Singapore again tops the Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI) in 2025 – its fourth time in pole position since the Index was launched in 2021. Not only that, the gap between Singapore and its closest competitor has grown, as the city-state continues to log improvements from year to year. Denmark and Norway are second and third respectively in CGGI 2025.
The top seven countries in this year’s ranking have maintained their 2024 positions. The eighth position goes to Germany, which moves up one spot from 2024. In nineth place is the United Arab Emirates, which jumps five spots. Rounding off the global top 10 is Luxembourg, which is down two places from last year.
CGGI, now in its fifth year, reinforces the message that good governance matters, for a country’s resilience, prosperity, and progress. It shows why investing in strong government capabilities is vital in securing positive outcomes for citizens and businesses. In fact, one of the most consistent findings over the five years has been the strong link between government capabilities – measured in the first six pillars of the Index – and outcomes that Help People Rise – the seventh and final pillar.
What differentiates a good government from a great one?
Five years of CGGI data point to three key areas: the indicators for Regulatory Governance and Rule of Law show the strongest correlation with high overall CGGI scores. So, while good leadership is important, good governance is ultimately about the architecture and engineering of nations. Having the right institutions and systems is critical for governments to perform well, and work effectively. Ethical Leadership, which looks at a government’s capability to build cultures of integrity, remains one of the most strongly correlated indicators to overall CGGI scores. This is not surprising, given that corruption erodes trust.
Singapore
Singapore leads the world in the four pillars of Leadership & Foresight, Strong Institutions, Attractive Marketplace, and Helping People Rise. It ranks among the top 10 in Robust Laws & Policies, and Financial Stewardship, and among the top 30 in Global Influence & Reputation.
Singapore, as the global CGGI leader, is ahead of countries in the Asia Pacific. Regionally, positioned after Singapore are, respectively, Australia (global ranking: 12; CGGI score: 0.768), New Zealand (rank: 13; score: 0.761), South Korea (rank: 17; score: 0.739), and Japan (rank: 19; score: 0.731). The Index also lists the rising stars, comprising countries which have shown the most improvements in the last five years.
Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific is the most populous CGGI region, comprising 19 ranked countries. It is the second best-performing region globally, accounting for five out of the top 20 highest-ranked countries. The region trails only Europe & North America, and is ahead of Africa, Latin America & Caribbean, and Middle East, Central & West Asia.
From 2021 to 2025, the average score for Asia Pacific has improved slightly, with East Asia leading the way. The average score improvement of countries from this sub‑region is the highest compared to all sub‑regions globally, driven largely by significant progress from China and Mongolia, although Japan and South Korea also register slight improvements over the same time period.
Meanwhile, Southeast Asia shows moderate improvements over the past five years, while Oceania records a small decline.
South Asia, on the other hand, has recorded a significant decline, and continues to be the second weakest performing sub-region globally. This sub-region is particularly weak in the Financial Stewardship, Global Influence & Reputation, Leadership & Foresight, and Helping People Rise pillars.
More analysis and the full report are available online.
© 2024 Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
