Worldwide Governance Indicators
Also called: WGI · Topic: Transparency, Accountability and e-Governance · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) are a set of governance ratings for countries. The World Bank has published them since 1996. They rate countries on six dimensions:
- voice and accountability;
- political stability;
- government effectiveness;
- regulatory quality;
- rule of law;
- control of corruption.
They are based on perceptions, meaning what surveyed people and experts think, not on hard counts. Critics point to perception bias and data gaps.
Example
India's place on "voice and accountability" in the WGI is often quoted in debates on media freedom and civil society. Its "government effectiveness" score is quoted when the quality of public services is discussed.
Don't confuse with
- Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI): this comes from Transparency International and measures only perceived corruption, on a 0-100 scale.
- Good Governance Index (GGI): this comes from DARPG and ranks Indian states, not countries.