Open Budget Survey Findings Released

The survey is conducted by the IBP every two years. In 2023, the OBS covered 125 jurisdictions.

Collection and processing of data for the survey is undertaken in the following manner:

1. The experts representing a certain country fill in the questionnaire consisting of 228 questions with response options with a score assigned to each of them**; the questions cover such areas as:

Transparency of budget information (109 questions);
Public participation in the budget process (18);
Legislative and audit oversight (18);
Quality of budget documentation and management of public finances (83 questions) – these questions are used to understand the context and are not included in the final assessment;

2. The IBP check the data obtained against the relevant analytical materials of international organisations (the IMF, World Bank and the OECD);

3. An anonymous expert with the expertise in the budget system of the respective country scrutinizes and comments on the findings obtained;

4. Since 2023 officials of public bodies of the country under review can also submit their comments (in 2023, such comments were submitted from 100 countries);

5. The IBP experts calculate an average score in three areas (arithmetic mean):

Public participation – presence of official and functioning mechanisms allowing citizens to participate in the domestic budget process;
Budget implementation oversight – presence of legislative and supreme audit institutions authorised to oversee the budget process and exercise their respective functions;
Budget transparency – accessibility of information about the budget for the public and possibility to get acquainted with it within a reasonable timeframe;

6. In each area countries are assigned a score ranging between 0 and 100, where 100 is the best result;

7. Based on the total score and the comments received, the country reports are drafted, while the findings under “budget transparency” constitute the basis for a separate ranking – the Open Budget Index.

In 2023, the top ranks of the Open Budget Index are assigned to Georgia (score of 87 out of 100), New Zealand (87), Sweden (85), South Africa (83) and Moldova (81).

Yemen, Venezuela and Afghanistan are at the bottom of the ranking with the score of 0 for each of them, along with Sudan and Qatar (the score of 2 for each country).

The average global score for 2023 is:

45 out of 100 for transparency;
15 for public participation;
45 for legislative oversight; and
62 for audit oversight.

The IBP experts stress that since 2008 transparency has increased by an average of 24%, but most countries are still below the score of 61 and above that are considered as sufficient. The performance in terms of public participation and legislative oversight remain insufficient as well.

Despite the poor average performance some regions demonstrate steady progress. For example, since 2012 the score of the Asian Pacific and South African countries has considerably increased (on average, by 20 and 10 scores respectively with regard to transparency).

Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the MENA and LAC regions also demonstrate a generally positive trend: the average transparency score has increased by 6, 6 and 4 respectively.

At the same time, the countries of South Asia and Western Europe along with the United States and Canada have poorer scores: the average score has decreased by 21 and 4 respectively.

In 2023, Russia demonstrated the following performance:

Transparency – the score of 66 out of 100 (7 scores less compared with the previous survey);
Public participation – 33 (plus 5 scores);
Legislative oversight – 78 (plus 6);
Audit oversight – 89 (unchanged).

In order to enhance transparency and improve performance in the ranking, the IBP experts have formulated the following recommendations for countries:

Publish eight main budget documents, including making effort to provide budget information on expenses, income, debt, microeconomic projections and non-financial indicators;
Encourage public participation at all stages of the budget cycle, in particular, in budgeting in the sectors that have direct effect on access to quality goods and services;
Build the capacity of legislative bodies in addressing budgetary matters;
Promote active cooperation of supreme audit institutions both with the legislature and the public;
Promote coalitions of civil society organisations for their participation in the budget process.

*The International Budget Partnership (IBP) is an international not-for-profit organisation promoting the principles of transparency of the budget system in all jurisdictions. The IBP has the following functions:

Enhance expertise and capacities of civil society organisations at the domestic level in preparing the state budget and monitoring its implementation;
Assess the possibility of participation of the public in preparing the state budget and ensuring transparency and accountability of its execution;
Cooperate with international stakeholders to promote their participation in addressing budgetary issues;
Analyse the progress the governments make in enhancing budget transparency and the impact of the IBP and its partners thereon based on the actual data, and formulate subsequent recommendations.

**The questions may have three or five response options depending on the extent to which the relevant standards are implemented in a given country. The score for the questions with five response options is calculated in the following manner: the score of 100 is assigned to the (a) option, 67 to (b), 33 to (c), 0 to (d), and (e), i.e. “not applicable”, is not taken into account in the total score. As for the questions with three options, a country can be assigned the score of 100 for the (a) option, 0 for the (b) option, whereas the (c) option (“not applicable”) is not counted in the final score.