -0.9325 | 40.156 |
| Tajikistan | TJK | -0.9411 | 40.020 |
| Yemen, Rep. | YEM | -0.9495 | 39.888 |
| Solomon Islands | SLB | -0.9867 | 39.302 |
| Argentina | ARG | -1.0127 | 38.890 |
| Angola | AGO | -1.0271 | 38.663 |
| Algeria | DZA | -1.0284 | 38.643 |
| Congo, Rep. | COG | -1.0410 | 38.445 |
| Iraq | IRQ | -1.0708 | 37.975 |
| Guinea | GIN | -1.0866 | 37.725 |
| Marshall Islands | MHL | -1.0894 | 37.681 |
| Cuba | CUB | -1.0974 | 37.555 |
| Chad | TCD | -1.1660 | 36.474 |
| Afghanistan | AFG | -1.1833 | 36.201 |
| Congo, Dem. Rep. | COD | -1.2193 | 35.633 |
| Comoros | COM | -1.2511 | 35.132 |
| Guinea-Bissau | GNB | -1.2728 | 34.788 |
| Iran, Islamic Rep. | IRN | -1.3019 | 34.329 |
| Haiti | HTI | -1.3148 | 34.127 |
| Myanmar | MMR | -1.3316 | 33.861 |
| Sudan | SDN | -1.4315 | 32.286 |
| Uzbekistan | UZB | -1.4668 | 31.729 |
| Central African Republic | CAF | -1.5184 | 30.915 |
| Equatorial Guinea | GNQ | -1.5391 | 30.589 |
| Syrian Arab Republic | SYR | -1.6369 | 29.046 |
| South Sudan | SSD | -1.6688 | 28.544 |
| Venezuela, RB | VEN | -1.7058 | 27.961 |
| Zimbabwe | ZWE | -1.7076 | 27.931 |
| Turkmenistan | TKM | -1.7373 | 27.463 |
| Eritrea | ERI | -1.9054 | 24.813 |
| Libya | LBY | -1.9461 | 24.170 |
| Korea, Dem. People's Rep. | PRK | -2.0615 | 22.349 |
| Somalia, Federal Republic of | SOM | -2.0809 | 22.043 |