The Open Data Barometer aims to uncover the true prevalence and impact of open data initiatives around the world. It analyses global trends, and provides comparative data on countries and regions using an in-depth methodology that combines contextual data, technical assessments and secondary indicators.

The Barometer ranks governments on:

• Readiness for open data initiatives.
• Implementation of open data programmes.
• Impact that open data is having on business, politics and civil society.

The fourth edition, measuring 115 countries, finds that fewer than one in 10 datasets studied are fully open — unchanged from last year — showing most countries are failing to progress and leaders are missing an opportunity to engage with citizens through open data.

Key Findings:

• The open data movement is at risk – 93% of government data is still not open, only one of every two datasets is machine readable and only one in four datasets has an open licence.
• Governments are not opening up the data that people need – Highly sought after datasets are all too often still closed, and those that are open tend to be out-of-date, of poor quality and hard to find.
• Governments are not delivering data needed to restore trust – Data on important accountability metrics such as government spending, public contracts and company ownership are the least open and low quality. For example, government spending data is public in just 3% of countries.
• Open data must be a long-term commitment – Open data that is championed by just one politician or political party is unsustainable and does not translate into lasting impact. Open data must be integrated across all government departments.
• Few open data initiatives promote inclusion – 71% of countries have an inclusion impact score of zero. None have a higher impact score than four (out of 10).

Access the global report and data explorer at www.opendatabarometer.org. The report is also available to download (PDF).

The report is also available en español and en français. A Turkish translation of the report, contributed by data/journalism lecturer Pınar Dağwas, is also available.

The Barometer received funding and support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) as a collaborative work of the Open Data for Development network (OD4D).