Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in United States
United States: Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was 0.6448 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate in United States, 1996–2025
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
United States recorded 0.6448 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 for voice and accountability - governance estimate in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 29.1% on the previous year and down 47.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, voice and accountability - governance estimate in United States peaked at 1.27 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2002 and was at its lowest, 0.6448 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 2025.
That places United States 61st out of 208 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in United States, year by year
| Year | approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1.08 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | — |
| 1998 | 1.09 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 1.09 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 1.27 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +16.4% |
| 2003 | 1.22 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -3.9% |
| 2004 | 1.15 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -5.9% |
| 2005 | 1.22 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +6.5% |
| 2006 | 1.19 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -2.9% |
| 2007 | 1.21 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 1.26 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +4.1% |
| 2009 | 1.23 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -2.0% |
| 2010 | 1.24 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 1.19 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -4.0% |
| 2012 | 1.22 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +2.7% |
| 2013 | 1.14 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -6.8% |
| 2014 | 1.16 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 1.23 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +5.9% |
| 2016 | 1.18 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -4.4% |
| 2017 | 1.08 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -8.5% |
| 2018 | 1.04 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -3.1% |
| 2019 | 1.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 0.9441 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -7.0% |
| 2021 | 0.9126 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -3.3% |
| 2022 | 0.9332 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 0.8976 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -3.8% |
| 2024 | 0.9093 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +1.3% |
| 2025 | 0.6448 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -29.1% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 0.6448 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 63% of the median. (76 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.09 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 1.08 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 1.09 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 2 |
| 2000s | 1.21 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 1.09 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 1.27 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 9 |
| 2010s | 1.15 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 1.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 1.24 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8736 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.6448 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.9441 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 58 Saint Lucia 0.7355 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 59 South Africa 0.6809 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 60 Seychelles 0.678 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 62 Bahamas 0.6321 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 63 Solomon Islands 0.6224 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 64 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.6134 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
More reference data data for United States
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 19.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 24.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 20.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 64.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 52.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 133.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 589.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 112.69 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is voice and accountability - governance estimate in United States?
- Voice and accountability - governance estimate in United States was 0.6448 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 United States?
- The highest recorded value was 1.27 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2002.
- What is the lowest voice and accountability - governance estimate recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6448 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025.
- How does United States rank for voice and accountability - governance estimate?
- United States ranks 61st out of 208 countries with data for 2025.
- Is voice and accountability - governance estimate rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.6%. 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 Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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.