StIx

Composite Index: Three Dimensions

The Stateness Index is a tool for measuring stateness and state quality that includes country-ranking through aggregated and disaggregated data to advance performance comparison and policy analysis.

We provide a composite index that compiles three central dimensions as main components – the monopoly of law, monopoly of violence and monopoly of administration – into a single index and simultaneously keeps the multidimensionality of stateness through disaggregated scores.

Drawing on data from the Varieties-of-Democracy-Project (V-Dem), the index offers data for more than 170 countries in the period between 1950 until today. One exceptional strength of our index rests on both country and year coverage that surpasses existing indices that measure stateness by far.

The StIx data set can be visualised on the homepage, edited according to own selection criteria and downloaded.

Two layers of conceptualization and operationalization

The innovation of the Stateness Index is the distinction between two layers of conceptualization and operationalization: the first layer of the concept presents the formal state and stateness that is measured through a set of indicators that represent formal or “official” institutions. The second layer of informality enriches the formal concept with informal institutions that exist alongside the formal institutional framework of a state. The inclusion of the second layer of measurement enhances the concept and captures the “reality” of stateness more accurately than the sole measurement of formal institutions.

Defining State and Stateness

The State is an institutionalized social and political order and organization of hierarchical authority that is in exclusive control of the Monopoly of Law, Monopoly of Violence and Monopoly of Administration throughout a given territory and its inhabitants.

Stateness as the performance of institutions denotes that a state can insert and uphold the laws enacted by the regime, possesses the means necessary to control both territory and populations and commands a bureaucratic infrastructure to implement and exert territorial sovereignty throughout the state territory.

Monopoly of Law, Monopoly of Violence, Monopoly of Administration

The three monopolies/dimensions - Monopoly of Law, Monopoly of Violence, Monopoly of Administration - capture the central functions of the state: legislative, judiciary and executive. These are represented by central institutions. While the first two functions are linked to parliament (rule making) and courts (rule control and interpretation), the executive is divided into the function of enforcement (military, police) and implementation (government and state bureaucracy).

Two layers of Measurement: Formal and informal Institutions

In a comprehensive understanding of the state, empirical cases are always a mixture of formal and informal institutions and practices, which together shape the specific appearance of the state.

Formal institutions legally construct a state through written rules and regulations that are implemented and enforced by the state. The authority of informal institutions is not based or originated from the state´s sovereign claim to the monopoly of law but evolves from the “power of the facts” as actual enforcement power of non-state actors and groups that enables them to legislate and enforce their own rules.

The impact formal and informal institutions have on each other varies significantly. The impact is ambiguous because it depends on a multitude of factors like prevalence, autonomy, role, and authority of non-state legal orders, which in turn vary across contexts, institutional settings, and dynamic factors.

For our Index, we oversimplify the interactions between state and informality with a restriction to competing or conflictual relations and negative effects between formal and informal institutions.

To learn about Aggregation and Typology, click here. The Typology of StIx is primarily designed to outline discrepancies between types (high functioning to collapsed state), not within types.

The table below displays the Stateness Ranking for 2022 based on the total Value of the Context Measurement.

Ranking 2022 - Context Measurement

Rank	Country	Total Value	Classification	Monopoly of	Monopoly of	Monopoly of
Rank	Country	Index	Classification	Law	Violence	Administration
1	Singapore	0,930	High functioning State	0,879	0,959	0,953
2	Australia	0,919	High functioning State	0,929	0,926	0,902
3	Denmark	0,914	High functioning State	0,908	0,921	0,913
4	Netherlands	0,906	High functioning State	0,904	0,922	0,892
5	Estonia	0,906	High functioning State	0,925	0,950	0,846
6	Luxembourg	0,906	High functioning State	0,871	0,967	0,882
7	Norway	0,900	High functioning State	0,903	0,876	0,923
8	Belgium	0,900	High functioning State	0,886	0,929	0,885
9	New Zealand	0,900	High functioning State	0,910	0,920	0,869
10	Germany	0,899	High functioning State	0,938	0,890	0,871
11	Finland	0,894	High functioning State	0,919	0,908	0,856
12	Seychelles	0,890	High functioning State	0,901	0,922	0,847
13	United Kingdom	0,881	High functioning State	0,903	0,918	0,824
14	Sweden	0,872	High functioning State	0,876	0,896	0,845
15	Portugal	0,872	High functioning State	0,885	0,920	0,814
16	Latvia	0,864	High functioning State	0,859	0,918	0,819
17	Uruguay	0,862	High functioning State	0,884	0,934	0,775
18	Switzerland	0,861	High functioning State	0,920	0,807	0,861
19	Japan	0,861	High functioning State	0,892	0,806	0,888
20	France	0,860	High functioning State	0,881	0,835	0,864
21	Spain	0,857	High functioning State	0,886	0,958	0,742
22	Malta	0,849	High functioning State	0,853	0,903	0,796
23	United States of America	0,849	High functioning State	0,894	0,831	0,824
24	Czechia	0,848	High functioning State	0,792	0,969	0,795
25	Austria	0,847	High functioning State	0,882	0,865	0,798
26	Canada	0,846	High functioning State	0,847	0,871	0,820
27	Barbados	0,844	High functioning State	0,809	0,929	0,800
28	South Korea	0,843	High functioning State	0,815	0,911	0,808
29	Ireland	0,840	High functioning State	0,820	0,865	0,838
30	Lithuania	0,838	High functioning State	0,884	0,814	0,819
31	Costa Rica	0,838	High functioning State	0,892	0,891	0,741
32	United Arab Emirates	0,831	High functioning State	0,865	0,856	0,776
33	Slovenia	0,829	High functioning State	0,777	0,893	0,821
34	Iceland	0,816	High functioning State	0,884	0,744	0,827
35	Botswana	0,807	High functioning State	0,829	0,896	0,707
36	Chile	0,807	High functioning State	0,883	0,791	0,751
37	Slovakia	0,804	High functioning State	0,830	0,877	0,714
38	Italy	0,803	High functioning State	0,857	0,793	0,761
39	Jamaica	0,802	High functioning State	0,848	0,811	0,751
40	Israel	0,802	High functioning State	0,881	0,720	0,812
41	Poland	0,794	High functioning State	0,853	0,823	0,713
42	Trinidad and Tobago	0,788	High functioning State	0,707	0,882	0,784
43	Taiwan	0,773	High functioning State	0,738	0,802	0,781
44	Bulgaria	0,772	Moderate functioning State	0,752	0,930	0,658
45	Greece	0,772	High functioning State	0,802	0,753	0,761
46	Montenegro	0,770	High functioning State	0,697	0,911	0,719
47	Hungary	0,770	Moderate functioning State	0,766	0,858	0,693
48	Oman	0,753	Moderate functioning State	0,865	0,729	0,678
49	Bhutan	0,745	High functioning State	0,696	0,736	0,808
50	Argentina	0,724	Moderate functioning State	0,684	0,814	0,681
51	The Gambia	0,723	Moderate functioning State	0,687	0,835	0,659
52	Qatar	0,719	Moderate functioning State	0,733	0,814	0,624
53	Indonesia	0,717	Moderate functioning State	0,737	0,782	0,639
54	Croatia	0,710	Moderate functioning State	0,621	0,882	0,653
55	Romania	0,706	Moderate functioning State	0,831	0,816	0,519
56	Vanuatu	0,704	Moderate functioning State	0,767	0,841	0,540
57	Cuba	0,703	Moderate functioning State	0,810	0,758	0,565
58	Suriname	0,702	Moderate functioning State	0,730	0,714	0,663
59	Maldives	0,700	Moderate functioning State	0,757	0,824	0,550
60	Kuwait	0,697	Moderate functioning State	0,811	0,685	0,609
61	China	0,697	Moderate functioning State	0,844	0,718	0,558
62	Serbia	0,683	Moderate functioning State	0,661	0,750	0,643
63	Saudi Arabia	0,681	Moderate functioning State	0,794	0,765	0,520
64	Namibia	0,679	Moderate functioning State	0,799	0,789	0,498
65	Panama	0,678	Moderate functioning State	0,744	0,642	0,654
66	Jordan	0,677	Moderate functioning State	0,696	0,786	0,567
67	Albania	0,672	Moderate functioning State	0,655	0,825	0,562
68	North Korea	0,666	Defective State	0,790	0,782	0,479
69	Guyana	0,661	Defective State	0,713	0,837	0,483
70	Russia	0,661	Moderate functioning State	0,769	0,730	0,514
71	Brazil	0,661	Moderate functioning State	0,704	0,670	0,611
72	Kazakhstan	0,657	Moderate functioning State	0,665	0,741	0,576
73	Malaysia	0,655	Moderate functioning State	0,547	0,799	0,645
74	Cape Verde	0,652	Defective State	0,759	0,888	0,412
75	Benin	0,650	Moderate functioning State	0,719	0,630	0,606
76	Vietnam	0,648	Defective State	0,719	0,785	0,483
77	Ghana	0,648	Defective State	0,793	0,791	0,434
78	Thailand	0,646	Moderate functioning State	0,673	0,679	0,590
79	Mongolia	0,634	Defective State	0,633	0,869	0,464
80	Mauritius	0,633	Moderate functioning State	0,714	0,515	0,690
81	Kenya	0,633	Moderate functioning State	0,822	0,617	0,500
82	Tanzania	0,632	Moderate functioning State	0,729	0,515	0,674
83	Ecuador	0,630	Defective State	0,708	0,764	0,462
84	Zambia	0,629	Defective State	0,841	0,843	0,351
85	South Africa	0,629	Defective State	0,797	0,873	0,358
86	Sri Lanka	0,628	Moderate functioning State	0,591	0,824	0,508
87	North Macedonia	0,628	Moderate functioning State	0,564	0,783	0,561
88	Uganda	0,616	Defective State	0,710	0,733	0,450
89	Algeria	0,616	Defective State	0,625	0,804	0,465
90	Philippines	0,612	Defective State	0,773	0,772	0,384
91	Georgia	0,612	Moderate functioning State	0,635	0,533	0,676
92	Uzbekistan	0,607	Defective State	0,643	0,813	0,428
93	Fiji	0,596	Defective State	0,738	0,752	0,381
94	Eswatini	0,594	Defective State	0,616	0,701	0,484
95	Sao Tome and Principe	0,590	Defective State	0,820	0,789	0,318
96	Turkey	0,590	Moderate functioning State	0,730	0,560	0,501
97	Morocco	0,588	Defective State	0,627	0,694	0,468
98	Sierra Leone	0,581	Defective State	0,768	0,600	0,425
99	Mexico	0,578	Defective State	0,701	0,649	0,425
100	Kosovo	0,576	Moderate functioning State	0,580	0,554	0,594
101	Angola	0,575	Defective State	0,726	0,736	0,355
102	Cyprus	0,572	Defective State	0,680	0,370	0,742
103	Moldova	0,566	Defective State	0,751	0,403	0,600
104	Kyrgyzstan	0,564	Defective State	0,518	0,771	0,450
105	Laos	0,562	Defective State	0,588	0,717	0,421
106	Peru	0,561	Defective State	0,759	0,601	0,387
107	Malawi	0,555	Profound defective State	0,735	0,885	0,262
108	Lesotho	0,555	Defective State	0,654	0,666	0,391
109	Colombia	0,554	Defective State	0,740	0,581	0,396
110	India	0,553	Defective State	0,660	0,653	0,391
111	Turkmenistan	0,551	Defective State	0,674	0,707	0,350
112	Dominican Republic	0,550	Profound defective State	0,750	0,769	0,289
113	Timor-Leste	0,544	Defective State	0,786	0,627	0,326
114	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0,543	Defective State	0,488	0,606	0,540
115	Senegal	0,538	Defective State	0,712	0,602	0,364
116	Armenia	0,533	Defective State	0,451	0,644	0,520
117	Bolivia	0,532	Defective State	0,698	0,450	0,479
118	Zimbabwe	0,532	Defective State	0,714	0,648	0,325
119	Gabon	0,520	Defective State	0,577	0,577	0,421
120	El Salvador	0,516	Defective State	0,656	0,648	0,322
121	Ivory Coast	0,514	Defective State	0,716	0,619	0,307
122	Honduras	0,511	Defective State	0,563	0,547	0,433
123	Belarus	0,505	Profound defective State	0,287	0,735	0,611
124	Bangladesh	0,504	Profound defective State	0,555	0,828	0,278
125	Nepal	0,500	Profound defective State	0,720	0,637	0,272
126	Rwanda	0,494	Profound defective State	0,654	0,726	0,253
127	Mauritania	0,486	Profound defective State	0,695	0,685	0,241
128	Djibouti	0,483	Defective State	0,558	0,602	0,336
129	Ukraine	0,482	Defective State	0,528	0,366	0,580
130	Nicaragua	0,481	Defective State	0,599	0,565	0,329
131	Burundi	0,478	Profound defective State	0,635	0,718	0,240
132	Iran	0,476	Defective State	0,543	0,459	0,434
133	Egypt	0,473	Profound defective State	0,709	0,587	0,255
134	Burkina Faso	0,473	Defective State	0,518	0,304	0,674
135	Solomon Islands	0,473	Profound defective State	0,728	0,559	0,260
136	Nigeria	0,471	Defective State	0,713	0,490	0,300
137	Paraguay	0,458	Defective State	0,606	0,490	0,325
138	Cambodia	0,449	Defective State	0,514	0,528	0,333
139	Madagascar	0,448	Defective State	0,571	0,447	0,353
140	Togo	0,445	Defective State	0,581	0,445	0,342
141	Sudan	0,441	Defective State	0,650	0,373	0,355
142	Azerbaijan	0,439	Profound defective State	0,492	0,595	0,289
143	Tajikistan	0,437	Profound defective State	0,548	0,573	0,265
144	Comoros	0,434	Defective State	0,422	0,371	0,523
145	Cameroon	0,424	Profound defective State	0,577	0,564	0,235
146	Mozambique	0,415	Profound defective State	0,631	0,533	0,212
147	Mali	0,401	Profound defective State	0,674	0,360	0,267
148	Guatemala	0,397	Profound defective State	0,513	0,532	0,230
149	Iraq	0,388	Defective State	0,343	0,540	0,316
150	Pakistan	0,388	Profound defective State	0,463	0,520	0,243
151	Equatorial Guinea	0,377	Profound defective State	0,604	0,646	0,137
152	Bahrain	0,374	Profound defective State	0,151	0,629	0,551
153	Guinea-Bissau	0,368	Profound defective State	0,489	0,416	0,245
154	Lebanon	0,363	Defective State	0,327	0,346	0,425
155	Burma/Myanmar	0,357	Profound defective State	0,695	0,220	0,297
156	Eritrea	0,356	Profound defective State	0,613	0,439	0,168
157	Liberia	0,345	Profound defective State	0,572	0,620	0,116
158	Niger	0,345	Profound defective State	0,677	0,334	0,181
159	Guinea	0,331	Profound defective State	0,498	0,294	0,249
160	Democratic Republic of the Congo	0,324	Profound defective State	0,481	0,307	0,231
161	Ethiopia	0,316	Profound defective State	0,613	0,217	0,236
162	Republic of the Congo	0,304	Profound defective State	0,503	0,329	0,170
163	Papua New Guinea	0,296	Collapsed State	0,680	0,551	0,069
164	Venezuela	0,290	Profound defective State	0,341	0,406	0,176
165	Syria	0,279	Profound defective State	0,217	0,359	0,279
166	Somalia	0,278	Profound defective State	0,554	0,264	0,148
167	Haiti	0,251	Profound defective State	0,371	0,349	0,122
168	Central African Republic	0,239	Profound defective State	0,397	0,266	0,129
169	Chad	0,232	Profound defective State	0,293	0,407	0,104
170	Afghanistan	0,220	Profound defective State	0,181	0,371	0,157
171	South Sudan	0,154	Collapsed State	0,498	0,063	0,115
172	Yemen	0,114	Collapsed State	0,146	0,118	0,085
173	Libya	0,029	Collapsed State	0,001	0,068	0,369

Stateness 2022 - Context Measurement

Report 2022

Categories over Time - Context Measurement

Concept and Components

Informal Institutions and the State

Publication