Open budget survey 2012
The results of a major global assessment of government budget systems and practices raise serious questions about the prospects for individual countries to overcome poverty and promote economic development and for international efforts like the Millennium Development Goals. The International Budget Partnership released the Open Budget Survey 2012, the only independent, comparative, and regular measure of budget transparency and accountability around the world. Produced every two years, the 2012 Survey reveals that the national budgets of 77 of the 100 countries assessed – these 77 countries are home to half the world’s population – fail to meet basic standards of budget transparency. The OBI 2012 scores are very low, with the average score among the 100 countries studied being just 43 out of 100. The governments of 21 countries do not even publish the Executive Budget Proposal, the most critical document for understanding government plans to manage the country’s finances.