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 and 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 visualized on the homepage, edited according to one's 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 on 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 2024 based on the total Value of the Context Measurement.

Ranking 2024 - Context Measurement

Rank	Country	Total Value	Classification	Monopoly of Law	Monopoly of Administration	Monopoly of Violence
1	Singapore	0,92	High functioning	0,88	0,94	0,95
2	Estonia	0,92	High functioning	0,94	0,86	0,96
3	Denmark	0,91	High functioning	0,91	0,89	0,92
4	Luxembourg	0,90	High functioning	0,87	0,87	0,97
5	Norway	0,90	High functioning	0,89	0,90	0,91
6	Netherlands	0,90	High functioning	0,90	0,88	0,92
7	Germany	0,90	High functioning	0,93	0,86	0,90
8	Iceland	0,90	High functioning	0,91	0,82	0,97
9	Uruguay	0,89	High functioning	0,92	0,80	0,96
10	New Zealand	0,89	High functioning	0,87	0,83	0,96
11	Czechia	0,89	High functioning	0,86	0,82	0,99
12	United Kingdom	0,88	High functioning	0,91	0,83	0,92
13	Belgium	0,88	High functioning	0,89	0,85	0,91
14	Finland	0,88	High functioning	0,88	0,87	0,88
15	Sweden	0,87	High functioning	0,88	0,83	0,92
16	Seychelles	0,87	High functioning	0,92	0,83	0,87
17	Japan	0,87	High functioning	0,85	0,90	0,87
18	Austria	0,87	High functioning	0,91	0,81	0,89
19	Australia	0,87	High functioning	0,93	0,89	0,78
20	Switzerland	0,86	High functioning	0,92	0,84	0,83
21	Ireland	0,86	High functioning	0,84	0,83	0,92
22	United States of America	0,86	High functioning	0,90	0,84	0,84
23	Canada	0,86	High functioning	0,86	0,82	0,89
24	France	0,86	High functioning	0,88	0,87	0,82
25	Spain	0,86	High functioning	0,88	0,73	0,97
26	Barbados	0,85	High functioning	0,83	0,80	0,94
27	Slovenia	0,85	High functioning	0,84	0,81	0,90
28	Malta	0,85	High functioning	0,86	0,79	0,91
29	Lithuania	0,85	High functioning	0,88	0,81	0,86
30	Poland	0,84	High functioning	0,88	0,75	0,91
31	Latvia	0,84	High functioning	0,88	0,82	0,83
32	Portugal	0,83	High functioning	0,87	0,77	0,86
33	United Arab Emirates	0,83	High functioning	0,84	0,76	0,91
34	Greece	0,82	High functioning	0,82	0,80	0,85
35	Costa Rica	0,81	High functioning	0,85	0,72	0,87
36	Jamaica	0,80	High functioning	0,85	0,74	0,81
37	South Korea	0,79	High functioning	0,80	0,77	0,82
38	Slovakia	0,79	Moderate functioning	0,81	0,68	0,90
39	Taiwan	0,78	High functioning	0,74	0,81	0,81
40	Chile	0,78	High functioning	0,88	0,70	0,78
41	Israel	0,78	Moderate functioning	0,87	0,80	0,67
42	Montenegro	0,78	High functioning	0,74	0,71	0,89
43	Botswana	0,77	Moderate functioning	0,84	0,60	0,90
44	Hungary	0,76	Moderate functioning	0,79	0,68	0,83
45	Kuwait	0,76	Moderate functioning	0,87	0,63	0,81
46	Italy	0,75	Moderate functioning	0,85	0,78	0,64
47	Maldives	0,75	Moderate functioning	0,80	0,62	0,85
48	Bhutan	0,75	High functioning	0,72	0,74	0,79
49	Qatar	0,74	Moderate functioning	0,75	0,66	0,83
50	Oman	0,74	Moderate functioning	0,90	0,67	0,68
51	Trinidad and Tobago	0,74	High functioning	0,71	0,76	0,76
52	Bulgaria	0,74	Moderate functioning	0,73	0,60	0,92
53	Argentina	0,74	Moderate functioning	0,76	0,63	0,85
54	Croatia	0,74	Moderate functioning	0,70	0,65	0,89
55	Romania	0,73	Moderate functioning	0,81	0,59	0,82
56	Tanzania	0,73	Moderate functioning	0,76	0,63	0,81
57	Benin	0,71	Moderate functioning	0,81	0,65	0,69
58	Sri Lanka	0,71	Defective	0,81	0,48	0,92
59	China	0,71	Moderate functioning	0,84	0,56	0,75
60	Mauritius	0,69	Moderate functioning	0,80	0,74	0,57
61	Brazil	0,69	Moderate functioning	0,75	0,67	0,66
62	Panama	0,69	Moderate functioning	0,78	0,64	0,65
63	Vanuatu	0,69	Defective	0,77	0,49	0,86
64	Jordan	0,69	Moderate functioning	0,72	0,53	0,84
65	Serbia	0,68	Moderate functioning	0,70	0,62	0,75
66	The Gambia	0,68	Defective	0,82	0,47	0,83
67	Indonesia	0,68	Moderate functioning	0,71	0,60	0,76
68	Namibia	0,68	Defective	0,83	0,49	0,78
69	Kazakhstan	0,68	Moderate functioning	0,67	0,60	0,78
70	Malaysia	0,67	Moderate functioning	0,57	0,64	0,80
71	Vietnam	0,66	Defective	0,73	0,48	0,82
72	Mongolia	0,66	Moderate functioning	0,65	0,50	0,88
73	Cuba	0,65	Defective	0,81	0,46	0,76
74	Albania	0,65	Moderate functioning	0,66	0,52	0,79
75	North Macedonia	0,64	Moderate functioning	0,62	0,55	0,79
76	Thailand	0,64	Moderate functioning	0,72	0,57	0,65
77	Ghana	0,64	Defective	0,81	0,42	0,78
78	Algeria	0,64	Defective	0,64	0,49	0,85
79	Kyrgyzstan	0,64	Moderate functioning	0,60	0,51	0,86
80	Saudi Arabia	0,64	Moderate functioning	0,77	0,53	0,63
81	Moldova	0,64	Moderate functioning	0,76	0,62	0,55
82	Cape Verde	0,63	Defective	0,77	0,35	0,92
83	Fiji	0,62	Defective	0,76	0,39	0,82
84	Guyana	0,62	Defective	0,60	0,48	0,84
85	North Korea	0,62	Defective	0,69	0,43	0,81
86	Tunisia	0,62	Defective	0,70	0,41	0,81
87	Zambia	0,61	Defective	0,80	0,35	0,81
88	Kosovo	0,61	Moderate functioning	0,63	0,62	0,58
89	Senegal	0,60	Defective	0,80	0,46	0,58
90	Russia	0,60	Defective	0,76	0,47	0,60
91	Uzbekistan	0,60	Defective	0,63	0,41	0,83
92	Burkina Faso	0,60	Defective	0,75	0,60	0,47
93	Suriname	0,59	Defective	0,75	0,47	0,60
94	Eswatini	0,59	Defective	0,63	0,45	0,75
95	India	0,59	Defective	0,70	0,38	0,79
96	Turkey	0,59	Defective	0,73	0,47	0,60
97	Nepal	0,59	Defective	0,75	0,33	0,83
98	Georgia	0,59	Moderate functioning	0,53	0,69	0,55
99	South Africa	0,59	Defective	0,74	0,32	0,85
100	Sao Tome and Principe	0,58	Defective	0,83	0,30	0,79
101	Uganda	0,57	Defective	0,66	0,41	0,69
102	Mexico	0,57	Defective	0,77	0,40	0,61
103	Cyprus	0,56	Defective	0,68	0,73	0,36
104	Dominican Republic	0,56	Defective	0,68	0,32	0,81
105	Philippines	0,56	Defective	0,67	0,35	0,74
106	Timor-Leste	0,56	Defective	0,82	0,32	0,65
107	Kenya	0,55	Defective	0,80	0,42	0,50
108	Angola	0,55	Defective	0,75	0,30	0,74
109	Laos	0,55	Defective	0,60	0,40	0,68
110	Morocco	0,55	Defective	0,57	0,43	0,66
111	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0,54	Defective	0,49	0,53	0,62
112	Bolivia	0,54	Defective	0,70	0,45	0,51
113	Egypt	0,54	Profound defective	0,73	0,29	0,73
114	Peru	0,54	Defective	0,74	0,38	0,54
115	Belarus	0,53	Defective	0,35	0,60	0,73
116	Lesotho	0,53	Defective	0,65	0,39	0,59
117	Turkmenistan	0,53	Defective	0,66	0,32	0,70
118	Armenia	0,53	Defective	0,54	0,44	0,62
119	Ivory Coast	0,53	Defective	0,72	0,30	0,68
120	Ecuador	0,53	Defective	0,68	0,38	0,57
121	Azerbaijan	0,53	Defective	0,53	0,41	0,67
122	El Salvador	0,51	Defective	0,64	0,30	0,71
123	Sierra Leone	0,51	Profound defective	0,75	0,25	0,71
124	Colombia	0,50	Defective	0,62	0,39	0,52
125	Honduras	0,50	Defective	0,60	0,33	0,64
126	Rwanda	0,50	Profound defective	0,66	0,27	0,69
127	Zimbabwe	0,50	Profound defective	0,65	0,26	0,72
128	Gabon	0,49	Defective	0,66	0,39	0,45
129	Nigeria	0,48	Defective	0,71	0,30	0,51
130	Iran	0,47	Defective	0,57	0,41	0,46
131	Ukraine	0,47	Defective	0,58	0,50	0,36
132	Cambodia	0,46	Defective	0,54	0,32	0,58
133	Mauritania	0,46	Profound defective	0,71	0,23	0,60
134	Guatemala	0,46	Profound defective	0,55	0,29	0,61
135	Cameroon	0,46	Profound defective	0,61	0,27	0,57
136	Djibouti	0,45	Defective	0,56	0,34	0,48
137	Guinea	0,45	Profound defective	0,67	0,26	0,53
138	Pakistan	0,45	Profound defective	0,56	0,27	0,59
139	Togo	0,44	Defective	0,54	0,37	0,44
140	Solomon Islands	0,44	Profound defective	0,68	0,21	0,60
141	Paraguay	0,44	Profound defective	0,60	0,29	0,48
142	Bangladesh	0,43	Profound defective	0,40	0,24	0,83
143	Guinea-Bissau	0,42	Profound defective	0,75	0,24	0,42
144	Niger	0,42	Profound defective	0,77	0,19	0,52
145	Tajikistan	0,42	Profound defective	0,54	0,21	0,65
146	Malawi	0,41	Profound defective	0,65	0,23	0,47
147	Bahrain	0,41	Profound defective	0,23	0,55	0,55
148	Mali	0,41	Profound defective	0,67	0,24	0,42
149	Mozambique	0,40	Profound defective	0,61	0,22	0,48
150	Nicaragua	0,40	Profound defective	0,56	0,27	0,42
151	Burundi	0,39	Profound defective	0,69	0,12	0,71
152	Equatorial Guinea	0,38	Profound defective	0,61	0,14	0,66
153	Liberia	0,37	Profound defective	0,63	0,13	0,65
154	Iraq	0,37	Profound defective	0,35	0,27	0,56
155	Comoros	0,36	Profound defective	0,45	0,28	0,37
156	Eritrea	0,36	Profound defective	0,54	0,16	0,53
157	Madagascar	0,34	Profound defective	0,61	0,14	0,47
158	Republic of the Congo	0,34	Profound defective	0,55	0,19	0,37
159	Ethiopia	0,32	Profound defective	0,65	0,22	0,24
160	Afghanistan	0,31	Profound defective	0,46	0,21	0,33
161	DR of the Congo	0,30	Profound defective	0,44	0,19	0,35
162	Lebanon	0,30	Profound defective	0,27	0,36	0,28
163	Burma/Myanmar	0,30	Profound defective	0,68	0,25	0,15
164	Venezuela	0,29	Profound defective	0,43	0,15	0,37
165	Sudan	0,29	Profound defective	0,48	0,26	0,19
166	Syria	0,27	Profound defective	0,21	0,31	0,32
167	Papua New Guinea	0,27	Collapsed	0,67	0,06	0,49
168	Chad	0,25	Collapsed	0,41	0,09	0,41
169	Central African Republic	0,25	Profound defective	0,36	0,11	0,38
170	South Sudan	0,22	Collapsed	0,40	0,09	0,31
171	Somalia	0,21	Collapsed	0,58	0,08	0,21
172	Haiti	0,20	Profound defective	0,43	0,10	0,19
173	Yemen	0,12	Collapsed	0,20	0,06	0,12
174	Libya	0,03	Collapsed	0,00	0,31	0,09

Stateness 2024 - Context Measurement

Report 2024

Concept and Components

Informal Institutions and the State

Publication