The efficiency of government has a significant bearing on a country's competitiveness and economic growth. Excessive bureaucracy and regulation, a lack of transparency, and inadequate legal frameworks all impose additional costs on business and impede expansion.
The World Economic Forum’s annual Global Competitiveness Report evaluates the efficiency of 144 of the world's governments on measures including the wastefulness of government spending, burden of regulation, and transparency of policymaking to produce an overall global ranking.
Qatar emerges as the country with the most efficient government, closely followed by Singapore. Rwanda's strong showing in seventh position was secured thanks in large part to the low level of waste in government spending.
At the other end of the scale, Venezuela has the least efficient government, some way behind Italy and Argentina in second and third places.
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: 4 things a leader should never do