Open Budget Survey
Open Budget Survey
The world’s only independent, comparative, and fact-based assessment of budget transparency, public participation and oversight.
Twenty years of open budgets.
Explore the moments that shaped two decades of budget accountability work.
What does the Open Budget Survey measure?
First launched in 2006, the Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparative, and fact-based research instrument to measure national budget accountability. It assesses each country across three dimensions: transparency of budget information, opportunities for meaningful public participation, and the effectiveness of legislative and audit oversight. Together, these tell us how open and accountable a government’s budget process is in practice.
Transparency
Is there timely, accessible, and comprehensive information about how government budgets are planned and spent?
Participation
Do civil society and the broader public (including historically excluded groups) have structured opportunities to engage at key moments and influence budget choices?
Oversight
Do the legislature and audit institutions have the authority and practices needed to review the budget and scrutinize how it is implemented?
The OBS is more than a research tool. It is also a platform that brings together civil society organizations around the world to learn from each other’s experiences and to engage with their governments to make their budgets more open and accountable. By providing a shared evidence base, the survey helps advocates identify concrete reform opportunities, track progress over time, and build coalitions for change.
The survey is not an opinion poll or a measure of perceptions; rather, it is based on a rigorous, objective methodology subject to a series of data quality checks.
- Transparency
- Public Participation
- Oversight
OBS 2025 Release Schedule
This round of the survey we are doing things differently. The results will unfold through a series of five regional launches— allowing governments and civil society more space for regional context and opportunities to drive change. Each release will be anchored by an immersive data story and convening designed to move findings into action. Check back as each release goes live, or sign up to be notified when your region’s results are ready.
Latin America & Caribbean
About the Open Budget Survey
Methodology
The Open Budget Survey results are based on 218 questions that remain the same for each country. The survey is conducted by researchers typically based in the respective country. Almost all of the researchers come from civil society organizations (most of whom have a significant focus on budget issues) or academic institutions.
The OBS 2025 assesses only documents published and events, activities, or developments that took place through 31 December 2024; any actions occurring after this date are not accounted for in the 2025 survey results.
Scored questions: 145 of the questions are scored and include 109 questions that assess the public availability of budget information, 18 questions that assess opportunities for the public to participate in the budget process, and 18 questions that assess the role of the legislature and the supreme audit institution.
Unscored questions: the 73 unscored questions help to complete the OBS research by collecting background information on key budget documents and exploring different characteristics of a country’s public finance management.
Each country’s completed draft questionnaire is reviewed by IBP, as well as – in the great majority of cases – a representative of the country’s government. The questionnaires are also subjected to a thorough series of cross-country comparability and data quality assurance checks.
The scored questions produce three composite scores:
Participation score: the survey assesses the degree to which the executive, the legislature, and the supreme audit institution each provides opportunities for the public to engage during different stages of the budget process.
Oversight score: the survey examines the role that legislatures and supreme audit institutions play in the budget process and the extent to which they are able to provide robust oversight of the budget. Supplementary information on the existence and practice of independent fiscal institutions is also collected by the survey, but these questions are not scored.
Budget transparency score (previously known as the Open Budget Index): this score assesses the public availability and comprehensiveness of the eight key budget documents, which taken together provide a complete view of how public resources have been raised, planned, and spent during the budget year. To be considered “publicly available”, documents must be published online, in a timely manner, and must include information that is sufficiently detailed and useful. A score of 61 or above indicates a country is likely publishing enough material to support informed public debate on the budget.
For more information, see the Open Budget Survey 2025 Methodology and the OBS 2025 Questionnaire and Guidelines.
Funders
Partners
The Open Budget Survey would not be possible without the partnership of civil society organizations and academic institutions across the world. Although the mandates and areas of focus by these groups vary widely, all have a common interest in promoting open and accountable budgeting practices in their countries.
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Country Results
Compare your country’s score from the last Open Budget Survey
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