Mali Government Effectiveness

Mali’s Government Effectiveness score has slipped to –1.18 in 2025, placing it 177th out of 190 economies in the World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators. Over the 26‑year series the index moved from –1.00 in 1996 to a high of –0.70 in 2002, before descending to an all‑time low of –1.25 in 2021 and then modestly rebounding. The recent figure mirrors the performance of peers such as Suriname (–1.18) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (–1.18), underscoring a regional pattern of weak bureaucratic capacity, limited policy implementation and inadequate public service delivery. The trough in 2021 coincided with heightened security challenges and fiscal strain, which eroded institutional quality and slowed reform momentum. Although the 2025 score suggests a slight recovery from the 2021 nadir, sustained improvements will require deeper civil‑service reforms, stronger accountability mechanisms and more effective coordination between central and local authorities to reverse the long‑term decline.