Photo: kulimpapat derivative work: Inkey · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 01 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Brunei: Governance & Institutions
How well is the state actually run?
Brunei is placed 49th of 194 countries on governance & institutions in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Government Effectiveness 0.893 (2025); Statistical Performance Indicators 61.44 (2024).
Governance & Institutions
49th
of 194 countries placed
Placed from 3 of 4 key statistics
- 0.893Government Effectiveness, 2025Governance estimate (−2.5 weak to 2.5 strong)
- 61.44Statistical Performance Indicators, 2024SPI overall score (0–100)
- 63Corruption Perceptions Index, 2025CPI score (0–100, where 100 is very clean)
- —Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index, 2025No reading for this country
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Brunei on governance & institutions — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Government Effectiveness
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: The quality of public services and the civil service that delivers them, and the credibility of a government's commitment to its own policies. Where the Corruption Perceptions Index asks whether a state is honest, this asks whether it is competent.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
0.893
Governance estimate (−2.5 weak to 2.5 strong)
Higher is better
Brunei: 0.893. Across the 209 countries in this edition, values run from -2.251 (South Sudan) to 2.092 (Singapore); the world median is 0.101.
- World median
- 0.101
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 2.092 Singapore
- Land neighbours
- Malaysia 0.957
Each grey tick is one of 209 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 2 of 4
Statistical Performance Indicators
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: Whether a state can measure its own country. Nothing else here tests the capacity of the statistical system itself.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
61.44
SPI overall score (0–100)
Higher is better
Brunei: 61.44. Across the 188 countries in this edition, values run from 27.12 (South Sudan) to 94.14 (Norway); the world median is 69.3.
- World median
- 69.3
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 88.32 Singapore
- Land neighbours
- Malaysia 84.99
Each grey tick is one of 188 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 3 of 4
Corruption Perceptions Index
Transparency International
Why it is a key: How much corruption the people who actually deal with a government perceive — an outcome, where the other keys measure the state’s capacity and the limits the law puts on it.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0 (the data), CC BY-ND 4.0 (the website and report)
63
CPI score (0–100, where 100 is very clean)
Higher is better
Ranked 31st of 181 by Transparency International
Brunei: 63. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 9 (Somalia) to 89 (Denmark); the world median is 39.
- World median
- 39
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 84 Singapore
- Land neighbours
- Malaysia 52
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
Why it is a key: Whether the executive respects the constitution and obeys the courts, and whether the courts can rule against it freely — the law binding those who write it.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0
No reading
Judicial constraints on the executive index (0–1)
Higher is better
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg publishes no 2025 figure for Brunei, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 176 countries in this edition, values run from 0.003 (Nicaragua) to 0.988 (Australia); the world median is 0.676.
- World median
- 0.676
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 0.868 Singapore
- Land neighbours
- Malaysia 0.777
Each grey tick is one of 176 countries in the 2025 edition.
02Over time
Which way Brunei is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Government Effectiveness
Governance estimate (−2.5 weak to 2.5 strong) · higher is better
BruneiWorld median
Brunei rose from 0.44 in 2000 to 0.893 in 2025; the world median went from -0.397 to 0.101.
Every year’s figures
Year Brunei World median 2025 0.89259 0.1006 2024 0.80174 0.0098 2023 0.99031 -0.0408 2022 0.99026 -0.0305 2021 1.08541 -0.0158 2020 1.00166 -0.0171 2019 1.00524 0.0150 2018 0.95002 0.0159 2017 0.94426 0.0158 2016 0.91191 0.0225 2015 1.05147 0.0038 2014 1.05190 0.0194 2013 0.75027 -0.0758 2012 0.69889 -0.0839 2011 0.69429 -0.1221 2010 0.69521 -0.1145 2009 0.72698 -0.1609 2008 0.70706 -0.2134 2007 0.64095 -0.3260 2006 0.63995 -0.3310 2005 0.43861 -0.3706 2004 0.38866 -0.3140 2003 0.44186 -0.4369 2002 0.44431 -0.3366 2000 0.43996 -0.3969 Statistical Performance Indicators
SPI overall score (0–100) · higher is better
BruneiWorld median
Brunei rose from 57.19 in 2020 to 61.44 in 2024; the world median went from 62.91 to 69.3.
Every year’s figures
Year Brunei World median 2024 61.4 69.30 2023 63.2 68.86 2022 60.9 67.99 2021 61.7 69.96 2020 57.2 62.91 2019 — 61.19 2018 — 61.17 2017 — 59.55 2016 — 56.25 Corruption Perceptions Index
CPI score (0–100, where 100 is very clean) · higher is better
BruneiWorld median
Brunei rose from 55 in 2012 to 63 in 2025; the world median went from 37 to 39.
Every year’s figures
Year Brunei World median 2025 63 39.0 2024 — 40.0 2023 — 40.0 2022 — 39.5 2021 — 39.0 2020 60 40.0 2019 60 39.5 2018 63 38.0 2017 62 38.5 2016 58 38.0 2015 — 37.0 2014 — 38.0 2013 60 38.0 2012 55 37.0
03In context
Brunei beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 194 countries on governance & institutions, never a place within the region.
Brunei and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 194 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Government EffectivenessGovernance estimate (−2.5 weak to 2.5 strong) | Statistical Performance IndicatorsSPI overall score (0–100) | Corruption Perceptions IndexCPI score (0–100, where 100 is very clean) | Judicial Constraints on the Executive IndexJudicial constraints on the executive index (0–1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Malaysia | 40th | 0.957 | 84.99 | 52 | 0.777 |
| Brunei | 49th | 0.893 | 61.44 | 63 | — |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across South-eastern Asia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 194.
Placed either side on governance & institutions
The countries immediately above and below Brunei in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Brunei is ahead of the world, and behind
16 more statistics filed under governance & institutions, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median8
Statistics on which Brunei does better than the middle country measured.
Regulatory QualityWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.0930.963-0.093▲ Improved since 2015
Brunei: 0.963 · world median -0.093 · Regulatory Quality (−2.5 to 2.5). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -2.106 to 2.113; higher is better.
Position 38th of 209 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Control of CorruptionWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.1970.993-0.197▼ Worsened since 2015
Brunei: 0.993 · world median -0.197 · Control of Corruption (−2.5 to 2.5). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -2.096 to 2.259; higher is better.
Position 40th of 211 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Agriculture Orientation IndexFAO · 2024 · world median 0.3050.640.305▼ Worsened since 2014
Brunei: 0.64 · world median 0.305 · Agriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.03 to 5.38; higher is better.
Position 30th of 132 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Rule of LawWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.1020.674-0.102▲ Improved since 2015
Brunei: 0.674 · world median -0.102 · Rule of Law estimate (−2.5 to 2.5). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -2.199 to 2.012; higher is better.
Position 57th of 211 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Completeness of Birth RegistrationUNICEF · 2025 · world median 98.499.998.4No earlier reading
Brunei: 99.9 · world median 98.4 · Children under 5 whose birth is registered (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2.7 to 100; higher is better.
Climate Readiness (ND-GAIN)Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 2024 · world median 0.3870.4170.387▼ Worsened since 2014
Brunei: 0.417 · world median 0.387 · ND-GAIN Readiness (0–1, where 1 is the most ready). Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.137 to 0.749; higher is better.
Ranked 84th of 192 by Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame.
Open Data InventoryOpen Data Watch · 2024 · world median 596159No real change since 2020
Brunei: 61 · world median 59 · ODIN overall score (0–100). Open Data Watch, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 19 to 90; higher is better.
Ranked 73rd of 168 by Open Data Watch.
Government AI Readiness IndexOxford Insights · 2025 · world median 40.1940.5140.19▼ Worsened since 2020
Brunei: 40.51 · world median 40.19 · AI readiness score (0–100). Oxford Insights, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 12.12 to 88.36; higher is better.
Ranked 97th of 195 by Oxford Insights.
Behind the world median5
Statistics on which Brunei does worse than the middle country measured.
GovTech Maturity IndexWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 0.630.5360.63▼ Worsened since 2022
Brunei: 0.536 · world median 0.63 · GTMI score (0–1). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.01 to 0.997; higher is better.
Position 115th of 196 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Social Protection CoverageILO · 2025 · world median 52.13652.1No earlier reading
Brunei: 36 · world median 52.1 · Population covered by at least one social protection benefit (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.
Civic Space RatingsCIVICUS · 2025 · world median 50.4629.5850.46No earlier reading
Brunei: 29.58 · world median 50.46 · Civic space score (0–100). CIVICUS, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2.17 to 100; higher is better.
Position 142nd of 198 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Voice and AccountabilityWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.022-0.954-0.022No real change since 2015
Brunei: -0.954 · world median -0.022 · Voice and Accountability estimate (−2.5 to 2.5). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -2.348 to 1.825; higher is better.
Position 150th of 206 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Women, Business and the LawWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 81.2553.1381.25▼ Worsened since 2014
Brunei: 53.13 · world median 81.25 · WBL Index (0–100, where 100 is full legal parity). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 26.25 to 100; higher is better.
Position 173rd of 190 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end3
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
General Government ConsumptionWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 16.2123.8116.21No real change since 2015
Brunei: 23.81 · world median 16.21 · General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 5.445 to 38.94.
Position 15th of 132 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Public Sector Wage BillWorld Bank Group · 2022 · world median 7.9757.9757.975No real change since 2012
Brunei: 7.975 · world median 7.975 · Public sector wage bill (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 0.977 to 42.65.
Position 84th of 168 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Central Bank Independence IndexAna Carolina Garriga, University of Essex · 2023 · world median 0.6080.5140.608Moved since 2013
Brunei: 0.514 · world median 0.608 · CBI index (0–1, where 1 is the most statutory independence). Ana Carolina Garriga, University of Essex, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.006 to 0.974.
No current reading for Brunei
Business Ready: Operational Efficiency, Business Ready: Public Services, Business Ready: Regulatory Framework, Country Policy and Institutional Assessment, Debt Service on External Debt, External Debt Stocks (% of GNI), Government Funding per Primary Student (last 2016), Government Spending on Education (last 2016), Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index, Liberal Democracy Index, Political Corruption Index, Public Sector Employment, State Authority over Territory, Trade Union Density and V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Governance & Institutions among Brunei’s 14 topics
Governance & Institutions is Brunei’s 3rd best-placed topic of 14. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Risk & Resiliencejoint 25th of 1923/3 keys
- Economy & Innovation44th of 1762/4 keys
- Governance & Institutions49th of 1943/4 keys
- Food & Agriculture57th of 1752/4 keys
- Work & Labourjoint 72nd of 1824/4 keys
- Health & Wellbeing82nd of 2002/4 keys
- Peace & Security76th of 1772/4 keys
- Development & Human Capital88th of 1963/3 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties98th of 1982/3 keys
- Gender & Equalityjoint 94th of 1832/4 keys
- Digital & Technology132nd of 1983/3 keys
- Environment & Sustainabilityjoint 122nd of 1812/3 keys
- Energyjoint 166th of 1933/3 keys
- Mobility & Trade137th of 1472/3 keys
No standing on Education & Knowledge, Poverty & Inequality: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on governance & institutions
The three countries placed highest of 194, and the leaders Brunei can most readily be measured against.
1
DenmarkNorthern Europe
1st of 194 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: User:Aconcagua · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
New ZealandAustralia and New Zealand
2nd of 194 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Karora derivative work: Inkey · Public domain, greyscale
3
SwedenNorthern Europe
3rd of 194 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: User:Pieter Kuiper · Public domain, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Asia
Japan=10th4/4 keysHighest in South-eastern Asia
Singapore12th4/4 keysThis page
Brunei49th3/4 keys
Positions out of 194 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about Brunei and governance & institutions
08Questions
Brunei on governance & institutions: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Brunei rank on governance & institutions?
Brunei is placed 49th of 194 countries on Governance & Institutions in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 4 key statistics (Government Effectiveness, Statistical Performance Indicators and Corruption Perceptions Index). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Government Effectiveness figure for Brunei?
0.893 in 2025 (governance estimate (−2.5 weak to 2.5 strong)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 0.101.
What is the latest Statistical Performance Indicators figure for Brunei?
61.44 in 2024 (sPI overall score (0–100)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 69.3.
How does Brunei compare with Malaysia on governance & institutions?
Malaysia is placed 40th of 194, and Brunei 49th. Government Effectiveness: Malaysia 0.957, Brunei 0.893; Statistical Performance Indicators: Malaysia 84.99, Brunei 61.44; Corruption Perceptions Index: Malaysia 52, Brunei 63.
How have Brunei’s governance & institutions figures changed?
Government Effectiveness rose from 0.44 in 2000 to 0.893 in 2025; Statistical Performance Indicators rose from 57.19 in 2020 to 61.44 in 2024; Corruption Perceptions Index rose from 55 in 2012 to 63 in 2025.
Which governance & institutions statistics are missing for Brunei?
No current reading is published for Brunei on Business Ready: Operational Efficiency, Business Ready: Public Services, Business Ready: Regulatory Framework, Country Policy and Institutional Assessment, Debt Service on External Debt, External Debt Stocks (% of GNI), Government Funding per Primary Student, Government Spending on Education, Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index, Liberal Democracy Index, Political Corruption Index, Public Sector Employment, State Authority over Territory, Trade Union Density and V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
Brunei, topic by topic
- Economy & Innovation44th of 176
- Work & Labour=72nd of 182
- Health & Wellbeing82nd of 200
- Development & Human Capital88th of 196
- Environment & Sustainability=122nd of 181
- Gender & Equality=94th of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties98th of 198
- Peace & Security76th of 177
- Risk & Resilience=25th of 192
- Mobility & Trade137th of 147
- Food & Agriculture57th of 175
- Energy=166th of 193
- Digital & Technology132nd of 198
- The full Brunei profile
Nearby, on governance & institutions
The key statistics, for every country
10Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Governance is not democracy. Free elections, civil liberties and press freedom belong to the Democracy & Civil Liberties topic, and a country can place well on one and poorly on the other. How openly official data is published sits here as context, beside the statistical capacity that is a key. Nor does this topic measure the size of government or how much it spends — the share of the economy run by the state is published on this page as context, with no better end.
How the Governance & Institutions standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 30 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2024 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 194 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Government Effectiveness — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
- Statistical Performance Indicators — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
- Corruption Perceptions Index — Transparency International, CC BY 4.0 (the data), CC BY-ND 4.0 (the website and report)
- Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index — V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0
The other 16 statistics on this page come from 9 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Brunei’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Brunei (banner) — kulimpapat derivative work: Inkey, CC BY 2.0
- Denmark — User:Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0
- New Zealand — Karora derivative work: Inkey, Public domain
- Sweden — User:Pieter Kuiper, Public domain
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Brunei: Governance & Institutions — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/brunei/governance