Control of corruption (WGI)
Definition
Perceptions of the extent to which public power is exercised for private gain, including petty and grand corruption. Estimate in units of a standard normal distribution (mean 0 and standard deviation 1 across countries), roughly from −2.5 to +2.5. Aggregates dozens of surveys and assessments by experts, NGOs and international organizations.
- Formula
- Unobserved components model weighting each source by its precision (Kaufmann, Kraay and Mastruzzi, 2011).
- Unit
- estimate (≈ −2.5 to +2.5)
- Uncertainty
- 90% confidence interval: estimate ± 1.645 × standard error published by the WGI.
- License
- CC-BY-4.0
Control of corruption (WGI)
- Brazil
- Argentina
- Chile
- Colombia
- Mexico
- Control of corruption (WGI)
- Source: World Bank — Worldwide Governance Indicators · Source version: 2026-09-25 · Collected on: 2026-10-26 · License: CC-BY-4.0
· Paper behind the metric: Kaufmann, D
Uncertainty: 90% confidence interval: estimate ± 1.645 × standard error published by the WGI.
Download data (CSV) · View the code: collection code · chart.ts
View the data as a table
| Year | Brazil | Argentina | Chile | Colombia | Mexico |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 0.12 (-0.21–0.45) | -0.23 (-0.56–0.10) | 1.59 (1.26–1.92) | -0.52 (-0.85–-0.19) | -0.66 (-0.99–-0.33) |
| 1998 | 0.16 (-0.17–0.50) | -0.42 (-0.75–-0.09) | 1.37 (1.04–1.70) | -0.59 (-0.93–-0.26) | -0.42 (-0.75–-0.08) |
| 2000 | 0.11 (-0.22–0.44) | -0.31 (-0.64–0.02) | 1.54 (1.21–1.87) | -0.63 (-0.96–-0.29) | -0.05 (-0.38–0.28) |
| 2002 | 0.10 (-0.23–0.43) | -0.56 (-0.90–-0.23) | 1.55 (1.22–1.88) | -0.24 (-0.57–0.10) | -0.33 (-0.66–0.00) |
| 2003 | 0.05 (-0.28–0.38) | -0.55 (-0.88–-0.22) | 1.17 (0.84–1.50) | -0.18 (-0.51–0.15) | -0.33 (-0.66–0.00) |
| 2004 | -0.11 (-0.40–0.19) | -0.41 (-0.70–-0.11) | 1.27 (0.97–1.56) | -0.07 (-0.36–0.22) | -0.46 (-0.75–-0.17) |
| 2005 | -0.25 (-0.55–0.04) | -0.39 (-0.68–-0.09) | 1.50 (1.21–1.80) | -0.10 (-0.39–0.19) | -0.44 (-0.73–-0.14) |
| 2006 | -0.22 (-0.51–0.07) | -0.32 (-0.61–-0.03) | 1.47 (1.18–1.76) | -0.20 (-0.49–0.08) | -0.34 (-0.63–-0.05) |
| 2007 | -0.29 (-0.58–0.00) | -0.42 (-0.70–-0.13) | 1.40 (1.10–1.69) | -0.26 (-0.55–0.02) | -0.41 (-0.70–-0.12) |
| 2008 | -0.09 (-0.38–0.20) | -0.41 (-0.70–-0.12) | 1.40 (1.11–1.69) | -0.23 (-0.51–0.06) | -0.39 (-0.68–-0.10) |
| 2009 | -0.04 (-0.32–0.25) | -0.39 (-0.68–-0.11) | 1.42 (1.13–1.71) | -0.29 (-0.57–-0.00) | -0.32 (-0.60–-0.03) |
| 2010 | -0.01 (-0.30–0.27) | -0.36 (-0.65–-0.08) | 1.51 (1.21–1.81) | -0.37 (-0.66–-0.09) | -0.38 (-0.67–-0.10) |
| 2011 | 0.22 (-0.04–0.47) | -0.34 (-0.59–-0.08) | 1.54 (1.28–1.81) | -0.20 (-0.46–0.06) | -0.42 (-0.68–-0.17) |
| 2012 | -0.02 (-0.29–0.24) | -0.54 (-0.80–-0.28) | 1.48 (1.21–1.75) | -0.41 (-0.67–-0.15) | -0.49 (-0.75–-0.23) |
| 2013 | -0.08 (-0.34–0.19) | -0.54 (-0.80–-0.28) | 1.43 (1.16–1.70) | -0.44 (-0.70–-0.18) | -0.56 (-0.83–-0.30) |
| 2014 | -0.26 (-0.52–0.01) | -0.66 (-0.93–-0.40) | 1.39 (1.12–1.65) | -0.37 (-0.63–-0.11) | -0.79 (-1.05–-0.53) |
| 2015 | -0.35 (-0.61–-0.09) | -0.64 (-0.91–-0.38) | 1.15 (0.88–1.41) | -0.32 (-0.58–-0.05) | -0.84 (-1.11–-0.58) |
| 2016 | -0.34 (-0.60–-0.07) | -0.22 (-0.48–0.04) | 1.13 (0.86–1.40) | -0.37 (-0.63–-0.11) | -0.81 (-1.07–-0.55) |
| 2017 | -0.47 (-0.73–-0.20) | -0.18 (-0.44–0.09) | 1.11 (0.85–1.38) | -0.41 (-0.67–-0.15) | -0.95 (-1.21–-0.69) |
| 2018 | -0.43 (-0.69–-0.17) | -0.01 (-0.27–0.25) | 1.10 (0.83–1.37) | -0.32 (-0.58–-0.05) | -0.96 (-1.22–-0.70) |
| 2019 | -0.37 (-0.64–-0.11) | -0.08 (-0.35–0.18) | 1.16 (0.89–1.43) | -0.27 (-0.54–-0.01) | -0.89 (-1.16–-0.63) |
| 2020 | -0.34 (-0.60–-0.07) | -0.14 (-0.40–0.13) | 1.22 (0.95–1.49) | -0.26 (-0.52–0.01) | -0.86 (-1.12–-0.59) |
| 2021 | -0.40 (-0.67–-0.14) | -0.32 (-0.59–-0.06) | 1.15 (0.88–1.42) | -0.27 (-0.53–-0.01) | -0.87 (-1.14–-0.61) |
| 2022 | -0.46 (-0.72–-0.19) | -0.34 (-0.60–-0.08) | 1.15 (0.88–1.42) | -0.26 (-0.52–0.00) | -0.88 (-1.14–-0.62) |
| 2023 | -0.44 (-0.71–-0.17) | -0.34 (-0.60–-0.07) | 1.06 (0.79–1.33) | -0.30 (-0.56–-0.03) | -0.92 (-1.19–-0.66) |
| 2024 | -0.40 (-0.66–-0.13) | -0.33 (-0.59–-0.06) | 1.14 (0.87–1.41) | -0.28 (-0.55–-0.02) | -0.93 (-1.19–-0.66) |
| 2025 | -0.38 (-0.65–-0.11) | -0.39 (-0.65–-0.12) | 1.10 (0.83–1.37) | -0.31 (-0.58–-0.04) | -0.94 (-1.21–-0.68) |
Criticisms of the metric
- Confidence intervals are wide: small differences between years or countries are often not statistically significant.
- The scale is relative: the world average is 0 every year, so the indicator cannot show global improvement or decline, only position relative to other countries.
- Perception-based; sources may react to news and economic performance, not only to institutional quality.
- The series starts in 1996 and was biennial until 2002 (no 1997, 1999 or 2001).
References
- Kaufmann, D., Kraay, A., & Mastruzzi, M. (2011). The Worldwide Governance Indicators: methodology and analytical issues. Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, 3(2), 220–246. doi:10.1017/S1876404511200046