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Directorate for Public Governance

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Government at a Glance 2021

The 2021 edition includes input indicators on public finance and employment; process indicators include data on institutions, budgeting practices, human resources management, regulatory governance, public procurement, governance of infrastructure, public sector integrity, open government and digital government. Outcome indicators cover core government results (e.g. trust, political efficacy, inequality reduction) and indicators on access, responsiveness, quality and satisfaction for the education, health and justice sectors. Governance indicators are useful for monitoring and benchmarking governments’ progress in their public sector reforms.

Published on July 09, 2021Also available in: French, Chinese, German, Korean, Spanish

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword
Editorial: Fit for the Future: Learning from the COVID-19 crisis to reinforce democratic governance
Reader’s guide
Executive Summary: Key facts and data
Focus - Fit for the future: Strengthening government resilience
Public finance and economics15 chapters available
General government fiscal balance
General government net saving
General government structural balance
General government gross debt
Financial net worth of general government
Fiscal balance and debt by level of government
General government revenues
Structure of general government revenues
General government expenditures
General government expenditures by function (COFOG)
Breakdown of government spending by functions of social protection and health (COFOG)
Structure of government expenditures by economic transaction
Revenue and expenditure structure by level of government
Government investment spending
Production costs and outsourcing of general government
Public employment7 chapters available
Employment in general government
General government employment across levels of government
Age profile of central government workforce
Gender equality in public sector employment
Gender equality in politics
Youth representation in politics
Gender equality in the judiciary
Institutions4 chapters available
Role of centres of government in the response to COVID-19
Role of centres of government in planning for the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic
Crisis communications: Role of centres of government and ministries of health
Role of centres of government and ministries of health in countering misinformation and disinformation
Budgeting4 chapters available
Green budgeting
Green budgeting to support a green recovery
Spending reviews
Independent fiscal institutions: Promoting transparency and accountability early in the COVID-19 crisis
Human resources management5 chapters available
Attracting and recruiting public servants
Management of senior level public servants
Diversity and inclusion in the public service
People management responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the public service
Measuring employee engagement
Regulatory governance6 chapters available
Stakeholder engagement
Regulatory impact assessment
Ex post evaluation
The independence of economic regulators
Accountability arrangements of economic regulators
Assessing regulators’ performance
Public procurement5 chapters available
Size of public procurement
Strategic public procurement for delivering social value
E-procurement and integration with public financial management
Managing emergency procurement and risks
Professionalisation of public procurement
Open government3 chapters available
Efforts to promote open government literacy in the public administration
Citizen and stakeholder participation portals
Implementation of access to information laws
Digital government3 chapters available
Digital government: Progress towards digital competence and maturity
Digital by design: Strengthening co-ordination and skills to foster digital transformation
Data as a strategic asset for the public sector
Governance of infrastructure4 chapters available
Long-term strategic vision for sustainable infrastructure
Assessment of value for money and affordability
Life cycle perspective in infrastructure procurement
Governance of critical infrastructure resilience
Public sector integrity2 chapters available
Integrity and anti-corruption strategies
Transparency in lobbying activities
Core government results5 chapters available
Trust in public institutions
Internal and external political efficacy
Income redistribution
Rule of law
Cost effectiveness
Serving citizens13 chapters available
Serving citizens scorecards
Satisfaction with services
Access to health care
Access to education
Access to justice
Responsiveness of health systems to patient needs
Responsiveness of education systems to special needs
Timeliness of civil justice services
Quality of health care
Student performance and equity in education
Effectiveness and fairness of the justice system
Serving young people
Designing and delivering user-driven public services in the digital age
Annexes10 chapters available
Structure and indicators
Reporting systems and sources of countries for government in the National Accounts statistics
Methodology for revenue aggregates
Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG)
Classification and definition of occupations
Methodology for composite indexes on Strategic Human Resources Management
Methodology for the OECD Digital Government Index
Additional figures accessible online
Members of the Government at a Glance Steering Group
Glossary
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