Ghana improved its overall governance score in the 2026 Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI), ranking 92nd out of 133 countries and ninth in Africa. Its results were supported by stronger performance in Financial Stewardship and Helping People Rise pillars.
This improvement comes against a backdrop of wider progress across Africa, which was the second-best-performing region for governance improvement in 2026.
Across the continent, 71% of the African countries assessed in both 2025 and 2026 achieved higher overall scores. However, Africa remains the lowest-scoring region overall, highlighting the continued challenge of translating improvements in government capabilities into better outcomes for citizens.
“This year, Africa’s strongest gains came in Financial Stewardship, followed by Helping People Rise, the CGGI’s outcomes pillar. This signals that stronger government capabilities are beginning to translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives, from access to quality education and healthcare to the public finances that fund them. The task now is to sustain that progress over the coming years,” says Dinesh Naidu, Director (Knowledge) at Chandler Governance Group (CGG).
Now in its sixth edition, the CGGI assesses government capabilities and effectiveness across 133 countries, representing 94% of the world’s population, up from 120 countries in 2025. It measures 35 equally weighted indicators across seven pillars, providing governments a practical framework to benchmark performance, identify gaps, track progress over time and learn from peers facing similar constraints.
Globally, 61% of the 120 countries assessed in both 2025 and 2026 recorded higher scores, representing the highest annual share of countries improving since the Index launched in 2021. However, longer-term progress has been less consistent, with only 43% of the 104 countries tracked since 2021 recording an overall improvement.
Financial Stewardship and Helping People Rise support Ghana’s improvement
Ghana’s improved overall score was driven mainly by two pillars. Firstly, its Financial Stewardship’s score, which assesses how effectively governments manage public finances and maintain fiscal sustainability, almost doubled this year, after a period of decline from 2021 to 2024. Helping People Rise, which measures citizen outcomes, has also climbed steadily for the second consecutive year, reflecting improvements in areas such as education and healthcare.
These gains were large enough to lift Ghana’s overall score this year, even as Leadership and Foresight and Attractive Marketplace declined both this year and since 2021.
Progress across Africa remains uneven
Across Africa, average scores improved in six of the seven CGGI pillars over the past year. Despite these gains, the scale of the challenge remains clear. Africa’s regional average is still below its 2021 level, 23 of the 35 African countries in the 2026 Index rank outside the global top 100, and none ranks among the top 50. Seven African countries joined the Index this year: Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Guinea, Lesotho, Liberia and Togo.
“Rankings provide a useful starting point, but the broader value of the CGGI lies in helping governments understand where they are making progress and where further work is needed. Sustained improvements depend on the ability to strengthen institutions, manage resources responsibly and turn policy into meaningful outcomes for citizens,” says Naidu.
A tool for learning and improvement
The CGGI is designed as a practical diagnostic tool, helping governments identify gaps, track progress over time and learn from peers facing similar constraints. Rather than treating rankings as an end in themselves, the Index provides evidence that can inform reform priorities and strengthen the capabilities required for effective government.
“Every country faces its own governance challenges and has different priorities. Governments that are willing to take stock of the evidence and learn from peers to strengthen their institutions are well placed to achieve real improvements,” concludes Naidu.
