Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in United States

United States: Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was 1.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
1.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Change on year
down 24.1%
World rank
31st
of 206 countries
All-time high
1.84 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2000
All-time low
1.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2025
Years of data
27
1996–2025

Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate in United States, 1996–2025

00.511.521996201020251996: 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.51998: 1.6 approx. -2.5 to +2.52000: 1.8 approx. -2.5 to +2.52002: 1.7 approx. -2.5 to +2.52003: 1.7 approx. -2.5 to +2.52004: 1.6 approx. -2.5 to +2.52005: 1.7 approx. -2.5 to +2.52006: 1.6 approx. -2.5 to +2.52007: 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.52008: 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.52009: 1.3 approx. -2.5 to +2.52010: 1.4 approx. -2.5 to +2.52011: 1.4 approx. -2.5 to +2.52012: 1.4 approx. -2.5 to +2.52013: 1.4 approx. -2.5 to +2.52014: 1.3 approx. -2.5 to +2.52015: 1.3 approx. -2.5 to +2.52016: 1.4 approx. -2.5 to +2.52017: 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.52018: 1.4 approx. -2.5 to +2.52019: 1.3 approx. -2.5 to +2.52020: 1.3 approx. -2.5 to +2.52021: 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.52022: 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.52023: 1.4 approx. -2.5 to +2.52024: 1.3 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

The most recent figure for regulatory quality - governance estimate in United States is 1.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.

That represents a change of down 24.1% on the previous year and down 21.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, regulatory quality - governance estimate in United States peaked at 1.84 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 2025.

That places United States 31st out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

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

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

Annual values for Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in United States, 1996 to 2025.
Year approx. -2.5 to +2.5 Change
1996 1.45 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 —
1998 1.61 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +10.6%
2000 1.84 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +14.5%
2002 1.72 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -6.6%
2003 1.67 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -2.9%
2004 1.64 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -1.6%
2005 1.71 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +4.5%
2006 1.63 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -4.8%
2007 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -8.3%
2008 1.5 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +0.2%
2009 1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -12.2%
2010 1.35 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +2.8%
2011 1.39 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +2.7%
2012 1.42 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +2.5%
2013 1.38 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -3.1%
2014 1.27 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -7.6%
2015 1.28 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +0.4%
2016 1.38 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +8.2%
2017 1.48 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +7.1%
2018 1.44 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -2.6%
2019 1.34 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -7.1%
2020 1.26 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -6.0%
2021 1.47 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +16.4%
2022 1.46 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.3%
2023 1.42 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -3.1%
2024 1.33 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -6.4%
2025 1.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -24.1%

United States compared with similar countries

  • United States's 1.01 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)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.53 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.45 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.61 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2
2000s 1.61 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.84 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 9
2010s 1.37 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.27 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.48 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 10
2020s 1.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 1.47 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 6

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 28 Austria 1.07 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  2. 29 Iceland 1.07 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  3. 30 Latvia 1.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  4. 32 South Korea 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  5. 33 Bahrain 1 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  6. 34 Qatar 0.9978 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare

See the full ranking of 206 places →

More reference data data for United States

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is regulatory quality - governance estimate in United States?
Regulatory quality - governance estimate in United States was 1.01 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 United States?
The highest recorded value was 1.84 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2000.
What is the lowest regulatory quality - governance estimate recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 1.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025.
How does United States rank for regulatory quality - governance estimate?
United States ranks 31st out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
Is regulatory quality - governance estimate rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is down 21.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United States 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 United States. 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/united-states/

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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.