Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Panama
Panama: Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was 0.2168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate in Panama, 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
Panama recorded 0.2168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 for government effectiveness - governance estimate in 2025.
That represents a change of down 13.5% on the previous year and down 41.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government effectiveness - governance estimate in Panama peaked at 0.5022 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2019 and was at its lowest, -0.4866 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 1996.
That places Panama 86th out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Panama, year by year
| Year | approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | -0.4866 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | — |
| 1998 | 0.0281 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -105.8% |
| 2000 | -0.1149 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -509.1% |
| 2002 | -0.2609 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +127.1% |
| 2003 | -0.2948 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +13.0% |
| 2004 | -0.1662 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -43.6% |
| 2005 | -0.1445 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -13.1% |
| 2006 | -0.0829 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -42.6% |
| 2007 | 0.0063 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -107.6% |
| 2008 | 0.198 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +3045.3% |
| 2009 | 0.2581 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +30.4% |
| 2010 | 0.2657 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 0.2494 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -6.1% |
| 2012 | 0.3352 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +34.4% |
| 2013 | 0.3194 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -4.7% |
| 2014 | 0.3356 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +5.1% |
| 2015 | 0.3715 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +10.7% |
| 2016 | 0.4406 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +18.6% |
| 2017 | 0.4129 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -6.3% |
| 2018 | 0.3565 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -13.7% |
| 2019 | 0.5022 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +40.9% |
| 2020 | 0.4063 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -19.1% |
| 2021 | 0.356 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -12.4% |
| 2022 | 0.1929 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -45.8% |
| 2023 | 0.1211 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -37.2% |
| 2024 | 0.2505 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +106.8% |
| 2025 | 0.2168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -13.5% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 0.2168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.05 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 21% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Panama's 0.2168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.043 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 5.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Panama 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | +3045.3% | 0.0063 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.198 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 |
| 2000 | -509.1% | 0.0281 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.1149 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.2293 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.4866 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.0281 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 2 |
| 2000s | -0.0669 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.2948 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.2581 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.3589 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.2494 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.5022 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2573 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.1211 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.4063 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Panama
- 83 Senegal 0.2506 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 84 Trinidad and Tobago 0.2342 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 85 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.2222 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 87 Moldova 0.2142 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 88 Samoa 0.2026 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 89 North Macedonia 0.1967 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
More reference data data for Panama
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1446 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.6179 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.9793 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0285 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.9793 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4849 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.2267 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.08 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1553 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government effectiveness - governance estimate in Panama?
- Government effectiveness - governance estimate in Panama was 0.2168 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 Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5022 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2019.
- What is the lowest government effectiveness - governance estimate recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.4866 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 1996.
- How does Panama rank for government effectiveness - governance estimate?
- Panama ranks 86th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is government effectiveness - governance estimate rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is down 41.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Panama 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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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.