49174628932_8a4804ce3a_o.jpg

Endgames

Why Militaries Forsook Bouteflika and Al-Bashir, but Not Maduro

Massive peaceful protests are the ultimate endgame for autocrats: If all other means have failed, the incumbent’s political survival hinges on the loyalty of the military. In 2019, presidents in Algeria, Sudan, and Venezuela learned this the hard way.

read more
The-CSCL-Indian-Ocean-in-the-Port-of-Felixstowe.jpg

Chinese Clout

How China Is Expanding Beyond Western Institutions

The "Boao Forum for Asia", the region’s answer to Davos, was slated for late March, but has been postponed amid the spread of COVID-19. But even as the coronavirus unsettles the global economy, China’s bid to reshape international relations beyond Western formats is quietly gathering steam.

read more

BTI

Transformation Index 2018

Restrictions on free speech, unfair elections and populist hunger for power – it is by no means just autocrats who have been tightening the screw of repression. Governments in democracies have also increasingly been trying to govern with a hard hand. And social division is deeper than it has been for a long time.

read more
Index

View all scores for the state of political and economic transformation as well as transformation management.

read more
Country reports

129 detailed reports provide the basis for the ratings.

read more
Atlas

Explore the data with an interactive tool that provides access to all quantitative and qualitative assessments since 2006.

read more
Rank Country Score
1 Czech Republic 9.52
1 Estonia 9.52
3 Taiwan 9.42
4 Lithuania 9.24
5 Uruguay 9.19
6 Slovenia 9.18
7 Chile 8.87
8 Latvia 8.68
9 Slovakia 8.59
10 Poland 8.58
11 South Korea 8.55
12 Costa Rica 8.49
13 Mauritius 8.25
14 Croatia 8.07
15 Romania 8.06
16 Botswana 7.89
17 Bulgaria 7.80
18 Hungary 7.43
19 Serbia 7.40
20 Montenegro 7.35
21 Jamaica 7.31
22 Brazil 7.29
23 Argentina 7.27
24 Singapore 7.15
25 Panama 7.11
26 India 6.96
26 South Africa 6.96
28 El Salvador 6.88
29 Peru 6.85
30 Albania 6.83
31 Macedonia 6.76
32 Ghana 6.75
33 Sri Lanka 6.61
34 Colombia 6.59
34 Mongolia 6.59
36 Ukraine 6.54
37 Namibia 6.50
38 Philippines 6.47
39 Bolivia 6.46
40 Dominican Republic 6.44
41 Benin 6.43
42 Georgia 6.42
43 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.28
44 Tunisia 6.27
45 Bhutan 6.25
45 Indonesia 6.25
47 Paraguay 6.24
48 Mexico 6.23
49 Kosovo 6.21
50 Senegal 6.18
51 Turkey 6.17
52 United Arab Emirates 6.07
53 Malaysia 6.00
54 Moldova 5.96
55 Kyrgyzstan 5.90
56 Qatar 5.88
57 Kenya 5.80
58 Ecuador 5.72
59 Uganda 5.66
60 Kuwait 5.61
61 Armenia 5.58
61 Papua New Guinea 5.58
63 Liberia 5.56
64 Honduras 5.51
64 Tanzania 5.51
66 Malawi 5.49
67 Burkina Faso 5.45
67 Zambia 5.45
69 Côte d'Ivoire 5.38
70 Russia 5.31
71 Guinea 5.28
72 Jordan 5.22
73 Lesotho 5.19
74 Lebanon 5.15
74 Sierra Leone 5.15
76 Mali 5.14
76 Nicaragua 5.14
78 Niger 5.13
79 Bangladesh 5.11
80 Guatemala 5.08
81 China 5.02
82 Madagascar 5.01
83 Algeria 4.98
84 Togo 4.89
85 Rwanda 4.80
86 Belarus 4.72
87 Thailand 4.71
88 Kazakhstan 4.70
89 Bahrain 4.62
90 Morocco 4.61
91 Nigeria 4.60
92 Nepal 4.52
93 Oman 4.43
94 Vietnam 4.41
95 Mozambique 4.31
96 Egypt 4.28
97 Saudi Arabia 4.27
98 Cameroon 4.23
99 Mauritania 4.22
100 Azerbaijan 4.13
101 Cuba 4.02
102 Pakistan 4.01
103 Cambodia 4.00
104 Burundi 3.97
105 Angola 3.94
106 Laos 3.85
107 Iraq 3.75
108 Uzbekistan 3.73
109 Haiti 3.50
110 Venezuela 3.47
111 Congo, Rep. 3.38
111 Myanmar 3.38
113 Ethiopia 3.33
113 Zimbabwe 3.33
115 Chad 3.31
115 Tajikistan 3.31
117 Central African Republic 3.28
118 Iran 3.15
119 Turkmenistan 3.14
120 Congo, DR 3.13
121 Afghanistan 2.95
122 Libya 2.60
123 Sudan 2.28
124 South Sudan 2.27
125 North Korea 2.16
126 Eritrea 1.84
127 Yemen 1.72
128 Syria 1.57
129 Somalia 1.34
Rank Country Score Trend
1 Uruguay 9.95
2 Estonia 9.75
3 Taiwan 9.55
4 Lithuania 9.45
5 Czech Republic 9.40
6 Slovenia 9.25
7 Chile 9.20
8 Costa Rica 9.05
9 Latvia 8.75
10 Slovakia 8.60
11 Poland 8.55
12 Mauritius 8.50
13 South Korea 8.45
14 Croatia 8.35
15 Jamaica 8.30
16 Botswana 8.20
17 Romania 8.15
18 Bulgaria 8.10
19 Argentina 8.00
20 Ghana 7.90
21 Benin 7.85
22 Serbia 7.70
23 Brazil 7.65
24 India 7.60
24 South Africa 7.60
26 Montenegro 7.55
27 Namibia 7.50
28 Mongolia 7.40
29 El Salvador 7.30
29 Panama 7.30
31 Bolivia 7.20
32 Hungary 7.15
33 Senegal 7.10
34 Albania 7.05
35 Dominican Republic 6.95
36 Ukraine 6.90
37 Georgia 6.80
38 Colombia 6.75
39 Peru 6.60
40 Bhutan 6.57
41 Liberia 6.55
41 Sri Lanka 6.55
43 Indonesia 6.50
43 Tunisia 6.50
45 Kosovo 6.45
45 Macedonia 6.45
45 Malawi 6.45
45 Paraguay 6.45
49 Burkina Faso 6.40
50 Niger 6.30
50 Papua New Guinea 6.30
50 Philippines 6.30
53 Kenya 6.25
54 Moldova 6.20
55 Kyrgyzstan 6.15
55 Sierra Leone 6.15
57 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.10
57 Mexico 6.10
57 Tanzania 6.10
60 Guinea 6.05
61 Zambia 6.00
62 Mali 5.95
63 Ecuador 5.90
64 Côte d'Ivoire 5.80
64 Honduras 5.80
66 Lesotho 5.60
67 Turkey 5.55
68 Uganda 5.43
69 Singapore 5.42
70 Madagascar 5.35
70 Nigeria 5.35
72 Armenia 5.12
73 Togo 5.07
74 Guatemala 5.05
75 Nicaragua 4.92
76 Nepal 4.90
77 Lebanon 4.87
77 Malaysia 4.78
79 Algeria 4.75
80 Bangladesh 4.62
81 Russia 4.55
82 Kuwait 4.50
83 Mozambique 4.48
84 Jordan 4.37
85 Belarus 4.33
86 Mauritania 4.22
87 Angola 4.20
88 Haiti 4.10
89 United Arab Emirates 4.00
90 Cameroon 3.92
91 Rwanda 3.88
92 Zimbabwe 3.83
93 Burundi 3.80
93 Kazakhstan 3.80
93 Morocco 3.80
93 Venezuela 3.80
97 Qatar 3.73
98 Egypt 3.70
98 Pakistan 3.70
100 Central African Republic 3.60
100 Iraq 3.60
102 Cuba 3.58
103 Cambodia 3.57
104 Myanmar 3.50
105 Congo, DR 3.47
106 Chad 3.45
107 Azerbaijan 3.43
108 Vietnam 3.35
109 China 3.28
110 Congo, Rep. 3.25
110 Thailand 3.25
112 Bahrain 3.23
113 Uzbekistan 3.17
114 Afghanistan 3.02
114 Ethiopia 3.02
116 Oman 3.00
117 Tajikistan 2.98
119 Iran 2.92
118 Laos 2.92
120 Turkmenistan 2.85
121 South Sudan 2.62
122 North Korea 2.60
123 Libya 2.57
123 Saudi Arabia 2.57
125 Sudan 2.23
126 Eritrea 2.12
127 Yemen 1.80
128 Syria 1.75
129 Somalia 1.43
Rank Country Score Trend
1 Czech Republic 9.64
2 Estonia 9.29
3 Taiwan 9.29
4 Slovenia 9.11
5 Lithuania 9.04
6 Singapore 8.89
7 South Korea 8.64
8 Latvia 8.61
8 Poland 8.61
10 Slovakia 8.57
11 Chile 8.54
12 Uruguay 8.43
13 United Arab Emirates 8.14
14 Qatar 8.04
15 Mauritius 8.00
16 Romania 7.96
17 Costa Rica 7.93
18 Croatia 7.79
19 Hungary 7.71
20 Botswana 7.57
21 Bulgaria 7.50
22 Malaysia 7.21
23 Montenegro 7.14
24 Peru 7.11
24 Serbia 7.11
26 Macedonia 7.07
27 Brazil 6.93
27 Panama 6.93
29 Turkey 6.79
30 China 6.75
31 Kuwait 6.71
32 Sri Lanka 6.68
33 Philippines 6.64
34 Albania 6.61
35 Argentina 6.54
36 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.46
36 El Salvador 6.46
38 Colombia 6.43
39 Mexico 6.36
40 India 6.32
40 Jamaica 6.32
40 South Africa 6.32
43 Thailand 6.18
43 Ukraine 6.18
45 Jordan 6.07
45 Russia 6.07
47 Armenia 6.04
47 Georgia 6.04
47 Paraguay 6.04
47 Tunisia 6.04
51 Bahrain 6.00
51 Indonesia 6.00
53 Kosovo 5.96
53 Saudi Arabia 5.96
53 Bhutan 5.93
53 Dominican Republic 5.93
57 Uganda 5.89
58 Oman 5.86
59 Mongolia 5.79
60 Bolivia 5.71
60 Moldova 5.71
60 Rwanda 5.71
63 Kyrgyzstan 5.64
64 Bangladesh 5.61
64 Ghana 5.61
64 Kazakhstan 5.61
67 Ecuador 5.54
68 Namibia 5.50
69 Vietnam 5.46
70 Lebanon 5.43
70 Morocco 5.43
72 Kenya 5.36
72 Nicaragua 5.36
74 Senegal 5.25
75 Algeria 5.21
75 Honduras 5.21
77 Belarus 5.11
77 Guatemala 5.11
79 Benin 5.00
80 Côte d'Ivoire 4.96
81 Tanzania 4.93
82 Zambia 4.89
83 Egypt 4.86
83 Papua New Guinea 4.86
85 Azerbaijan 4.82
86 Laos 4.79
86 Lesotho 4.79
88 Togo 4.71
89 Madagascar 4.68
90 Liberia 4.57
91 Cameroon 4.54
91 Malawi 4.54
93 Burkina Faso 4.50
93 Guinea 4.50
95 Cuba 4.46
96 Cambodia 4.43
97 Mali 4.32
97 Pakistan 4.32
99 Uzbekistan 4.29
100 Mauritania 4.21
101 Burundi 4.14
101 Mozambique 4.14
101 Nepal 4.14
101 Sierra Leone 4.14
105 Niger 3.96
106 Iraq 3.89
107 Nigeria 3.86
108 Angola 3.68
109 Ethiopia 3.64
109 Tajikistan 3.64
111 Congo, Rep. 3.50
112 Turkmenistan 3.43
113 Iran 3.39
114 Myanmar 3.25
115 Chad 3.18
116 Venezuela 3.14
117 Central African Republic 2.96
118 Afghanistan 2.89
118 Haiti 2.89
120 Zimbabwe 2.82
121 Congo, DR 2.79
122 Libya 2.64
123 Sudan 2.32
124 South Sudan 1.93
125 North Korea 1.71
126 Yemen 1.64
127 Eritrea 1.57
128 Syria 1.39
129 Somalia 1.25
Rank Country Score
1 Estonia 7.44
2 Uruguay 7.36
3 Chile 7.33
3 Taiwan 7.33
5 Lithuania 7.18
6 Botswana 7.09
7 Czech Republic 7.03
8 Latvia 7.00
9 Costa Rica 6.85
10 Slovenia 6.78
11 Senegal 6.70
11 Slovakia 6.70
13 Mauritius 6.64
14 El Salvador 6.57
15 South Korea 6.51
16 Bhutan 6.50
17 Montenegro 6.49
18 Poland 6.25
19 Ghana 6.18
20 Colombia 6.14
21 Croatia 6.07
22 Serbia 6.06
23 Paraguay 6.04
24 Albania 6.02
24 India 6.02
26 Argentina 6.00
27 Bulgaria 5.98
28 Mongolia 5.96
28 South Africa 5.96
30 Brazil 5.95
30 Singapore 5.95
32 Romania 5.89
33 Georgia 5.87
33 Niger 5.87
35 Benin 5.86
35 Jamaica 5.86
37 Liberia 5.84
38 Guinea 5.82
39 Peru 5.81
40 Panama 5.72
41 Bolivia 5.66
42 Malawi 5.61
43 Sri Lanka 5.60
44 Dominican Republic 5.57
45 United Arab Emirates 5.55
46 Côte d'Ivoire 5.54
47 Namibia 5.49
48 Indonesia 5.45
49 Ukraine 5.41
50 Qatar 5.40
51 Tunisia 5.33
52 Uganda 5.31
53 Macedonia 5.24
54 Burkina Faso 5.20
54 Malaysia 5.20
54 Rwanda 5.20
57 Kosovo 5.17
57 Mali 5.17
57 Mexico 5.17
60 Moldova 5.15
61 Madagascar 5.12
62 Togo 5.10
63 Tanzania 5.07
64 Zambia 5.06
65 Ecuador 4.99
66 Honduras 4.98
67 Sierra Leone 4.93
68 Kenya 4.92
69 Philippines 4.90
70 Jordan 4.84
71 China 4.79
72 Papua New Guinea 4.78
73 Kyrgyzstan 4.73
74 Turkey 4.72
75 Nigeria 4.59
76 Algeria 4.55
77 Guatemala 4.52
78 Vietnam 4.51
79 Hungary 4.44
80 Iraq 4.43
81 Kazakhstan 4.41
82 Kuwait 4.37
83 Morocco 4.28
84 Bangladesh 4.27
85 Armenia 4.25
85 Mozambique 4.25
87 Nicaragua 4.22
88 Central African Republic 4.10
89 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4.09
90 Mauritania 4.06
91 Afghanistan 4.02
92 Myanmar 3.97
93 Egypt 3.96
94 Cuba 3.93
95 Laos 3.89
95 Thailand 3.89
97 Azerbaijan 3.86
98 Saudi Arabia 3.80
99 Nepal 3.74
100 Ethiopia 3.65
101 Angola 3.60
101 Lebanon 3.60
103 Lesotho 3.59
104 Oman 3.54
105 Bahrain 3.52
105 Belarus 3.52
105 Russia 3.52
108 Pakistan 3.51
109 Cameroon 3.46
110 Haiti 3.39
111 Tajikistan 3.31
112 Burundi 3.29
113 Cambodia 3.23
114 Congo, Rep. 3.00
115 Iran 2.85
116 Chad 2.84
117 Uzbekistan 2.55
118 Turkmenistan 2.51
119 Congo, DR 2.47
120 Zimbabwe 2.37
121 South Sudan 2.30
122 Libya 2.29
123 Somalia 2.25
124 Sudan 1.97
125 Venezuela 1.86
126 Yemen 1.70
127 North Korea 1.30
128 Eritrea 1.13
128 Syria 1.13
 

BTI Blog

to our blog

March 25, 2020 / Tanja Eschenauer-Engler

Endgames: Why Militaries Forsook Bouteflika and Al-Bashir, but Not Maduro

Massive peaceful protests are the ultimate endgame for autocrats: If all other means have failed, the incumbent’s political survival hinges on the loyalty of the military. In 2019, presidents in Algeria, Sudan, and Venezuela learned this the hard way. When Algerian President Bouteflika announced to run for a fifth term, the masses flooded the streets. […] read more

March 17, 2020 / Eva Seiwert

How China Is Expanding Beyond Western Institutions

The “Boao Forum for Asia”, the region’s answer to Davos, was slated for late March, but has been postponed amid the spread of COVID-19. But even as the coronavirus unsettles the global economy, China’s bid to reshape international relations beyond Western formats is quietly gathering steam. China’s foreign policy should be understood as a large […] read more

February 25, 2020 / Szabolcs Panyi

God, Luck and Politics: A Brief History of Graft in Hungary

Corruption is deeply embedded in Hungary, with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán shielded by a cluster of wealthy bosses with close personal and political ties to the leader. “God, luck and Viktor Orbán certainly played a role in what I’ve achieved so far,” is how Lőrinc Mészáros, the Hungarian Prime Minister’s childhood friend explained his unprecedented […] read more

Social Media


 

Video

Understanding Transformation

A glance at three dynamic cases of democratic reform, socioeconomic development and successful political steering from the perspective of the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index (BTI). read more