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

South Africa: Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was 0.6809 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)
0.6809 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Change on year
up 2.0%
World rank
59th
of 208 countries
All-time high
0.7398 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2006
All-time low
0.5701 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2019
Years of data
27
1996–2025

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

00.20.40.60.81996201020251996: 0.654 approx. -2.5 to +2.51998: 0.602 approx. -2.5 to +2.52000: 0.638 approx. -2.5 to +2.52002: 0.573 approx. -2.5 to +2.52003: 0.643 approx. -2.5 to +2.52004: 0.693 approx. -2.5 to +2.52005: 0.702 approx. -2.5 to +2.52006: 0.74 approx. -2.5 to +2.52007: 0.687 approx. -2.5 to +2.52008: 0.644 approx. -2.5 to +2.52009: 0.662 approx. -2.5 to +2.52010: 0.674 approx. -2.5 to +2.52011: 0.618 approx. -2.5 to +2.52012: 0.632 approx. -2.5 to +2.52013: 0.619 approx. -2.5 to +2.52014: 0.645 approx. -2.5 to +2.52015: 0.652 approx. -2.5 to +2.52016: 0.621 approx. -2.5 to +2.52017: 0.606 approx. -2.5 to +2.52018: 0.599 approx. -2.5 to +2.52019: 0.57 approx. -2.5 to +2.52020: 0.592 approx. -2.5 to +2.52021: 0.671 approx. -2.5 to +2.52022: 0.608 approx. -2.5 to +2.52023: 0.606 approx. -2.5 to +2.52024: 0.668 approx. -2.5 to +2.52025: 0.681 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 Africa stood at 0.6809 approx. -2.5 to +2.5.

That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, voice and accountability - governance estimate in South Africa peaked at 0.7398 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2006 and was at its lowest, 0.5701 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 2019.

South Africa ranks 59th of 208 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Year approx. -2.5 to +2.5 Change
1996 0.6537 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 —
1998 0.6021 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -7.9%
2000 0.638 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +6.0%
2002 0.5726 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -10.3%
2003 0.643 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +12.3%
2004 0.6935 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +7.9%
2005 0.7021 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +1.2%
2006 0.7398 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +5.4%
2007 0.6867 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -7.2%
2008 0.6442 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -6.2%
2009 0.6623 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +2.8%
2010 0.6739 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +1.8%
2011 0.6177 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -8.3%
2012 0.6324 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +2.4%
2013 0.6193 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -2.1%
2014 0.645 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +4.1%
2015 0.6523 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +1.1%
2016 0.6212 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -4.8%
2017 0.6061 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -2.4%
2018 0.5992 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -1.1%
2019 0.5701 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -4.9%
2020 0.5923 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +3.9%
2021 0.6712 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +13.3%
2022 0.6083 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -9.4%
2023 0.6064 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.3%
2024 0.6675 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +10.1%
2025 0.6809 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +2.0%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 0.6809 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is -0.0542 approx. -2.5 to +2.5. (59 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 0.6809 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.9016 approx. -2.5 to +2.5. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.6279 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.6021 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.6537 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2
2000s 0.6647 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.5726 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.7398 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 9
2010s 0.6237 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.5701 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.6739 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 10
2020s 0.6378 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.5923 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.6809 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 6

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 56 Andorra 0.7936 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  2. 57 Croatia 0.7384 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  3. 58 Saint Lucia 0.7355 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  4. 60 Seychelles 0.678 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  5. 61 United States 0.6448 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  6. 62 Bahamas 0.6321 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare

See the full ranking of 208 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is voice and accountability - governance estimate in South Africa?
Voice and accountability - governance estimate in South Africa was 0.6809 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 Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.7398 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2006.
What is the lowest voice and accountability - governance estimate recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.5701 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2019.
How does South Africa rank for voice and accountability - governance estimate?
South Africa ranks 59th out of 208 countries with data for 2025.
Is voice and accountability - governance estimate rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this South Africa 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 Africa. 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/south-africa/

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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.