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.

In recent years, multiple, consecutive shocks have threatened economic resilience and wellbeing worldwide. Governments in OECD countries - and democratic systems - have been at the centre of responding to these crises. While countries have generally responded at scale and speed, in the context of multiple crises this is unlikely to be sufficient. Governments need to adopt more advanced practices to build trust and enhance democratic resilience to better weather the challenges they face. Actions include to: i) Build on democratic strengths such as citizen and stakeholder participation and representation, inclusion, and innovation; ii) Reinforce key governance competencies to support delivery in the context of multiple crises; and iii) Protect against active threats to public trust arising from failings in public integrity and mis- or disinformation.

Over many decades democratic governance has proven itself to be the best institutional system for protecting and promoting individual rights and freedoms while allowing long-term sustainable gains in wellbeing. At the OECD Ministerial on “Building Trust and Reinforcing Democracy” in November 2022, ministers and high-level representatives from the 38 OECD countries, the European Union, as well as some OECD accession countries re-affirmed that “democracy remains the system of government best placed to ensure inclusive, prosperous, sustainable and peaceful societies through constant self-assessment and self-improvement.” (OECD, 2022[1])

In order to accurately interpret the data included in Government at a Glance 2023, readers need to be familiar with the following methodological considerations that cut across a number of indicators. Starting with Chapter 2, individual indicators are presented in a standard format on two pages. The first page contains text that explains the relevance of the topic and highlights some of the major differences observed across OECD countries. This is followed by a “Methodology and definitions” section, which describes the data sources and provides important information necessary to interpret the data. Closing the first page is a “Further reading” section, which lists useful background literature providing context to the data displayed. The second page showcases the data. Figures show current levels and, where possible, trends over time.