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Straw huts in Yei township, South Sudan.

Photo: SuSanA Secretariat derivative work: JamesA · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

Topic 01 of 18 · Country Index 2026

South Sudan: Governance & Institutions

How well is the state actually run?

South Sudan is placed 190th of 194 countries on governance & institutions in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Government Effectiveness -2.251 (2025); Statistical Performance Indicators 27.12 (2024).

Governance & Institutions

190th

of 194 countries placed

Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics

01The evidence

The 4 key statistics that decide it

Only these place South Sudan 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.

Why these keys
  1. 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

    -2.251

    Governance estimate (−2.5 weak to 2.5 strong)

    Higher is better

    South Sudan: -2.251. 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 Eastern Africa
    0.86 Mauritius
    Land neighbours
    Central African Republic -1.614 · DR Congo -1.675 · Ethiopia -0.616 · Kenya -0.089 · Sudan -1.954 · Uganda -0.311

    Each grey tick is one of 209 countries in the 2025 edition.

  2. 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

    27.12

    SPI overall score (0–100)

    Higher is better

    South Sudan: 27.12. 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 Eastern Africa
    80.44 Mauritius
    Land neighbours
    Central African Republic 46.84 · DR Congo 46.28 · Ethiopia 61.75 · Kenya 73.36 · Sudan 42.1 · Uganda 68.7

    Each grey tick is one of 188 countries in the 2024 edition.

  3. 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)

    9

    CPI score (0–100, where 100 is very clean)

    Higher is better

    Ranked 181st of 181 by Transparency International

    South Sudan: 9. 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 Eastern Africa
    68 Seychelles
    Land neighbours
    Central African Republic 24 · DR Congo 20 · Ethiopia 38 · Kenya 30 · Sudan 14 · Uganda 25

    Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.

  4. 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

    0.157

    Judicial constraints on the executive index (0–1)

    Higher is better

    South Sudan: 0.157. 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 Eastern Africa
    0.959 Seychelles
    Land neighbours
    Central African Republic 0.188 · DR Congo 0.146 · Ethiopia 0.213 · Kenya 0.788 · Sudan 0.15 · Uganda 0.261

    Each grey tick is one of 176 countries in the 2025 edition.

03In context

South Sudan 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.

Eastern Africa
1st194thNot placed · 30 countries with too few key statisticsNo data

The whole world on governance & institutions

South Sudan 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.

CountryStandingGovernment 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)
Kenya=96th-0.08973.36300.788
Uganda141st-0.31168.7250.261
Ethiopia144th-0.61661.75380.213
Central African Republic176th-1.61446.84240.188
DR Congo182nd-1.67546.28200.146
Sudan187th-1.95442.1140.15
South Sudan190th-2.25127.1290.157

“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.

04Context, no vote

Where South Sudan is ahead of the world, and behind

18 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.

Every country

Behind the world median16

Statistics on which South Sudan does worse than the middle country measured.

  • Women, Business and the LawWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 81.2567.5▲ Improved since 2014

    South Sudan: 67.5 · 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 146th of 190 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Civic Space RatingsCIVICUS · 2025 · world median 50.4621No earlier reading

    South Sudan: 21 · 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 165th of 198 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Liberal Democracy IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 0.3530.064▲ Improved since 2015

    South Sudan: 0.064 · world median 0.353 · Liberal democracy index (0–1). V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.009 to 0.884; higher is better.

    Position 154th of 176 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • GovTech Maturity IndexWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 0.630.163▲ Improved since 2022

    South Sudan: 0.163 · 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 180th of 196 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • V-Dem Electoral Democracy IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 0.4970.133No real change since 2015

    South Sudan: 0.133 · world median 0.497 · Electoral democracy index (0–1). V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.016 to 0.913; higher is better.

    Position 164th of 176 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Completeness of Birth RegistrationUNICEF · 2025 · world median 98.435.4No earlier reading

    South Sudan: 35.4 · 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.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Political Corruption IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 0.5180.893▼ Worsened since 2015

    South Sudan: 0.893 · world median 0.518 · Political corruption index (0–1; higher = more corrupt). V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.004 to 0.968; lower is better.

    Position 8th of 176 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Voice and AccountabilityWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.022-1.868▼ Worsened since 2015

    South Sudan: -1.868 · 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 200th of 206 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • State Authority over TerritoryV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 95.365No real change since 2015

    South Sudan: 65 · world median 95.3 · Territory under effective state control (% of official territory). V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 47.56 to 100; higher is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Regulatory QualityWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.093-1.917No real change since 2015

    South Sudan: -1.917 · 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 206th of 209 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Country Policy and Institutional AssessmentWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 3.2461.625No real change since 2015

    South Sudan: 1.625 · world median 3.246 · IDA Resource Allocation Index (1 = low to 6 = high). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 1.617 to 4.225; higher is better.

    Position 77th of 78 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Rule of LawWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.102-2.025No real change since 2015

    South Sudan: -2.025 · 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 209th of 211 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Open Data InventoryOpen Data Watch · 2024 · world median 5920▼ Worsened since 2015

    South Sudan: 20 · 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 167th of 168 by Open Data Watch.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Government AI Readiness IndexOxford Insights · 2025 · world median 40.1912.2No real change since 2022

    South Sudan: 12.2 · 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 194th of 195 by Oxford Insights.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Social Protection CoverageILO · 2025 · world median 52.10No earlier reading

    South Sudan: 0 · 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.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Control of CorruptionWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.197-2.096No real change since 2015

    South Sudan: -2.096 · 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 211th of 211 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

No better end2

These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.

  • Central Bank Independence IndexAna Carolina Garriga, University of Essex · 2023 · world median 0.6080.782Moved since 2013

    South Sudan: 0.782 · 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.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Public Sector Wage BillWorld Bank Group · 2022 · world median 7.9757.328Moved since 2012

    South Sudan: 7.328 · 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 96th of 168 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2022 dataset

05Country Index 2026

Governance & Institutions among South Sudan’s 13 topics

Governance & Institutions is South Sudan’s 9th best-placed topic of 13. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.

On the profile
  1. Environment & Sustainability18th of 181
  2. Risk & Resiliencejoint 163rd of 192
  3. Gender & Equality156th of 183
  4. Energy181st of 193
  5. Food & Agriculture165th of 175
  6. Democracy & Civil Liberties189th of 198
  7. Poverty & Inequalityjoint 153rd of 159
  8. Peace & Security173rd of 177
  9. Governance & Institutions190th of 194
  10. Digital & Technology195th of 198
  11. Development & Human Capital196th of 196
  12. Education & Knowledge171st of 171
  13. Health & Wellbeing200th of 200

No standing on Economy & Innovation, Work & Labour, Mobility & Trade: 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 South Sudan can most readily be measured against.

All 194 countries
  1. 1

    Denmark

    Northern Europe

    1st of 194 · 4 of 4 keys

    Photo: User:Aconcagua · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

  2. 2

    New Zealand

    Australia and New Zealand

    2nd of 194 · 4 of 4 keys

    Photo: Karora derivative work: Inkey · Public domain, greyscale

  3. 3

    Sweden

    Northern Europe

    3rd of 194 · 4 of 4 keys

    Photo: User:Pieter Kuiper · Public domain, greyscale

Placed highest nearby

  1. Highest in Africa

    Seychelles38th4/4 keys
  2. This page

    South Sudan190th4/4 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.

08Questions

South Sudan 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 South Sudan rank on governance & institutions?

South Sudan is placed 190th of 194 countries on Governance & Institutions in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics (Government Effectiveness, Statistical Performance Indicators, Corruption Perceptions Index and Judicial Constraints on the Executive 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 South Sudan?

-2.251 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 South Sudan?

27.12 in 2024 (sPI overall score (0–100)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 69.3.

How does South Sudan compare with Ethiopia on governance & institutions?

Ethiopia is placed 144th of 194, and South Sudan 190th. Government Effectiveness: Ethiopia -0.616, South Sudan -2.251; Statistical Performance Indicators: Ethiopia 61.75, South Sudan 27.12; Corruption Perceptions Index: Ethiopia 38, South Sudan 9; Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index: Ethiopia 0.213, South Sudan 0.157.

How have South Sudan’s governance & institutions figures changed?

Government Effectiveness fell from -1.662 in 2011 to -2.251 in 2025; Statistical Performance Indicators fell from 30.79 in 2016 to 27.12 in 2024; Corruption Perceptions Index fell from 14 in 2013 to 9 in 2025; Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index fell from 0.199 in 2011 to 0.157 in 2025.

Which governance & institutions statistics are missing for South Sudan?

No current reading is published for South Sudan on Agriculture Orientation Index, Business Ready: Operational Efficiency, Business Ready: Public Services, Business Ready: Regulatory Framework, Climate Readiness (ND-GAIN), Debt Service on External Debt, External Debt Stocks (% of GNI), General Government Consumption, Government Funding per Primary Student, Government Spending on Education, Public Sector Employment and Trade Union Density. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.

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.

About governance & institutions, in full

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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

The other 18 statistics on this page come from 8 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

South Sudan’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). South Sudan: Governance & Institutions — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/south-sudan/governance

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