In 2023, the World Bank unveiled its latest Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) database, evaluating governance across six critical areas: “Voice and Accountability”. “Political Stability and Absence of Violence,” “Government Effectiveness,” “Regulatory Quality,” “Rule of Law,” and “Control of Corruption.” The assessment assigned countries a governance score ranging from -2.50 (indicating poor governance) to 2.50 (indicating strong governance), and placed them within a percentile rank between 0 (lowest performance) and 100 (highest performance) for each category.
Worldwide, Norway continued to lead in “Voice and Accountability” with a score of 1.78, while Jersey, Channel Island, achieved the top spot in “Political Stability and Absence of Violence” with a score of 1.74. Singapore emerged as the best performer in both “Governance Effectiveness” (score: 2.32), and “Regulatory Quality” (score: 2.31). Finland claimed first place in the “Rule of Law” category with a score of 1.97, and Denmark stood out as the leader in “Control of Corruption” scoring 2.38.
In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) excelled, ranking highest in “Government Effectiveness” (score: 1.60; percentile rank: 95.28) and “Control of Corruption” (score: 1.07; percentile rank: 82.55). Tunisia outperformed its regional peers in “Voice and Accountability” (score: -0.21; percentile rank: 40.69). Qatar led in two dimensions “Political Stability and Absence of Violence” (score: 0.99; percentile rank: 84.36) and “Rule of Law” (score: 0.93; percentile rank: 80.19). Bahrain showed the strongest performance in “Regulatory Quality” (score: 1.08; percentile rank: 83.96).
Lebanon, despite ranking third regionally in “Voice and Accountability,” recorded a weak performance in this category (score: -0.65; percentile rank: 30.88) and struggled significantly in the remaining dimensions: “Political Stability” (score: -1.52; percentile rank: 9.48), “Government Effectiveness” (score: -1.58; percentile rank: 6.13), “Regulatory Quality” (score: -1.01; percentile rank: 14.62), “Rule of Law” (score: -1.17; percentile rank: 13.21), and lastly “Control of Corruption” (score: -1.23; percentile rank: 10.85). Notably, Lebanon experienced a decline in all governance areas compared to 2022, except for a slight improvement in “Regulatory Quality” (most likely due to new governance at BDL).
The following tables provide a clearer representation of the results:
Governance Ranking: 2023
| Dimension | Global Leader | Score | Percentile Rank | Regional Leader | Score | Percentile Rank |
| Voice and Accountability | Norway | 1.78 | 100.00
| Tunisia | -0.21 | 40.69 |
| Political Stability and Absence of Violence | Jersey, Channel Island | 1.74 | 100.00 | Qatar | 0.99 | 84.36 |
| Government Effectiveness | Singapore | 2.32 | 100.00 | U.A.E | 1.60 | 95.28 |
| Regulatory Quality | Singapore | 2.31 | 100.00 | Bahrain | 1.08 | 83.96 |
| Rule of Law | Finland
| 1.97 | 100.00 | Qatar | 0.93 | 80.19 |
| Control Corruption | Denmark | 2.38 | 100.00 | U.A.E | 1.07 | 82.55 |
Lebanon’s 2023 Performance compared to 2022
| Dimension | 2023 Score | 2023 Percentile Rank
| 2022 Score | 2022 Percentile Rank | Change |
| Voice and Accountability | -0.65 | 30.88 | -0.63 | 30.92 | Decline |
| Political stability and Absence of Violence | -1.52 | 9.48 | -1.42 | 9.91 | Decline |
| Government Effectiveness | -1.58 | 6.13 | -1.46 | 7.55 | Decline
|
| Regulatory Quality | -1.01 | 14.62 | -1.13 | 13.68 | Slight Improvement
|
| Rule of Law | -1.17 | 13.21 | -1.10 | 13.68 | Decline
|
| Control of Corruption | -1.23 | 10.85 | -1.13 | 14.15 | Decline |
By: Jana Boumatar
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