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Photo: Haanofonua derivative work: Massimo Telò · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 01 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Tonga: Governance & Institutions
How well is the state actually run?
Tonga is placed 124th of 194 countries on governance & institutions in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Government Effectiveness -0.059 (2025); Statistical Performance Indicators 63.2 (2024).
Governance & Institutions
124th
of 194 countries placed
Placed from 2 of 4 key statistics
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Tonga 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
-0.059
Governance estimate (−2.5 weak to 2.5 strong)
Higher is better
Tonga: -0.059. 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 Polynesia
- 0.869 American Samoa
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
63.2
SPI overall score (0–100)
Higher is better
Tonga: 63.2. 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 Polynesia
- 63.2 Tonga
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)
No reading
CPI score (0–100, where 100 is very clean)
Higher is better
Transparency International publishes no 2025 figure for Tonga, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 9 (Somalia) to 89 (Denmark); the world median is 39.
- World median
- 39
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 Tonga, 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
Each grey tick is one of 176 countries in the 2025 edition.
02Over time
Which way Tonga 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
TongaWorld median
Tonga rose from -0.728 in 2004 to -0.059 in 2025; the world median went from -0.314 to 0.101.
Every year’s figures
Year Tonga World median 2025 -0.0590 0.1006 2024 -0.0630 0.0098 2023 -0.1469 -0.0408 2022 -0.2451 -0.0305 2021 0.0557 -0.0158 2020 0.0550 -0.0171 2019 0.1977 0.0150 2018 0.1961 0.0159 2017 0.0569 0.0158 2016 -0.1365 0.0225 2015 -0.1374 0.0038 2014 -0.1343 0.0194 2013 -0.3212 -0.0758 2012 -0.3209 -0.0839 2011 -0.3210 -0.1221 2010 -0.2680 -0.1145 2009 -0.2956 -0.1609 2008 -0.3885 -0.2134 2007 -0.5092 -0.3260 2006 -0.6706 -0.3310 2005 -0.6699 -0.3706 2004 -0.7281 -0.3140 2003 — -0.4369 2002 — -0.3366 2000 — -0.3969 Statistical Performance Indicators
SPI overall score (0–100) · higher is better
TongaWorld median
Tonga rose from 55.46 in 2020 to 63.2 in 2024; the world median went from 62.91 to 69.3.
Every year’s figures
Year Tonga World median 2024 63.2 69.30 2023 64.1 68.86 2022 63.6 67.99 2021 66.2 69.96 2020 55.5 62.91 2019 — 61.19 2018 — 61.17 2017 — 59.55 2016 — 56.25
03In context
Tonga 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.
1st194thNot placed · 30 countries with too few key statisticsNo data
Tonga and Polynesia
Tonga has no land border, so the table compares it with its sub-region. 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Samoa | =106th | 0.203 | 62.83 | — | — |
| Tonga | 124th | -0.059 | 63.2 | — | — |
 Tuvalu | 172nd | -0.603 | 43.02 | — | — |
 American Samoa | not placed | 0.869 | — | — | — |
 Cook Islands | not placed | 0.186 | — | — | — |
 French Polynesia | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 Niue | not placed | -0.707 | — | — | — |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Polynesia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 194.
Placed either side on governance & institutions
The countries immediately above and below Tonga in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Tonga 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 median4
Statistics on which Tonga does better than the middle country measured.
Civic Space RatingsCIVICUS · 2025 · world median 50.4680.0350.46No earlier reading
Tonga: 80.03 · 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 42nd of 198 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Rule of LawWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.1020.774-0.102▲ Improved since 2015
Tonga: 0.774 · 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 50th of 211 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Voice and AccountabilityWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.0220.806-0.022▲ Improved since 2015
Tonga: 0.806 · 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 53rd of 206 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Country Policy and Institutional AssessmentWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 3.2463.4833.246No real change since 2015
Tonga: 3.483 · 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 22nd of 78 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median10
Statistics on which Tonga does worse than the middle country measured.
Completeness of Birth RegistrationUNICEF · 2025 · world median 98.497.798.4No earlier reading
Tonga: 97.7 · 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.
Regulatory QualityWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.093-0.255-0.093No real change since 2015
Tonga: -0.255 · 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 119th 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 -0.197-0.417-0.197▲ Improved since 2015
Tonga: -0.417 · 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 130th of 211 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Climate Readiness (ND-GAIN)Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 2024 · world median 0.3870.3530.387▼ Worsened since 2014
Tonga: 0.353 · 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 122nd of 192 by Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame.
Social Protection CoverageILO · 2025 · world median 52.128.252.1No earlier reading
Tonga: 28.2 · 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.
Agriculture Orientation IndexFAO · 2024 · world median 0.3050.170.305▼ Worsened since 2014
Tonga: 0.17 · 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 97th of 132 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Debt Service on External DebtWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 12.9322.8212.93▼ Worsened since 2014
Tonga: 22.82 · world median 12.93 · Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.285 to 96.2; lower is better.
Position 27th of 109 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
GovTech Maturity IndexWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 0.630.3430.63▼ Worsened since 2022
Tonga: 0.343 · 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 152nd of 196 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Government AI Readiness IndexOxford Insights · 2025 · world median 40.1923.1140.19▼ Worsened since 2020
Tonga: 23.11 · 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 156th of 195 by Oxford Insights.
Women, Business and the LawWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 81.2558.7581.25▼ Worsened since 2014
Tonga: 58.75 · 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 162nd of 190 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
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.
Public Sector Wage BillWorld Bank Group · 2022 · world median 7.97514.627.975Moved since 2012
Tonga: 14.62 · 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 13th 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 0.6080.5540.608Moved since 2013
Tonga: 0.554 · 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 Tonga
Business Ready: Operational Efficiency, Business Ready: Public Services, Business Ready: Regulatory Framework, Corruption Perceptions Index, External Debt Stocks (% of GNI) (last 2023), General Government Consumption (last 2024), Government Funding per Primary Student (last 2004), Government Spending on Education (last 2022), Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index, Liberal Democracy Index, Open Data Inventory, 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 Tonga’s 14 topics
Governance & Institutions is Tonga’s 10th 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.
- Poverty & Inequality14th of 1592/2 keys
- Education & Knowledge21st of 1712/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties43rd of 1982/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeing67th of 2003/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainabilityjoint 93rd of 1812/3 keys
- Gender & Equality99th of 1832/4 keys
- Work & Labourjoint 103rd of 1824/4 keys
- Development & Human Capital115th of 1963/3 keys
- Risk & Resilience118th of 1923/3 keys
- Governance & Institutions124th of 1942/4 keys
- Food & Agriculture112th of 1752/4 keys
- Energy140th of 1932/3 keys
- Digital & Technology158th of 1983/3 keys
- Economy & Innovation146th of 1762/4 keys
No standing on Peace & Security, 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 Tonga 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 Oceania
New Zealand2nd4/4 keysHighest in Polynesia
Samoa=106th2/4 keysThis page
Tonga124th2/4 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 Tonga and governance & institutions
08Questions
Tonga 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 Tonga rank on governance & institutions?
Tonga is placed 124th of 194 countries on Governance & Institutions in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 4 key statistics (Government Effectiveness and Statistical Performance Indicators). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Government Effectiveness figure for Tonga?
-0.059 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 Tonga?
63.2 in 2024 (sPI overall score (0–100)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 69.3.
How have Tonga’s governance & institutions figures changed?
Government Effectiveness rose from -0.728 in 2004 to -0.059 in 2025; Statistical Performance Indicators rose from 55.46 in 2020 to 63.2 in 2024.
Which governance & institutions statistics are missing for Tonga?
No current reading is published for Tonga on Business Ready: Operational Efficiency, Business Ready: Public Services, Business Ready: Regulatory Framework, Corruption Perceptions Index, External Debt Stocks (% of GNI), General Government Consumption, Government Funding per Primary Student, Government Spending on Education, Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index, Liberal Democracy Index, Open Data Inventory, 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
Tonga, topic by topic
- Economy & Innovation146th of 176
- Work & Labour=103rd of 182
- Education & Knowledge21st of 171
- Health & Wellbeing67th of 200
- Development & Human Capital115th of 196
- Environment & Sustainability=93rd of 181
- Gender & Equality99th of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties43rd of 198
- Risk & Resilience118th of 192
- Food & Agriculture112th of 175
- Poverty & Inequality14th of 159
- Energy140th of 193
- Digital & Technology158th of 198
- The full Tonga 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 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
Tonga’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Tonga (banner) — Haanofonua derivative work: Massimo Telò, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 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). Tonga: Governance & Institutions — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/tonga/governance