A new study finds that while living standards have improved across most countries, democratic accountability has not.
Berlin, 6 May 2026. A new global study finds that improvements in living standards are increasingly decoupled from the underlying systems of governance that sustain them. The 2026 Berggruen Governance Index (BGI), co-authored by Hertie Professor Helmut Anheier, reveals a persistent imbalance: while access to public goods such as health, education and infrastructure has expanded across the world, democratic accountability has stagnated, and state capacity has shown no consistent improvement.
Drawing on data from 145 countries between 2000 and 2023, the report identifies a “governance paradox” at the heart of global development. Public goods provision has improved in most countries, yet these gains have not been matched by stronger democratic institutions or more effective government performance. This divergence raises critical questions about the sustainability of current trajectories of progress in the face of future shocks.
Four worlds of governance
The analysis further shows that countries tend to cluster into four distinct “worlds of governance”:
Consolidated democratic states, such as Germany, the United Kingdom, or Japan, perform strongly across all three dimensions, combining high levels of democratic accountability, effective state capacity, and broad provision of public goods.
Capacity-constrained states, including India, Brazil, and South Africa, maintain competitive democratic systems but face limitations in administrative reach and policy implementation, resulting in uneven service delivery.
Authoritarian and hybrid states, such as China and Turkey, tend to achieve relatively strong provision of public goods despite weak democratic accountability, often relying on centralised decision-making and state-led investment.
Low-capacity developing states, including Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, face persistent challenges across all dimensions, with limited institutional capacity constraining their ability to deliver basic services.
While each group follows different pathways, all face a shared challenge: aligning governance systems with rising societal expectations and growing global risks.
“The central finding is not that progress has stalled, but that it is becoming increasingly unbalanced,” said Helmut Anheier. “Without corresponding advances in democratic accountability and state capacity, improvements in quality of life may prove difficult to sustain.”
Gaps of governance
Looking ahead, the report highlights a widening gap between exposure to global challenges, from climate change to economic volatility, and the institutional capacity to respond. This mismatch is most acute in lower-capacity states but is evident across all governance systems, including advanced democracies.
The findings point to the need for more balanced governance reforms that strengthen institutions alongside continued investment in public goods. Without such alignment, the study warns, the foundations of recent global progress may remain fragile.
Read the full report here.
About the Berggruen Governance Index
The Berggruen Governance Index is a joint research initiative of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, the Berggruen Institute, and the Hertie School in Berlin. The 2026 edition is the fourth in the series. The full report, executive summary, dataset, and interactive country profiles are available at governance.luskin.ucla.edu.
More about our expert
Helmut Anheier, Senior Professor of Sociology