Numerous TI chapters – including Fiji, Georgia, Lebanon, Morocco, New Zealand, Senegal, Serbia and Venezuela – conducted surveys in their respective countries for the Index, which reports that almost 50 percent of the 85 countries evaluated provide such minimal information that they are able to hide “unpopular, wasteful and corrupt spending.”

According to the Index produced by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), the worst offenders for making budget information available include: Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé e Príncipe.

In comparison, the most transparent countries include: the United Kingdom, South Africa, France, New Zealand and United States.

“Open budgets are empowering. They allow people to be the judge of whether or not their government officials are good stewards of public funds,” says Warren Krafchik, IBP’s director. “Our goal is to promote increased public access to government budget information. We’ve seen how this can lead to concrete improvements in people’s lives.”

The 2008 OBI is based on the 2008 Open Budget Survey, which evaluates whether central governments give the public access to budget information and opportunities to participate in the budget process. The survey also examines the ability of legislatures and auditors to hold their governments accountable.