Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in North Korea
North Korea: Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was -1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate in North Korea, 1996–2025
Source: The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG). Measured in approx. -2.5 to +2.5.
Analysis
The most recent figure for government effectiveness - governance estimate in North Korea is -1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 11.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government effectiveness - governance estimate in North Korea peaked at -1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025 and was at its lowest, -2.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 2003.
That places North Korea 191st out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in North Korea, year by year
| Year | approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | -2.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | — |
| 1998 | -2.43 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +20.5% |
| 2000 | -2.43 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | -2.48 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +2.2% |
| 2003 | -2.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.1% |
| 2004 | -1.94 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -21.9% |
| 2005 | -1.95 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.5% |
| 2006 | -1.95 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | -1.95 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.0% |
| 2008 | -1.69 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -13.4% |
| 2009 | -1.73 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +2.4% |
| 2010 | -1.39 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -19.7% |
| 2011 | -1.4 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.5% |
| 2012 | -1.79 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +28.1% |
| 2013 | -1.79 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | -1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -16.7% |
| 2015 | -1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | -1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.0% |
| 2017 | -1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | -1.51 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +1.4% |
| 2019 | -1.37 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -9.3% |
| 2020 | -1.37 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.2% |
| 2021 | -1.51 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +10.1% |
| 2022 | -1.38 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -8.8% |
| 2023 | -1.33 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -3.8% |
| 2024 | -1.33 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.0% |
| 2025 | -1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.2% |
North Korea compared with similar countries
- North Korea's -1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is below the median for low income countries, which is -1.25 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- North Korea's -1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1855 approx. -2.5 to +2.5. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in North Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | -28.1% | -1.4 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -1.79 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -2.22 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -2.43 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -2.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 2 |
| 2000s | -2.07 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -2.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -1.69 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 9 |
| 2010s | -1.52 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -1.79 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -1.37 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.37 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -1.51 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 6 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More reference data data for North Korea
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure left on 1,003 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric 2,573 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.32 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 2,294 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied 316.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure Management 330.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 6,873 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Manure Management 325.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Manure Management 11.62 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government effectiveness - governance estimate in North Korea?
- Government effectiveness - governance estimate in North Korea was -1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025, according to The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG).
- What is the highest government effectiveness - governance estimate recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was -1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025.
- What is the lowest government effectiveness - governance estimate recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was -2.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2003.
- How does North Korea rank for government effectiveness - governance estimate?
- North Korea ranks 191st out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is government effectiveness - governance estimate rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG), published as part of Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Government Effectiveness (GE) captures perceptions of the quality of public services, the civil service, policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of a government’s decisions. Governance estimate from the aggregation model, in units of a standard normal distribution, i.e. ranging from approximately -2.5 to 2.5. Larger values correspond to better governance. The (country-series-time) metadata include the (a) number of sources, and (b) standard error. The number of sources indicates the number of underlying data sources on which the governance estimate is based. The standard error indicates the precision of the governance estimate. Larger values indicate less precise estimates. A 90% confidence interval for the governance estimate is given by the estimate +/- 1.64 times the standard error.