Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in South Korea

South Korea: Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
1 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Change on year
up 4.4%
World rank
32nd
of 206 countries
All-time high
1.05 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2022
All-time low
0.2176 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 1998
Years of data
27
1996–2025

Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate in South Korea, 1996–2025

0.20.40.60.811996201020251996: 0.343 approx. -2.5 to +2.51998: 0.218 approx. -2.5 to +2.52000: 0.479 approx. -2.5 to +2.52002: 0.677 approx. -2.5 to +2.52003: 0.593 approx. -2.5 to +2.52004: 0.787 approx. -2.5 to +2.52005: 0.853 approx. -2.5 to +2.52006: 0.791 approx. -2.5 to +2.52007: 0.954 approx. -2.5 to +2.52008: 0.713 approx. -2.5 to +2.52009: 0.77 approx. -2.5 to +2.52010: 0.83 approx. -2.5 to +2.52011: 0.932 approx. -2.5 to +2.52012: 0.929 approx. -2.5 to +2.52013: 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.52014: 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.52015: 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.52016: 0.974 approx. -2.5 to +2.52017: 0.963 approx. -2.5 to +2.52018: 0.969 approx. -2.5 to +2.52019: 0.942 approx. -2.5 to +2.52020: 0.941 approx. -2.5 to +2.52021: 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.52022: 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.52023: 0.953 approx. -2.5 to +2.52024: 0.961 approx. -2.5 to +2.52025: 1 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

South Korea recorded 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 for regulatory quality - governance estimate in 2025.

The figure is up 4.4% on the previous year and down 0.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, regulatory quality - governance estimate in South Korea peaked at 1.05 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.2176 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 1998.

South Korea ranks 32nd of 206 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.

Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in South Korea, year by year

Annual values for Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in South Korea, 1996 to 2025.
Year approx. -2.5 to +2.5 Change
1996 0.3433 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 —
1998 0.2176 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -36.6%
2000 0.4791 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +120.2%
2002 0.6771 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +41.3%
2003 0.5932 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -12.4%
2004 0.787 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +32.7%
2005 0.8531 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +8.4%
2006 0.7906 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -7.3%
2007 0.9536 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +20.6%
2008 0.7126 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -25.3%
2009 0.7699 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +8.1%
2010 0.8301 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +7.8%
2011 0.932 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +12.3%
2012 0.9288 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.3%
2013 1.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +8.3%
2014 1.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.0%
2015 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.2%
2016 0.9738 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -3.0%
2017 0.963 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -1.1%
2018 0.9691 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +0.6%
2019 0.9423 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -2.8%
2020 0.9406 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.2%
2021 1.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +8.5%
2022 1.05 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +2.9%
2023 0.9529 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -9.2%
2024 0.9606 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +0.8%
2025 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +4.4%

South Korea compared with similar countries

  • South Korea's 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.9078 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 1.1× the median. (74 countries reporting)
  • South Korea's 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is -0.0624 approx. -2.5 to +2.5. (34 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Regulatory Quality - 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.

YearChange FromTo
2000 +120.2% 0.2176 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.4791 approx. -2.5 to +2.5

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.2804 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.2176 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.3433 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2
2000s 0.7351 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.4791 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.9536 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 9
2010s 0.9554 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.8301 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 10
2020s 0.9879 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.9406 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.05 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 6

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 29 Iceland 1.07 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  2. 30 Latvia 1.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  3. 31 United States 1.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  4. 33 Bahrain 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  5. 34 Qatar 0.9978 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  6. 35 France 0.9887 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare

See the full ranking of 206 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is regulatory quality - governance estimate in South Korea?
Regulatory quality - governance estimate in South Korea was 1 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 regulatory quality - governance estimate recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 1.05 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2022.
What is the lowest regulatory quality - governance estimate recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 0.2176 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 1998.
How does South Korea rank for regulatory quality - governance estimate?
South Korea ranks 32nd out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
Is regulatory quality - governance estimate rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.1%. 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 Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Regulatory Quality - 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 13 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/regulatory-quality-governance-estimate-approx-2-5-to-2-5/korea-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Regulatory Quality - 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
206 places, 5,391 data points, 1996–2025
Last refreshed

Regulatory Quality (RQ) captures perceptions of the government’s ability to design and implement policies and regulations that promote private sector development. 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.