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Improving the accountability of public finance is
crucial for achieving global development goals
Methodology: The Open Budget Survey
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Independent
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Comparable
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Biennial
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Based on international standards
www.InternationalBudget.org
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Methodology: the research process
Country
experts
complete
survey
IBP review
External
review
18 month process
Government
review
IBP final
review
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Methodology: the accountability ecosystem
Transparency
Participation
• 16 indicators
• 109 indicators
measuring
measuring
opportunities for
transparency
public
(the Open Budget
participation
Index)
Transparency
Oversight
• 15 indicators
measuring the
strength of the
legislature and
auditors
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The Open Budget Survey 2015: Key findings
1.
The vast majority of the world’s population live in countries that
provide insufficient budget information.
2.
Between 2012 and 2015 the world made modest progress toward
greater transparency. Substantial gains were made by the least
transparent countries.
3.
Problems associated with a lack of transparency are compounded
by inadequate public participation and weak formal oversight.
4.
Of the 102 countries surveyed, only four perform adequately across
all three pillars of budget accountability.
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The vast majority of people live in countries that
provide insufficient budget information
Distribution of countries by Open Budget
Index score
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The average score for all survey countries
is 45 out of 100.
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78 countries score 60 or less, meaning they
provide insufficient information.
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17 countries score 20 or less, meaning
scant or no information is available to the
public.
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There are serious gaps in information
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One-third of budget documents that should be publicly available are
not published.
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16 countries fail to publish an Executive’s Budget Proposal, a
country’s foundational budget document.
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Even when budget documents are published they often lack
important details.
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The characteristics of countries with
different levels of transparency
Weak Performers
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•
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Average GDP per
capita of $14k; many
oil dependent
economies.
Mix of autocratic and
weak democracies.
Least press
freedom.
Perceived to be
most corrupt.
Limited Performers
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•
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Average GDP per
capita of $11k.
Mix of strong and
weak democracies.
Perceived as less
corrupt than weak
performers.
Top Performers
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Average GDP per
capita of $27k.
Mostly strong
democracies.
Highest press
freedom.
Perceived as least
corrupt.
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Between 2012 and 2015 substantial gains in
transparency were made by the least transparent
countries
Global progress has been modest…
•
The global average score on the Open Budget Index increased from
43 to 46 in the 100 countries for which we have comparable data.
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Countries have increased their scores by an average of 10 points
since they were first surveyed.
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The biggest gains have been made by countries that are the least
transparent.
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…but some countries have made
remarkable progress
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The Kyrgyz Republic more than doubled its score, from 20 to 54.
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Tunisia nearly quadrupled its score, from 11 to 42.
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Francophone Africa made considerable gains, the average score
among the eight countries surveyed increased by more than 20
points.
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More budget documents are being
published
Number of budget documents published (2012 & 2015)
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Despite progress, enthusiasm should be
tempered
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Improvements have come from a low base.
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Some countries have regressed.
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Twelve countries have remained at the bottom of the Open Budget
Index each time they have been surveyed.
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In many countries, there is considerable volatility in disclosure
practices.
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For example, in Ghana…
The availability of budget documents in Ghana
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Problems associated with insufficient transparency
are compounded by inadequate public participation
and weak formal oversight
Most countries don’t provide adequate
opportunities for public participation
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The average score for public participation is just 25 out of 100.
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82 countries are weak in providing opportunities for the public to
participate.
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Just seven countries are adequately providing opportunities for
public participation.
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Some countries have introduced innovative
participation practices
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Formal oversight is generally lacking
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In more than half of the countries surveyed, legislatures lack access
to independent researchers.
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In one-third of countries, legislatures are not given enough time to
review the budget proposal before it is passed.
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In the majority of countries, supreme audit institutions have weak or
nonexistent quality assurance systems.
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Of the 102 countries surveyed, only four perform
well across all pillars of budget accountability
Few countries perform adequately across
all pillars of budget accountability
0 out of 4
Afghanistan
Algeria
Azerbaijan
Benin
Bolivia
Burkina Faso
Cambodia
Cameroon
China
Dem. Republic
of Congo
Egypt
Equatorial
Guinea
Fiji
Iraq
Jordan
Lebanon
Liberia
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Papua New
Guinea
Qatar
Rwanda
São Tomé e
Príncipe
Saudi Arabia
Sudan
Tanzania
Tunisia
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
32 Countries
1 out of 4
Albania
Argentina
Bangladesh
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Chad
Croatia
Dominican
Republic
Ecuador
Ghana
Guatemala
Honduras Hungary
India
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kyrgyz Republic
Macedonia
Malaysia
Mali
Namibia
Nepal
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Pakistan
Senegal
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Spain
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Turkey
Venezuela
35 Countries
2 out of 4 3 out of 4
Botswana
Bulgaria
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Indonesia
Malawi
Mexico
Mongolia
Poland
Romania
Tajikistan
Trinidad and
Tobago
Uganda
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Vietnam
18 Countries
Czech Republic
France
Georgia
Germany
Italy
New Zealand
Peru
Philippines
Portugal
Russia
Slovenia
South Korea
Sweden
13 Countries
4 out of 4
Brazil
Norway
South Africa
United States
4 Countries
Note: Adequate refers to scores above 60 on transparency, participation, and the two measures that comprise oversight.
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Improving transparency, participation, and
oversight
Recommendation 1: Publish more budget information
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Countries that score 40 or below should make more budget documents available to the
public.
Countries that score between 41 and 60 should increase the comprehensiveness of
budget documents.
Recommendation 2: Institutionalize gains in transparency
Recommendation 3: Provide more opportunities for public
participation in the budget process.
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Establish legislative hearings at which the public can testify.
Establish formal mechanisms such as participatory budgeting and social audits.
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Improving transparency, participation, and
oversight
Recommendation 4: Empower oversight institutions
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Enable legislatures to engage meaningfully in budgets by providing better access to
research and analytical capacity.
Support supreme audit institutions to establish quality assurance systems to improve
the accuracy and reliability of their reports.
Recommendation 5: Promote the development of integrated and
accountability budget ecosystems
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Contact Information
• 820 First Street, NE
Suite 510
Washington, DC 20002
• Phone: +1-202-408-1080
• Fax: +1-202-408-8173
• Email: [email protected]
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