Agency
How able are individuals and organizations to turn an intention into action?
The country comparison, the indicators and the documented cases below show how much of this capability the current data can capture.
125 countries in the frame5 indicators in the registry4 indicators with data124 countries with a score
Compare every country on one scale
The table starts in alphabetical order. Sort by score, confidence, coverage, or trend. A score needs two observed indicators; a trend uses indicators observed at both ends.
Scores use one 0 to 100 scale for all countries. Each flag is a country, and the ring around it shows how strong the evidence behind that score is. Point at a flag to read the country, click it to open the profile.
- Solid ring: usable or good evidence
- Broken ring: thin evidence, opening further as confidence falls
- The shaded band is the middle half of the field and the line inside it is the median.
- United Kingdom: 92.7
- New Zealand: 92.3
- Australia: 89.2
- Mauritius: 85.7
- Estonia: 84.3
- United States: 82.1
- Nicaragua: 79.8
- China: 76.3
- Norway: 76.0
- Singapore: 74.5
- Cรดte d'Ivoire: 74.2
- Denmark: 72.8
- Croatia: 72.7
- Uruguay: 72.0
- Canada: 71.9
- Sweden: 71.9
- Finland: 71.7
- Moldova: 70.5
- Ireland: 70.3
- Chile: 70.1
- Portugal: 69.7
- Armenia: 69.1
- Jamaica: 68.5
- United Arab Emirates: 68.0
- Belgium: 67.3
- Slovenia: 66.6
- Netherlands: 66.2
- Georgia: 66.0
- Colombia: 65.5
- Uzbekistan: 65.5
- Panama: 65.3
- France: 65.0
- Mexico: 64.3
- Kyrgyzstan: 63.9
- Lithuania: 63.4
- Israel: 63.3
- Rwanda: 62.9
- Tajikistan: 62.4
- Romania: 62.1
- Latvia: 61.7
- Vietnam: 61.6
- North Macedonia: 61.5
- South Korea: 61.4
- Burundi: 60.9
- Russia: 60.8
- Switzerland: 60.5
- Guatemala: 59.9
- Trinidad and Tobago: 59.5
- Spain: 59.0
- Pakistan: 58.4
- Hungary: 58.3
- Burkina Faso: 58.2
- Democratic Republic of the Congo: 58.2
- Brazil: 58.0
- Ukraine: 57.9
- Belarus: 57.8
- South Africa: 57.8
- Kazakhstan: 57.7
- Peru: 57.6
- Serbia: 56.7
- Gambia: 56.6
- Malawi: 56.6
- Morocco: 56.3
- Albania: 56.2
- Slovakia: 56.2
- Madagascar: 56.0
- Italy: 55.5
- Cyprus: 55.3
- Jordan: 54.9
- Zambia: 54.8
- Mali: 54.7
- Sri Lanka: 54.5
- Azerbaijan: 54.4
- Bulgaria: 53.8
- Botswana: 53.8
- Sudan: 53.6
- Mongolia: 53.5
- Lesotho: 53.2
- Indonesia: 52.8
- Malaysia: 52.0
- Guinea: 51.7
- Argentina: 51.6
- Germany: 51.5
- Costa Rica: 51.4
- Guinea-Bissau: 51.4
- Turkey: 51.1
- Nigeria: 50.8
- Dominican Republic: 50.7
- Ghana: 50.5
- Greece: 50.5
- Myanmar: 50.1
- Tunisia: 49.9
- Austria: 48.5
- Czechia: 48.5
- Zimbabwe: 48.5
- Kenya: 47.9
- Bangladesh: 47.5
- Egypt: 47.2
- Thailand: 47.2
- Lebanon: 47.1
- El Salvador: 46.6
- Poland: 46.2
- India: 46.0
- Nepal: 45.8
- Ethiopia: 43.1
- Mozambique: 42.9
- Paraguay: 41.9
- Iraq: 41.0
- Angola: 39.3
- Ecuador: 39.3
- Bolivia: 38.7
- Japan: 38.6
- Papua New Guinea: 38.6
- Namibia: 36.5
- Tanzania: 36.4
- Uganda: 35.7
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: 32.1
- Philippines: 31.2
- Honduras: 28.7
- Republic of the Congo: 27.0
- Venezuela: 26.1
- Iran: 24.8
- Laos: 22.1
- Haiti: 21.1
| Albania | 56.2 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Angola | 39.3 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Argentina | 51.6 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Armenia | 69.1 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Australia | 89.2 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Austria | 48.5 | 0.54 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Azerbaijan | 54.4 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Bangladesh | 47.5 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Belarus | 57.8 | 0.52 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Belgium | 67.3 | 0.40 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Bolivia | 38.7 | 0.54 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 32.1 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Botswana | 53.8 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Brazil | 58.0 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Bulgaria | 53.8 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Burkina Faso | 58.2 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Burundi | 60.9 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Canada | 71.9 | 0.52 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Chile | 70.1 | 0.54 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| China | 76.3 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Colombia | 65.5 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Costa Rica | 51.4 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Cรดte d'Ivoire | 74.2 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Croatia | 72.7 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Cuba | not measured. No score. 0 indicators are observed here; this model needs two before it can average a dimension score. | 0.00 | 0 of 5. Below the coverage floor: this model needs 2 observed rows before it publishes a score. | no trend |
| Cyprus | 55.3 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Czechia | 48.5 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 58.2 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Denmark | 72.8 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Dominican Republic | 50.7 | 0.32 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Ecuador | 39.3 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Egypt | 47.2 | 0.52 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| El Salvador | 46.6 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Estonia | 84.3 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Ethiopia | 43.1 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Finland | 71.7 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| France | 65.0 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Gambia | 56.6 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Georgia | 66.0 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Germany | 51.5 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Ghana | 50.5 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Greece | 50.5 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Guatemala | 59.9 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Guinea | 51.7 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Guinea-Bissau | 51.4 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Haiti | 21.1 | 0.22 | 2 of 5 | no trend |
| Honduras | 28.7 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Hungary | 58.3 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| India | 46.0 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Indonesia | 52.8 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Iran | 24.8 | 0.49 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Iraq | 41.0 | 0.52 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Ireland | 70.3 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Israel | 63.3 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Italy | 55.5 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Jamaica | 68.5 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Japan | 38.6 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Jordan | 54.9 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Kazakhstan | 57.7 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Kenya | 47.9 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Kyrgyzstan | 63.9 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Laos | 22.1 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Latvia | 61.7 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Lebanon | 47.1 | 0.37 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Lesotho | 53.2 | 0.35 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Lithuania | 63.4 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Madagascar | 56.0 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Malawi | 56.6 | 0.22 | 2 of 5 | no trend |
| Malaysia | 52.0 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Mali | 54.7 | 0.35 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Mauritius | 85.7 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Mexico | 64.3 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Moldova | 70.5 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Mongolia | 53.5 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Morocco | 56.3 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Mozambique | 42.9 | 0.35 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Myanmar | 50.1 | 0.46 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Namibia | 36.5 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Nepal | 45.8 | 0.35 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Netherlands | 66.2 | 0.38 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| New Zealand | 92.3 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Nicaragua | 79.8 | 0.37 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Nigeria | 50.8 | 0.52 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| North Macedonia | 61.5 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Norway | 76.0 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Pakistan | 58.4 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Panama | 65.3 | 0.38 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Papua New Guinea | 38.6 | 0.35 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Paraguay | 41.9 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Peru | 57.6 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Philippines | 31.2 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Poland | 46.2 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Portugal | 69.7 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Republic of the Congo | 27.0 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Romania | 62.1 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Russia | 60.8 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Rwanda | 62.9 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Serbia | 56.7 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Singapore | 74.5 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Slovakia | 56.2 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Slovenia | 66.6 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| South Africa | 57.8 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| South Korea | 61.4 | 0.54 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Spain | 59.0 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Sri Lanka | 54.5 | 0.38 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Sudan | 53.6 | 0.22 | 2 of 5 | no trend |
| Sweden | 71.9 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Switzerland | 60.5 | 0.52 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Tajikistan | 62.4 | 0.46 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Tanzania | 36.4 | 0.32 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Thailand | 47.2 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 59.5 | 0.35 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Tunisia | 49.9 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Turkey | 51.1 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Uganda | 35.7 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Ukraine | 57.9 | 0.30 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| United Arab Emirates | 68.0 | 0.35 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| United Kingdom | 92.7 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| United States | 82.1 | 0.37 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Uruguay | 72.0 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Uzbekistan | 65.5 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Venezuela | 26.1 | 0.37 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Vietnam | 61.6 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
| Zambia | 54.8 | 0.41 | 3 of 5 | no trend |
| Zimbabwe | 48.5 | 0.56 | 4 of 5 | no trend |
A score from 0 to 100 is a position inside the frame that all the benchmark countries set: zero is the weakest on a dimension and 100 is the strongest. A score of 10 puts a country near the floor of that frame and does not mean 10 percent of a capability.
Agency indicators
5 indicators define this capability. Gaps and retired rows remain because they lower confidence. Rows marked condition are published beside the score and are not part of it. Click a heading to sort.
- direct capability measuredirect capability measure Measures the thing itself.
- capability inputcapability input Measures something that supports the capability.
- downstream outcomedownstream outcome Measures a result that usually follows from the capability.
- perception proxyperception proxy Records what people or experts say, not what they did.
Agency
| Note | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults doing digital tasksno dataset | direct capability measure | % of adults | higher is better | ITU / UNESCO UIS | 0.40 | Redefined 2026-10-02 (D152). The row asked whether adults can perform standard digital tasks, which reads a skill level, the kind of stock D122 moved out of the scores with internet users. It now counts the act: a person who did the task. It is not the internet users condition beside it, which counts access. Candidate: ITU ICT skills by type (SDG 4.4.1) through the UNESCO UIS API, probed 2026-10-02. Sent a message with an attached file reaches 33 of the 53 countries then in the frame, 25 at 2018 or later, with no United States, India or China and most of Africa and Central America missing; two other task items reach 31 and 16. The items are self-reported and the task list has changed between rounds. Wireable on one task observed for half the frame or more at 2018 or later. |
| Credit to the private sectorcondition | capability input | % of GDP | higher is better | World Bank | 0.55 | A condition, not scored: financial depth is a stock of money available to actors, not what they do with it (D122). High values can also signal a credit bubble, so more is not always better. |
| Financial account ownershipcondition | capability input | % aged 15+ | higher is better | World Bank | 0.50 | A condition, not scored: holding an account is the precondition for almost any economic action, not the action (D122). Global Findex, published every three years. |
| Individuals using the internetcondition | capability input | % of population | higher is better | World Bank | 0.55 | A condition, not scored: access to the basic tool of modern agency is what people have to act with, not a record of them acting (D122). Saturates near 95%, which compresses the top of the range. |
| New business density | direct capability measure | per 1,000 aged 15-64 | higher is better | World Bank | 0.35 | Directly observes intention turning into a registered entity. Undercounts informal activity, which matters for India and Brazil. |
| Perceived control over life | perception proxy | mean 1-10 | higher is better | Joint EVS/WVS | 0.20 | A perception: the publisher-weighted mean, on a 1 to 10 scale, of how much freedom of choice and control respondents feel they have over the way their life turns out, from the official Joint EVS/WVS 2017-2022 results table, release 5.0.0. It observes the felt capacity to act, not action. The table prints the mean to one decimal and no top-box share, so the row stores the mean and ties are common. Fieldwork years differ by up to six years: the 37 countries emitted were surveyed between 2017 (eight, the US among them) and 2023 (India), and every value is stamped with the release year 2022. Response style on 10-point scales differs across cultures, and a closed autocracy can read high: Vietnam and Nicaragua sit near the top of the frame. Countries with separate EVS and WVS samples (Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands) are held, as for interpersonal trust. See D127 and A15. |
| Procedures to start a business | direct capability measure | count | lower is better | World Bank | 0.15 | Counts bureaucratic steps rather than money, so it does not smuggle income back in. Frozen at 2019 with Doing Business. |
| Time to start a business | direct capability measure | days | lower is better | World Bank | 0.20 | Activation energy, measured directly. Series ends with Doing Business in 2019, so it is stale everywhere. |
What countries have to work with here
Conditions record what a country has, such as infrastructure, access, money, people or enrolment. They are not part of this score, its confidence or its trend. Country pages show each value with its rank.
Individuals using the internetWorld Bank (IT.NET.USER.ZS), 125 of 125 countries, latest 2025
Share of the population that used the internet in the last three months.
Across countries it goes with income at r = 0.89 (n 123) and with this capability's score at r = 0.37 (n 124).
A condition, not scored: access to the basic tool of modern agency is what people have to act with, not a record of them acting (D122). Saturates near 95%, which compresses the top of the range.
Financial account ownershipWorld Bank (FX.OWN.TOTL.ZS), 122 of 125 countries, latest 2024
Adults with an account at a bank or mobile money provider.
Across countries it goes with income at r = 0.78 (n 121) and with this capability's score at r = 0.36 (n 122).
A condition, not scored: holding an account is the precondition for almost any economic action, not the action (D122). Global Findex, published every three years.
Credit to the private sectorWorld Bank (FS.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS), 124 of 125 countries, latest 2025
Domestic credit provided to the private sector by financial corporations.
Across countries it goes with income at r = 0.58 (n 123) and with this capability's score at r = 0.39 (n 124).
A condition, not scored: financial depth is a stock of money available to actors, not what they do with it (D122). High values can also signal a credit bubble, so more is not always better.
Documented examples
These records describe something a country has done that this capability should capture. They stay outside the score because one case is not a comparable series.
Evidence for missing indicators
Each record describes a case the indicators above cannot see. It does not affect the score or confidence because one case is not comparable across countries. A gap can become an indicator when a comparable series covers at least two countries.
Singapore's national ICT-skills measurement and baseline
Singapore's Department of Statistics ICT-skills table reports 99.0% in the total row for residents aged 16โ74 in 2025, while 55.2% could use a basic arithmetic formula in a spreadsheet; the government uses the series to track SDG 4.4.1 and its Digital Skills for Life framework.
99 % of residents aged 16-74, residents with an ict skill in the total row, 2025. 55.2 % of residents aged 16-74, basic spreadsheet arithmetic skill, 2025. Singapore Department of Statistics, annual ICT-skills dataset (IMDA source), retrieved 2026-08-31.
How it worked: Singapore pairs a recurring skills measurement with a public baseline framework, Digital Skills for Life, and targeted support such as Seniors Go Digital. The combination makes digital capability a population service obligation rather than a one-off computer course, while the task rows reveal where basic access still masks deeper gaps.
Limits: The table records task-specific self-reported or survey-derived skills for Singapore residents, not independently tested proficiency, workplace transfer or equal access. The age base changed from residents aged 15 and above in 2016โ2020 to ages 16โ74 from 2021, and a high total can hide weak performance on harder tasks such as spreadsheet work.
e.escola, a national laptop-and-broadband push
The European Commission's eSchool case study records more than 1.3 million people requesting laptops and broadband through Portugal's e.escola programme and more than one million laptops delivered in its first two years; the Portuguese government suspended the programme in 2011.
1,300,000 people, people requesting laptops and broadband (more than), 2007-2009. 1,000,000 laptops, laptops delivered in the first two years (more than), 2007-2009. European Commission Interoperable Europe, eSchool Programme (Portugal case), retrieved 2026-08-31.
How it worked: The state used a dedicated fund and mobile-operator partnership to put subsidised laptops and broadband into the hands of students, teachers and adult trainees, using schools and private partners for decentralised delivery.
Limits: Device distribution measures access, not sustained use, adult or student digital competence, learning outcomes or affordability after the subsidy. The scale figures come from the programme case study, while the suspension is recorded in a Portuguese government archive; the partnership and outstanding state payments also complicate any simple claim of a completed success.
Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan
India's PMGDISHA rural digital-literacy scheme enrolled 73,571,965 people, trained 63,941,718 and certified 47,836,188 by July 2024 through 20 hours of instruction in five digital-task modules.
63,941,718 people, candidates trained under pmgdisha, 2024-07-26. 47,836,188 people, candidates certified under pmgdisha, 2024-07-26. Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, retrieved 2026-09-02.
How it worked: MeitY used village-level centres, a standard five-module curriculum and external certifying agencies to move a digital-literacy offer through rural India at household scale, with certificates uploaded to DigiLocker.
Limits: The government reports administrative training and third-party certification totals, not independently tested digital competence or continued use of services. The scheme covered rural areas and one person per targeted household, so it is not a population-wide adult-skills rate; the source also does not report completion quality, attrition or post-training use.
Puntos Mรฉxico Conectado, national digital learning centres
Mexico's communications ministry operated Puntos Mรฉxico Conectado centres in all 32 states, reporting more than 410,000 enrolled members and over 260,000 course enrolments by June 2017.
410,000 members, punto mรฉxico conectado enrolled members, 2017-06. 260,000 enrolments, course enrolments reported by the network, 2017-06. Secretarรญa de Infraestructura, Comunicaciones y Transportes, Government of Mexico, retrieved 2026-09-02.
How it worked: The communications ministry put free digital classrooms in every state, then used equipment and curriculum partnerships with firms such as Samsung to turn connectivity points into places where people could practise new tools.
Limits: The ministry reports registrations and course enrolments, not a comparable adult-skills test, completion rate or retained ability. The article is a programme announcement about a partnership and does not establish how many of the 410,000 members completed training or whether the network continued at that scale after 2017.
Read how the benchmark turns an indicator into a score on the method page. The limits page records where this capability is still poorly observed.