Qatar, Saudi Arabia rank lowest on budget transparency index

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have the worst record when it comes to accounts transparency, citizen participation, and the strength of independent oversight institutions, according to the 2015 Open Budget Index (OBI) published by Washington-based International Budget Partnership.

Both Gulf countries earned a score of zero out if 100, while other underperforming countries included Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Iraq, Sudan and Venezuela. The report described states falling in this category as “undemocratic” and more dependent on oil and gas revenues.

New Zealand earned the highest score at 88, followed by Sweden, South Africa, Norway, the U.S. and Brazil. These countries were said to provide the public enough information on state budgets.

On a global level, budget transparency was seen to be improving as the average OBI score rose to 45. The Kyrgyz Republic, Tunisia and Francophone West Africa— which were previously not as transparent— achieved considerable progress since the last index in 2014.