World Bank ranks countries on governance (10/22/06)

World Bank ranks countries on governance

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - The World Bank recently released a report titled: "Governance Matters V: Aggregate and Individual Governance Indicators for 1996-2005" that profiled 213 countries and territories from 1996 to 2005.

Ranking criteria were based on six dimensions of governance:

voice and accountability - the freedom of a country's citizens to choose a government, freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of the press;
political stability and absence of violence - perceptions of the likelihood of government destabilization from unconstitutional or violent means;
government effectiveness - the quality of public and civil services, its level of independence from political pressures, the quality of policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of the government's commitment to those policies;
regulatory quality - the government's ability to formulate and implement policies that promote development in the private sector;
rule of law - the extent that agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society, the quality of enforcement, the police, the judiciary, and the likelihood of crime and violence; and
control of corruption - the level of public power used for private gain, both in petty and grand forms, as well as "capture" of the state by elites and private interests.

In comparison with other former Soviet republics 1996, Ukraine was significantly ahead of others in all areas, including Russia, which ranked 151st overall out of 208 countries, as reported by The Moscow Times. Based on an average of the rankings in each category, Ukraine ranked approximately 129th out of the 208 countries.

The report further showed Ukraine was ranked higher than Russia in all areas of governance. In particular, Ukraine was significantly better in the areas of political stability, rule of law, and voice and accountability.

According to a comparative graph by year (in which countries' ratings were given as percentiles reflecting their performance) major areas of improvement have been in the areas of government effectiveness from the 18th percentile to the 40th, as Ukraine ranked with the Niue Island [in free association with New Zealand] and Sri Lanka; and in regulatory quality from the 24th percentile to the 47th, where Ukraine was listed with Guatemala and Gabon. In areas of the rule of law, Ukraine improved from 21st percentile to 34th and compared with Zambia and Moldova. Control of corruption improved from a low at the 10th percentile to a high of 34th, comparable to Yemen and Nicaragua.

The report further detailed that Ukraine hit its peak of political stability in 2002 at the 41st percentile and has continued to decline to the 32nd, and is currently compared to Morocco and Guyana.

The World Bank's report was released on September 15.

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