Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in South Korea
South Korea: Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate in South 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
In 2025, government effectiveness - governance estimate in South Korea stood at 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.5.
That represents a change of up 7.3% on the previous year and up 23.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government effectiveness - governance estimate in South Korea peaked at 1.59 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.3114 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 1998.
South Korea ranks 19th of 206 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
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 South Korea, year by year
| Year | approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 0.7431 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | — |
| 1998 | 0.3114 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -58.1% |
| 2000 | 0.6186 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +98.6% |
| 2002 | 1.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +64.6% |
| 2003 | 0.9734 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -4.4% |
| 2004 | 0.8917 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -8.4% |
| 2005 | 1.03 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +15.3% |
| 2006 | 0.9456 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -8.0% |
| 2007 | 1.13 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +19.8% |
| 2008 | 0.9669 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -14.7% |
| 2009 | 1.04 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +7.5% |
| 2010 | 1.27 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +22.2% |
| 2011 | 1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +3.5% |
| 2012 | 1.34 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +1.8% |
| 2013 | 1.23 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -8.3% |
| 2014 | 1.2 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 1.22 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 1.18 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -3.0% |
| 2017 | 1.2 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 1.37 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +14.9% |
| 2019 | 1.54 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +12.4% |
| 2020 | 1.54 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 1.59 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +3.4% |
| 2022 | 1.47 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -7.7% |
| 2023 | 1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +1.1% |
| 2024 | 1.4 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -5.7% |
| 2025 | 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +7.3% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.05 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 1.4× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1855 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 8.1× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in South 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +98.6% | 0.3114 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.6186 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.5272 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.3114 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.7431 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 2 |
| 2000s | 0.9573 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.6186 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 1.13 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 9 |
| 2010s | 1.29 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 1.18 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 1.54 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 1.4 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 1.59 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More reference data data for South Korea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9638 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.9281 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2074 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.13 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government effectiveness - governance estimate in South Korea?
- Government effectiveness - governance estimate in South Korea was 1.5 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 1.59 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2021.
- What is the lowest government effectiveness - governance estimate recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3114 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 1998.
- How does South Korea rank for government effectiveness - governance estimate?
- South Korea ranks 19th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is government effectiveness - governance estimate rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South 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.
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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.