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___ World Recources 2008 - Comparative Table of Institutions and Governance

World Resources 2008 includes a compilation of country-level data culled from a variety of sources.*

The tables presents some of the data required to build a basic picture of the state of the World in its human, economic, and environmental dimensions.

The sortable table shows values of core indicators to evaluate governments and levels of freedom within countries.
The Indices are: Freedom Indices of Civil Liberties and Political Rights; Regulatory Barriers, Government Expenditures for Public Health, Public Education and Military; and peoples Access to Information: Press Freedom, the Status of Freedom of Information Legislation and Digital Access; as well as the Corruption Perceptions Index.

Description of indices see below table.
 

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  Freedom Indices (1–7, 1=most free)
Regulatory Barriers to Registering Property, 2007
Government Expenditures
(as a percent of
gross domestic product)
Access to Information
Corruption Perceptions Index
  Civil Liberties Index Political Rights Index Average Number of Days to Register Average Cost to Register (percent of property value) Public Health 2004 Public Education {a} 2000-2005 Military 2005 Press Freedom Index (0–100, 0= most free) 2006 Status of Freedom of Information Legislation
2004
Digital Access Index (1–100, 100= most access) 2002 (0–10, 10= least corrupt)
2006
  Country 2006 2006 days % value % % % Index Status Index Index
  World .. .. .. .. 5.9 4.7 2.5 .. .. .. ..
  Asia (excl. Middle East) .. .. .. .. 4.3 .. 1.5 .. .. .. ..
ARM Armenia 4 5 4 0.4 1.4 3.2 2.7 64 Law Enacted 30 2.9
AZE Azerbaijan 5 6 61 0.2 0.9 2.5 2.1 73 Pending Effort 24 2.4
BGD Bangladesh 4 4 425 10.3 0.9 2.5 1.1 68 Pending Effort 18 2.0
BTN Bhutan 5 6 64 0 3.0 5.6 .. 65 .. 13 6.0
KHM Cambodia 5 6 56 4.4 1.7 1.9 1.8 61 .. 17 2.1
CHN China 6 7 29 3.6 1.8 .. 2.0 83 .. 43 3.3
GEO Georgia 3 3 5 0.1 1.5 2.9 3.1 57 Law Enacted 37 2.8
IND India 3 2 62 7.7 0.9 3.7 2.9 37 Law Enacted 32 3.3
IDN Indonesia 3 2 42 10.5 1.0 0.9 0.9 58 Pending Effort 34 2.4
JPN Japan 2 1 14 5 6.3 3.7 1.0 20 Law Enacted 75 7.6
KAZ Kazakhstan 5 6 52 0.9 2.3 2.3 1.1 75 .. 41 2.6
PRK Korea (North) 7 7 .. .. 3.0 .. .. 97 .. .. ..
KOR Korea (South) 2 1 11 6.3 2.9 4.6 2.6 30 Law Enacted 82 5.1
KGZ Kyrgyzstan 4 5 4 4.1 2.3 4.4 2.8 b 64 .. 32 2.2
LAO Lao PDR 6 7 135 4.2 0.8 2.3 .. 81 .. 15 2.6
MYS Malaysia 4 4 144 2.4 2.2 8.0 1.9 65 .. 57 5.0
MNG Mongolia 2 2 11 2.2 4.0 5.3 1.7 b 34 .. 35 2.8
MMR Myanmar 7 7 .. .. 0.3 1.3 .. 96 .. 17 1.9
NPL Nepal 4 5 5 6.4 1.5 3.4 2.0 77 Pending Effort 19 2.5
PAK Pakistan 5 6 50 5.3 0.4 2.3 3.4 61 Law Enacted 24 2.2
PHL Philippines 3 3 33 4.2 1.4 3.2 0.8 40 Pending Effort 43 2.5
SGP Singapore 4 5 9 2.8 1.3 3.7 4.7 66 .. 75 9.4
LKA Sri Lanka 4 4 83 5.1 2.0 .. 2.7 58 Pending Effort 38 3.1
TJK Tajikistan 5 6 37 1.9 1.0 3.5 2.2 b 76 Law Enacted 21 2.2
THA Thailand 4 7 2 6.3 2.3 4.2 1.1 50 Law Enacted 48 3.6
TKM Turkmenistan 7 7 .. .. 3.3 .. .. 96 .. 37 2.2
UZB Uzbekistan 7 7 78 1.4 2.4 .. .. 90 Law Enacted 31 2.1
VNM Viet Nam 5 7 67 1.2 1.5 .. .. 79 .. 31 2.6
  Europe .. .. .. .. 7.0 5.3 1.9 .. .. .. ..
ALB Albania 3 3 47 3.5 3.0 2.9 1.4 50 Law Enacted 39 2.6
AUT Austria 1 1 32 4.5 7.8 5.5 0.7 21 Law Enacted 75 8.6
BLR Belarus 6 7 231 0.1 4.6 6.0 1.2 88 .. 49 2.1
BEL Belgium 1 1 132 12.7 6.9 6.2 1.2 11 Law Enacted 74 7.3
BIH Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 3 331 5 4.1 .. 1.8 45 Law Enacted 46 2.9
BGR Bulgaria 2 1 19 2.3 4.6 4.2 2.4 34 Law Enacted 53 4.0
HRV Croatia 2 2 174 5 6.2 4.7 1.6 39 Law Enacted 59 3.4
CZE Czech Republic 1 1 123 3 6.5 4.5 1.8 20 Law Enacted 66 4.8
DNK Denmark 1 1 42 0.6 7.1 8.4 1.4 10 Law Enacted 83 9.5
EST Estonia 1 1 51 0.5 4.0 5.7 1.6 16 Law Enacted 67 6.7
FIN Finland 1 1 14 4 5.7 6.5 1.2 9 Law Enacted 79 9.6
FRA France 1 1 123 6.1 8.2 5.9 2.5 21 Law Enacted 72 7.4
DEU Germany 1 1 40 5.2 8.2 4.7 1.4 16 Pending Effort 74 8.0
GRC Greece 2 1 23 4 4.2 4.0 4.5 28 Law Enacted 66 4.4
HUN Hungary 1 1 63 11 5.7 5.9 1.3 21 Law Enacted 63 5.2
ISL Iceland 1 1 4 2.4 8.3 8.1 0.0 9 Law Enacted 82 9.6
IRL Ireland 1 1 38 10.2 5.7 4.5 0.6 15 Law Enacted 69 7.4
ITA Italy 1 1 27 0.6 6.5 4.9 1.8 35 Law Enacted 72 4.9
LVA Latvia 1 1 54 2 4.0 5.3 1.7 19 Law Enacted 54 4.7
LTU Lithuania 1 1 3 0.7 4.9 5.2 1.8 18 Law Enacted 56 4.8
MKD Macedonia, Rep. of 3 3 98 3.5 5.7 3.4 2.2 49 Pending Effort 48 2.7
MDA Moldova 4 3 48 0.9 4.2 4.3 0.3 65 Law Enacted 37 3.2
NLD Netherlands 1 1 5 6.2 5.7 5.3 1.6 11 Law Enacted 79 8.7
NOR Norway 1 1 3 2.5 8.1 7.7 1.6 10 Law Enacted 79 8.8
POL Poland 1 1 197 0.5 4.3 5.6 1.8 21 Law Enacted 59 3.7
PRT Portugal 1 1 42 7.4 7.0 5.9 2.1 14 Law Enacted 65 6.6
ROU Romania 2 2 150 2.8 3.4 3.6 2.1 44 Law Enacted 48 3.1
RUS Russia 5 6 52 0.3 3.7 3.7 3.7 72 Pending Effort 50 2.5
Serbia Serbia {g} 2 3 .. .. 7.3 3.3 2.7 40 Pending Effort 45 3.0
SVK Slovakia 1 1 17 0.1 5.3 4.4 1.8 20 Law Enacted 59 4.7
SVN Slovenia 1 1 391 2 6.6 6.0 1.7 20 Law Enacted 72 6.4
ESP Spain 1 1 18 7.1 5.7 4.3 1.0 21 Law Enacted 67 6.8
SWE Sweden 1 1 2 3 7.7 7.5 1.6 10 Law Enacted 85 9.2
CHE Switzerland 1 1 16 0.4 6.7 6.1 1.0 11 Pending Effort 76 9.1
UKR Ukraine 2 3 93 3.3 3.7 6.4 2.4 53 Law Enacted 43 2.8
GBR United Kingdom 1 1 21 4.1 7.0 5.5 2.6 19 Law Enacted 77 8.6
  Middle East & N. Africa .. .. .. .. 3.5 .. 4.8 .. .. .. ..
AFG Afghanistan 5 5 250 7 0.7 .. .. 69 .. .. ..
DZA Algeria 5 6 51 7.5 2.6 .. 2.8 61 .. 37 3.1
EGY Egypt 5 6 193 1 2.2 .. 2.8 61 .. 40 3.3
IRN Iran, Isl. Rep. 6 6 36 10.6 3.2 4.7 4.5 84 .. 43 2.7
IRQ Iraq 6 6 8 6.3 4.2 .. .. 71 .. .. 1.9
ISR Israel 2 1 144 7.5 6.1 7.3 7.9 28 Law Enacted 70 5.9
JOR Jordan 4 5 22 10 4.7 .. 7.7 61 .. 45 5.3
KWT Kuwait 4 4 55 0.5 2.2 5.1 5.7 56 .. 51 4.8
LBN Lebanon 4 5 25 5.9 3.2 2.6 3.8 b 60 .. 48 3.6
LBY Libya 7 7 .. .. 2.8 .. 1.9 b 96 .. 42 2.7
MAR Morocco 4 5 47 4.9 1.7 6.7 4.3 61 .. 33 3.2
OMN Oman 5 6 16 3 2.4 3.6 12.2 b 70 .. 43 5.4
SAU Saudi Arabia 6 7 4 0 2.5 6.8 8.2 79 .. 44 3.3
SYR Syria 6 7 34 28.1 2.2 .. 6.2 b 84 .. 28 2.9
TUN Tunisia 5 6 49 6.1 .. 8.1 1.5 83 .. 41 4.6
TUR Turkey 3 3 6 3.1 5.6 4.0 3.2 48 Law Enacted 48 3.8
ARE United Arab Emirates 5 6 6 2 2.0 1.3 1.9 65 .. 64 6.2
YEM Yemen 5 5 21 3.9 1.9 9.6 5.6 81 .. 18 2.6
  Sub-Saharan Africa .. .. .. .. 2.6 .. 1.6 b .. .. .. ..
AGO Angola 5 6 334 11.1 1.5 2.6 5.0 65 Pending Effort 11 2.2
BEN Benin 2 2 118 11.4 2.5 3.5 .. 30 .. 12 2.5
BWA Botswana 2 2 30 5 4.0 10.7 2.5 35 Pending Effort 43 5.6
BFA Burkina Faso 3 5 182 12.2 3.3 4.7 1.5 38 .. 8 3.2
BDI Burundi 5 4 94 11.5 0.8 5.1 6.5 b 74 .. 10 2.4
CMR Cameroon 6 6 93 17.8 1.5 1.8 1.3 65 .. 16 2.3
CAF Central African Rep 4 5 69 11.7 1.5 .. 1.1 61 .. 10 2.4
TCD Chad 6 6 44 21.2 1.5 2.1 0.9 73 .. 10 2.0
COG Congo, Rep 5 6 137 27.3 1.2 2.2 .. 51 .. 17 2.2
COD Congo, Dem. Rep 6 5 57 9.4 1.1 .. 2.1 81 .. 12 2.0
CIV Côte d'Ivoire 6 7 62 16.9 0.9 4.6 .. 65 .. 13 2.1
GNQ Equatorial Guinea 6 7 23 6.3 1.2 0.6 .. 88 .. 20 2.1
ERI Eritrea 6 7 101 5.3 1.8 5.4 .. 91 .. 13 2.9
ETH Ethiopia 5 5 43 7.5 2.7 5.0 3.1 75 Pending Effort 10 2.4
GAB Gabon 4 6 60 10.5 3.1 3.9 1.4 67 .. 34 3.0
GMB Gambia, The 4 5 371 7.6 1.8 2.0 0.3 73 .. 13 2.5
GHA Ghana 2 1 34 1.3 2.8 5.4 0.7 28 Pending Effort 16 3.3
GIN Guinea 5 6 104 15.3 0.7 2.0 .. 67 .. 10 1.9
GNB Guinea-Bissau 4 4 211 5.4 1.3 .. .. 47 .. 10 ..
KEN Kenya 3 3 64 4.2 1.8 6.7 1.5 58 Pending Effort 19 2.2
LSO Lesotho 3 2 101 8.2 5.5 13.4 2.4 42 Pending Effort 19 3.2
LBR Liberia 4 3 50 14.9 3.6 .. .. 64 .. .. ..
MDG Madagascar 3 4 134 11.6 1.8 3.2 .. 49 .. 15 3.1
MWI Malawi 3 4 88 3.3 9.6 5.8 .. 55 Pending Effort 15 2.7
MLI Mali 2 2 29 21.2 3.2 4.3 1.9 24 .. 9 2.8
MRT Mauritania 4 5 49 5.2 2.0 2.3 1.0 57 .. 14 3.1
MOZ Mozambique 4 3 42 8.1 2.7 3.7 1.4 43 Pending Effort 12 2.8
NAM Namibia 2 2 23 9.9 4.7 6.9 3.0 30 Pending Effort 39 4.1
NER Niger 3 3 32 9 2.2 2.3 1.1 b 56 .. 4 2.3
NGA Nigeria 4 4 82 22.2 1.4 .. 0.9 54 Pending Effort 15 2.2
RWA Rwanda 5 6 371 9.4 4.3 3.8 2.2 85 .. 15 2.5
SEN Senegal 3 2 114 19.5 2.4 5.4 1.5 44 .. 14 3.3
SLE Sierra Leone 3 4 235 14.9 1.9 3.8 1.1 59 .. 10 2.2
SOM Somalia 7 7 .. .. .. .. .. 83 .. .. ..
ZAF South Africa 2 2 24 8.8 3.5 5.4 1.4 27 Law Enacted 45 4.6
SDN Sudan 7 7 9 3.2 1.5 .. .. 85 .. 13 2.0
TZA Tanzania 3 4 119 5.3 1.7 .. 1.1 50 Pending Effort 15 2.9
TGO Togo 5 6 295 13.9 1.1 2.6 1.5 78 .. 18 2.4
UGA Uganda 4 5 227 4.6 2.5 5.2 2.5 b 52 Pending Effort 17 2.7
ZMB Zambia 4 3 70 9.6 3.4 2.0 .. 64 Pending Effort 17 2.6
ZWE Zimbabwe 6 7 30 25 3.5 4.6 3.4 b 90 Law Enacted 29 2.4
  North America .. .. .. .. 6.9 5.9 3.9 .. .. .. ..
CAN Canada 1 1 17 1.8 6.8 5.2 1.1 18 Law Enacted 78 8.5
USA United States 1 1 12 0.5 6.9 5.9 4.1 16 Law Enacted 78 7.3
  C. America & Caribbean .. .. .. .. 3.1 5.5 0.4 .. .. .. ..
BLZ Belize 2 1 60 4.7 2.7 5.4 .. 21 Law Enacted 47 3.5
CRI Costa Rica 1 1 21 3.3 5.1 4.9 .. 18 .. 52 4.1
CUB Cuba 7 7 .. .. 5.5 9.8 .. 96 .. 38 3.5
DOM Dominican Republic 2 2 60 5.1 1.9 1.8 0.6 37 Pending Effort 42 2.8
SLV El Salvador 3 2 31 3.6 3.5 2.8 0.6 43 Pending Effort 38 4.0
GTM Guatemala 4 3 30 1 2.3 .. 0.4 58 Pending Effort 38 2.6
HTI Haiti 5 4 405 6.5 2.9 .. .. 68 .. 15 1.8
HND Honduras 3 3 24 5.8 4.0 .. 0.6 52 Pending Effort 29 2.5
JAM Jamaica 3 2 54 13.5 2.8 4.5 0.7 17 Law Enacted 53 3.7
MEX Mexico 3 2 74 4.7 3.0 5.8 0.4 48 Law Enacted 50 3.3
NIC Nicaragua 3 3 124 3.5 3.9 3.1 0.7 44 Pending Effort 19 2.6
PAN Panama 2 1 44 2.4 5.2 3.8 .. 43 Law Enacted 47 3.1
TTO Trinidad and Tobago 2 2 162 7 1.4 4.2 .. 26 Law Enacted 53 3.2
  South America .. .. .. .. 4.2 4.1 1.7 .. .. .. ..
ARG Argentina 2 2 65 7.6 4.3 3.5 1.0 45 Pending Effort 53 2.9
BOL Bolivia 3 3 92 4.9 4.1 6.4 1.9 33 Pending Effort 38 2.7
BRA Brazil 2 2 45 2.8 4.8 4.1 1.6 39 Pending Effort 50 3.3
CHL Chile 1 1 31 1.3 2.9 3.7 3.8 26 Pending Effort 58 7.3
COL Colombia 3 3 23 2.5 6.7 4.8 3.7 61 Law Enacted 45 3.9
ECU Ecuador 3 3 17 3 2.2 .. 2.4 41 Law Enacted 41 2.3
GUY Guyana 3 2 34 4.5 4.4 8.5 .. 27 .. 43 2.5
PRY Paraguay 3 3 46 3.5 2.6 4.3 0.8 57 Pending Effort 39 2.6
PER Peru 3 2 33 3.3 1.9 2.4 1.2 39 Law Enacted 44 3.3
SUR Suriname 2 2 193 13.7 3.6 .. .. 23 .. 46 3.0
URY Uruguay 1 1 66 7.1 3.6 2.2 1.4 28 Pending Effort 54 6.4
VEN Venezuela 4 4 47 2.2 2.0 .. 1.1 72 .. 47 2.3
  Oceania .. .. .. .. 6.4 5.0 1.7 .. .. .. ..
AUS Australia 1 1 5 4.9 6.5 4.8 1.8 19 Law Enacted 74 8.7
FJI Fiji 4 6 48 12 2.9 6.4 1.2 b 28 Pending Effort 43 ..
NZL New Zealand 1 1 2 0.1 6.5 6.8 1.0 13 Law Enacted 72 9.6
PNG Papua New Guinea 3 3 72 5.1 3.0 .. 0.5 29 Pending Effort 26 2.4
SLB Solomon Islands 3 4 297 4.9 5.6 .. .. 30 .. 17 ..

Key to Indices:

Freedom Indices
Freedom Indices (Freedom House): range from1 to 7, 1 represents a completely
free nation, 7 represents the least free nation.

The Civil Liberties Index measures freedom of expression, assembly, association,
and religion. Countries with a rating of 1 generally have an established and
equitable rule of law with free economic activity. A rating of 2 indicates some
deficiencies, while a rating of 3, 4, or 5 indicates varying degrees of censorship,
political terror, and prevention of free association. Countries with a rating of
6 experience severely restricted freedom of expression and association coupled
with political terror (for example, political prisoners). A rating of 7 indicates virtually
no freedom.

The Political Rights Index measures the degree of freedom in the electoral
process, political pluralism and participation, and functioning of government.
A rating of 1 indicates free and fair elections, political competition, and autonomy for
all citizens, including minority groups. A rating of 2 indicates some corruption,
violence, political discrimination, and military influence. These same factors play a
progressively larger role in countries with a ranking of 3, 4, or 5. Countries and
territories with political rights rated 6 are ruled by military juntas, one-party dictatorships,
religious hierarchies, or autocrats. A rating of 7 indicates nonexistent
political rights due to extremely oppressive regimes, civil war, extreme violence, or
warlord rule.

Regulatory Barriers
Regulatory Barriers to Registering Property, published by the World Bank’s
Doing Business database, are compiled via survey in conjunction with academic
advisers, using a simple business case to ensure comparability across countries
and over time.

Average Number of Days to Register measures the time, in calendar days,
necessary for a business to complete the legal and bureaucratic procedures
required for registering property.

Average Cost to Register measures the cost to a business, expressed as a
percent of the property value, needed to complete the legal and bureaucratic procedures
required for registering property. Cost includes fees, transfer taxes, stamp
duties, and any other payment to the property registry, notaries, public agencies, or
lawyers.

Government Expenditures
as a percent of gross domestic product roughly
indicate the economic importance of public health, public education, and military
activities in national economies.

Public Health Expenditure consists of recurrent and capital spending from
government (both central and local) budgets, external borrowings and grants
(including donations from international agencies and NGOs), and social (or
compulsory) health insurance funds.

Public Education Expenditure consists of public spending on public education
plus subsidies to private education at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary
levels.

Military Expenditure is defined by the Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute (SIPRI) as “all current and capital expenditure on: (a) the armed forces,
including peacekeeping forces; (b) defense ministries and other government
agencies engaged in defense projects; (c) paramilitary forces, when judged to be
trained an equipped for military operations; and (d) military space activities.”

Press Freedom
Press Freedom is the degree to which each country permits the free flow of information.

The Press Freedom Index is ranked on a scale of 1 to 100. Countries with a score
between 1 and 30 are considered to have a “Free” media; 31 to 60, “Partly Free”;
and 61 to 100, “Not Free.”
This survey does not measure press responsibility; rather, it measures the degree of
freedom in the flow of information.

Status of Freedom of Information (FOI) Legislation measures a government’s
guarantee of public access to information by placing each country in one of three
categories: In Effect: 57 countries legally guarantee public access to government
records through comprehensive FOI laws; Pending: 39 additional countries are
considering adopting freedom of information acts; None: countries not listed have
no pending FOI legislation (represented by “..” in the data table, which could
indicate that no data are available for this country). Access to information about
government activities increases transparency and allows citizens to more effectively
combat corruption.

The Digital Access Index is a composite score, developed by the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU), which reflects the ability of each country’s
population to take advantage of internet communication technologies. It ranges
from 1 to 100, where 100 equals the most access.

Corruption Perceptions
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) measures the degree to which corruption
is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. Ratings range in
value from 10 (least corrupt) to 0 (most corrupt). The survey measures public sector
corruption or the abuse of public office for private gain.


NOTES:
a. May include subsidies for private or religious schools. Data are for the most recent year available between 2000 and 2005. b. 2004 value. c. Data for Serbia include the country of Montenegro.

*Sources: Data compilation by World Resources Institute (WRI) based on data from Freedom House, United Nations Human Settlements Programme, World Bank, Privacy International, International Telecommunications Union, and Transparency International.

 
Additional Information

Related Categories:
Country Economies Classification
Purchasing power of countries by Gross National Income (GNI)
per capita and PPP (Purchasing power parity)
Least Developed Countries
List of Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
Landlocked Developing Countries
List of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs).
Human Development Index
Countries categorized by standards of the UN Human Development Index.
Rich and poor countries
Categories of development of countries in the world today.
First, Second and Third World
A list of states of the first, second and the third world, with an explanation of the terms.

Compare this page with:
National Economic Accounts for Countries and Regions
A list of countries and regions in comparison of their gross national income based on World Economic Outlook Database of IMF International Monetary Fund.

 
 
 
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