Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in South Korea

South Korea: Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was 0.8756 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.8756 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Change on year
up 15.9%
World rank
50th
of 208 countries
All-time high
0.9424 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2021
All-time low
0.3176 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 1996
Years of data
27
1996–2025

Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate in South Korea, 1996–2025

0.40.60.811996201020251996: 0.318 approx. -2.5 to +2.51998: 0.395 approx. -2.5 to +2.52000: 0.399 approx. -2.5 to +2.52002: 0.835 approx. -2.5 to +2.52003: 0.847 approx. -2.5 to +2.52004: 0.774 approx. -2.5 to +2.52005: 0.843 approx. -2.5 to +2.52006: 0.9 approx. -2.5 to +2.52007: 0.908 approx. -2.5 to +2.52008: 0.836 approx. -2.5 to +2.52009: 0.935 approx. -2.5 to +2.52010: 0.911 approx. -2.5 to +2.52011: 0.876 approx. -2.5 to +2.52012: 0.878 approx. -2.5 to +2.52013: 0.815 approx. -2.5 to +2.52014: 0.791 approx. -2.5 to +2.52015: 0.716 approx. -2.5 to +2.52016: 0.664 approx. -2.5 to +2.52017: 0.852 approx. -2.5 to +2.52018: 0.906 approx. -2.5 to +2.52019: 0.873 approx. -2.5 to +2.52020: 0.895 approx. -2.5 to +2.52021: 0.942 approx. -2.5 to +2.52022: 0.913 approx. -2.5 to +2.52023: 0.861 approx. -2.5 to +2.52024: 0.756 approx. -2.5 to +2.52025: 0.876 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 2025, voice and accountability - governance estimate in South Korea stood at 0.8756 approx. -2.5 to +2.5.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 15.9% on the previous year and up 22.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, voice and accountability - governance estimate in South Korea peaked at 0.9424 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.3176 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 1996.

South Korea ranks 50th of 208 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in South Korea, year by year

Annual values for Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in South Korea, 1996 to 2025.
Year approx. -2.5 to +2.5 Change
1996 0.3176 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 —
1998 0.3955 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +24.5%
2000 0.3985 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +0.8%
2002 0.8349 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +109.5%
2003 0.8473 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +1.5%
2004 0.7741 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -8.6%
2005 0.8427 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +8.9%
2006 0.8998 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +6.8%
2007 0.9077 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +0.9%
2008 0.8359 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -7.9%
2009 0.9351 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +11.9%
2010 0.9111 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -2.6%
2011 0.8763 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -3.8%
2012 0.8784 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +0.2%
2013 0.8152 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -7.2%
2014 0.7905 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -3.0%
2015 0.7163 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -9.4%
2016 0.6642 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -7.3%
2017 0.8523 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +28.3%
2018 0.9061 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +6.3%
2019 0.8735 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -3.6%
2020 0.8955 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +2.5%
2021 0.9424 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +5.2%
2022 0.9128 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -3.1%
2023 0.8605 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -5.7%
2024 0.7557 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -12.2%
2025 0.8756 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +15.9%

South Korea compared with similar countries

  • South Korea's 0.8756 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 86% of the median. (76 countries reporting)
  • South Korea's 0.8756 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.334 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 2.6× the median. (36 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Voice and Accountability - 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
2002 +109.5% 0.3985 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.8349 approx. -2.5 to +2.5

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.3566 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.3176 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.3955 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2
2000s 0.8084 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.3985 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.9351 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 9
2010s 0.8284 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.6642 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.9111 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 10
2020s 0.8738 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.7557 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.9424 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 6

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 47 Cyprus 0.8997 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  2. 48 Cape Verde 0.8806 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  3. 49 French Polynesia 0.8772 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  4. 51 Greece 0.8623 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  5. 52 Slovakia 0.848 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  6. 53 Poland 0.8187 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare

See the full ranking of 208 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is voice and accountability - governance estimate in South Korea?
Voice and accountability - governance estimate in South Korea was 0.8756 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 voice and accountability - governance estimate recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 0.9424 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2021.
What is the lowest voice and accountability - governance estimate recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 0.3176 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 1996.
How does South Korea rank for voice and accountability - governance estimate?
South Korea ranks 50th out of 208 countries with data for 2025.
Is voice and accountability - governance estimate rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 22.2%. 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 Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Voice and Accountability - 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/voice-and-accountability-governance-estimate-approx-2-5-to-2-5/korea-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Voice and Accountability - 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
208 places, 5,514 data points, 1996–2025
Last refreshed

Voice and Accountability (VA) captures perceptions of the extent to which citizens can participate in selecting their government including electoral integrity, and of accountability mechanisms for citizens—reflected in the ability to access information, governmental oversight bodies, and a robust traditional/digital media landscape. 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.