Voice and Accountability - Governance score (0-100) in South Africa
South Africa: Voice and Accountability - Governance score (0-100) was 70.22 0-100 in 2025. ▬ Flat
Voice and Accountability - Governance score in South Africa, 1996–2025
Source: The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG). Measured in 0-100.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 70.22 0-100 for voice and accountability - governance score in 2025.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, voice and accountability - governance score in South Africa peaked at 71.3 0-100 in 2006 and was at its lowest, 68.19 0-100, in 2019.
South Africa ranks 59th of 208 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Voice and Accountability - Governance score (0-100) in South Africa, year by year
| Year | 0-100 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 69.72 0-100 | — |
| 1998 | 68.77 0-100 | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 69.43 0-100 | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 68.23 0-100 | -1.7% |
| 2003 | 69.52 0-100 | +1.9% |
| 2004 | 70.45 0-100 | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 70.61 0-100 | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 71.3 0-100 | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 70.32 0-100 | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 69.54 0-100 | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 69.88 0-100 | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 70.09 0-100 | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 69.06 0-100 | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 69.33 0-100 | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 69.09 0-100 | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 69.56 0-100 | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 69.69 0-100 | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 69.12 0-100 | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 68.85 0-100 | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 68.72 0-100 | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 68.19 0-100 | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 68.59 0-100 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 70.04 0-100 | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 68.89 0-100 | -1.6% |
| 2023 | 68.85 0-100 | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 69.97 0-100 | +1.6% |
| 2025 | 70.22 0-100 | +0.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 70.22 0-100 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 56.73 0-100, 1.2× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 70.22 0-100 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 41.18 0-100, 1.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 69.25 0-100 | 68.77 0-100 | 69.72 0-100 | 2 |
| 2000s | 69.92 0-100 | 68.23 0-100 | 71.3 0-100 | 9 |
| 2010s | 69.17 0-100 | 68.19 0-100 | 70.09 0-100 | 10 |
| 2020s | 69.43 0-100 | 68.59 0-100 | 70.22 0-100 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 56 Andorra 72.29 0-100 compare
- 57 Croatia 71.27 0-100 compare
- 58 Saint Lucia 71.22 0-100 compare
- 60 Seychelles 70.16 0-100 compare
- 61 United States 69.55 0-100 compare
- 62 Bahamas 69.32 0-100 compare
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is voice and accountability - governance score in South Africa?
- Voice and accountability - governance score in South Africa was 70.22 0-100 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 score recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 71.3 0-100 in 2006.
- What is the lowest voice and accountability - governance score recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 68.19 0-100 in 2019.
- How does South Africa rank for voice and accountability - governance score?
- South Africa ranks 59th out of 208 countries with data for 2025.
- Is voice and accountability - governance score rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. 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 score (0-100). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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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 score is a linear transformation of the governance estimate using hypothetical worst-case and base-case countries. It is an absolute score ranging from 0-100. Larger values correspond to better governance. The (country-series-time) metadata include the (a) number of sources, and (b) confidence intervals (lower and upper bound). The number of sources indicates the number of underlying data sources on which the governance score (respectively the underlying governance estimate) is based. The confidence intervals include the lower and upper bound of the 90% confidence interval for the governance score. Confidence intervals are a statistical range of values that likely contain the true value (of what is being estimated).