Department of State Releases 2022 Fiscal Transparency Report
Office of the Spokesperson
On September 9, 2022, the United States Department of State released the 2022 Fiscal Transparency Report, which found that, of the 141 countries (and the Palestinian Authority) evaluated by the Department, the governments of 72 met minimum requirements of fiscal transparency. Sixty-nine did not meet the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency. Of these 69, however, 27 made significant progress toward meeting the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency.
Fiscal transparency is a critical element of effective public financial management, helps build market confidence, and underpins economic sustainability. It fosters greater government accountability by providing a window into government budgets for citizens, helping citizens hold their leadership accountable, and facilitating better-informed public debate.
The report describes the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency, reviews governments, most of which were identified as recipients of U.S. assistance in the 2014 Fiscal Transparency Report, and further assesses those that did not meet the minimum fiscal transparency requirements during the review period of January 1 to December 31, 2021. The report also indicates whether governments that did not meet those requirements made significant progress to publicly disclose national budget documentation, contracts, and licenses during the review period. The Department of State evaluated the public availability, substantial completeness, and reliability of budget documents, as well as the transparency of processes for awarding government contracts and licenses. Beginning with this review period, if a government has a sovereign wealth fund, it must have had a sound legal framework as a minimum requirement. Additionally, the government must have mechanisms in place to effectively follow up on supreme audit institution recommendations.
The report can be found on the Department’s website. For further information, please contact the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs’ Fiscal Transparency team at [email protected].
