Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate in South Korea

South Korea: Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate was 1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
20th
of 205 countries
All-time high
1.63 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2019
All-time low
0.3168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 1998
Years of data
26
1996–2024

Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate in South Korea, 1996–2024

0.511.51996201020241996: 0.696 approx. -2.5 to +2.51998: 0.317 approx. -2.5 to +2.52000: 0.659 approx. -2.5 to +2.52002: 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.52003: 0.961 approx. -2.5 to +2.52004: 0.864 approx. -2.5 to +2.52005: 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.52006: 0.928 approx. -2.5 to +2.52007: 1.1 approx. -2.5 to +2.52008: 0.939 approx. -2.5 to +2.52009: 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.52010: 1.3 approx. -2.5 to +2.52011: 1.3 approx. -2.5 to +2.52012: 1.3 approx. -2.5 to +2.52013: 1.2 approx. -2.5 to +2.52014: 1.2 approx. -2.5 to +2.52015: 1.2 approx. -2.5 to +2.52016: 1.2 approx. -2.5 to +2.52017: 1.2 approx. -2.5 to +2.52018: 1.4 approx. -2.5 to +2.52019: 1.6 approx. -2.5 to +2.52020: 1.6 approx. -2.5 to +2.52021: 1.6 approx. -2.5 to +2.52022: 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.52023: 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.52024: 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.5

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 2024, government effectiveness - governance estimate in South Korea stood at 1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5.

That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and up 25.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government effectiveness - governance estimate in South Korea peaked at 1.63 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.3168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 1998.

South Korea ranks 20th of 205 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.

Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate in South Korea, year by year

Annual values for Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in South Korea, 1996 to 2024.
Year approx. -2.5 to +2.5 Change
1996 0.6958 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 —
1998 0.3168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -54.5%
2000 0.6589 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +108.0%
2002 1.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +54.7%
2003 0.9613 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -5.7%
2004 0.8639 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -10.1%
2005 1.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +18.2%
2006 0.9281 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -9.1%
2007 1.15 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +23.5%
2008 0.9389 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -18.1%
2009 1.03 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +9.2%
2010 1.27 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +24.1%
2011 1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +4.0%
2012 1.33 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +0.8%
2013 1.22 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -8.2%
2014 1.19 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -3.1%
2015 1.2 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +1.0%
2016 1.19 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -1.0%
2017 1.18 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.3%
2018 1.39 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +17.2%
2019 1.63 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +17.4%
2020 1.59 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -2.2%
2021 1.63 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +2.2%
2022 1.48 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -8.7%
2023 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +0.7%
2024 1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.6%

South Korea compared with similar countries

  • South Korea's 1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.09 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 1.4× the median. (73 countries reporting)
  • South Korea's 1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0773 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 19.2× the median. (34 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate 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.

YearChange FromTo
2000 +108.0% 0.3168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.6589 approx. -2.5 to +2.5

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.5063 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.3168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.6958 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2
2000s 0.9514 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.6589 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.15 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 9
2010s 1.29 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.18 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.63 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 10
2020s 1.54 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.48 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.63 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 5

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 17 Ireland 1.61 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  2. 18 Germany 1.55 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  3. 19 Austria 1.51 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  4. 21 Bermuda 1.48 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  5. 22 United States 1.36 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  6. 23 Greenland 1.35 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare

See the full ranking of 205 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is government effectiveness - governance estimate in South Korea?
Government effectiveness - governance estimate in South Korea was 1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2024, 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 1.63 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2019.
What is the lowest government effectiveness - governance estimate recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 0.3168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 1998.
How does South Korea rank for government effectiveness - governance estimate?
South Korea ranks 20th out of 205 countries with data for 2024.
Is government effectiveness - governance estimate rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 25.3%. 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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Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate in South Korea. Statizoid, drawing on The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG). Retrieved 25 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-effectiveness-governance-estimate-approx-2-5-to-2-5/korea-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5)
Unit
approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Source
The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
205 places, 5,161 data points, 1996–2024
Last refreshed

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.