Government at a Glance 2023

Abstract

Governments have entered an era of multiple crises, characterised by numerous, consecutive shocks that have threatened economic resilience, security and wellbeing worldwide.The sources of these crises range from political instability and geopolitical tensions, to economic downturns, energy crises and public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.They are also confronted with structural challenges such as aging populations and managing the twin green and digital transitions, which will require deep structural changes to economies and societies.While many governments are taking advantage of the opportunities provided by rapid modernisation, in particular digitalisation, they also face a number of worrying trends, including the rise of political polarisation, the growing prevalence of dis-mis information and increasing disenchantment with traditional democratic processes.This is leading governments to increasingly focus on strengthening democratic resilience and reinforcing trust in public institutions, which is only slightly higher on average than it was following the global financial crisis. At this critical juncture, OECD member and accession countries met at the November 2022 meeting of the OECD Public Governance Committee at Ministerial Level on "Building Trust andReinforcing Democracy" and launched the OECD's Reinforcing Democracy Initiative (RDI).Through the RDI, countries committed to a broad set of actions to respond to some of the key governance challenges t…