Government transparency in United States
United States: Government transparency was 2.87 in 2010. ▲ Rising
Government transparency in United States, 1980–2010
Source: Hollyer et al. (2014) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2010, government transparency in United States stood at 2.87.
The figure is down 14.2% on the previous year and down 35.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government transparency in United States peaked at 4.77 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 1.53, in 1980.
United States ranks 22nd of 125 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.76 | 1.53 | 3.13 | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.73 | 3.2 | 4.28 | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.49 | 3.35 | 4.77 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.87 | 2.87 | 2.87 | 1 |
Countries ranked near United States
More reference data data for United States
- Spring temperature anomalies 2.51 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.5014 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.0594 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.8696 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.9189 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 143.86 2010 = 100 (2024)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government transparency in United States?
- Government transparency in United States was 2.87 in 2010, according to Hollyer et al. (2014) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government transparency recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 4.77 in 2005.
- What is the lowest government transparency recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.53 in 1980.
- How does United States rank for government transparency?
- United States ranks 22nd out of 125 countries with data for 2010.
- Is government transparency rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 35.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Hollyer et al. (2014) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Government transparency. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The scores capture the extent to which governments report economic data to the World Bank. Higher scores mean more data is reported.