Taking Flight, Waiting in the Wings

Countries with significant shifts (2021–2025)

Building capabilities in government is slow, painstaking work. It takes many years of concerted effort to nurture talent, design effective systems and processes, and establish robust, credible institutions. Often quietly accomplished behind the scenes, this foundational work seldom receives the same attention as more visible achievements, such as the unveiling of a new hospital or airport.

In this article, we celebrate the countries that have made remarkable strides in the CGGI over the past five years―countries poised to soar. At the same time, we highlight countries with systems of governance that remain figuratively grounded; still in the process of building up the momentum needed to take flight.

Mongolia dazzles, rising from 88^th in 2021 to 76^th in 2025—as a star rapidly on the rise, it trails only the UAE. The country has made impressive progress in Leadership & Foresight (+6), with gains in its Long‑Term Vision (+2) and Adaptability (+4) indicators.

Mongolia’s Vision 2050 strategy seeks to address longstanding problems, such as rising income inequality, environmental deterioration, and worsening corruption.¹ Over the past 30 years, the country has tripled its GDP per capita, transitioning as an upper‑middle‑income nation in 2024.² Life expectancy increased significantly, from 62.8 years in 1989 to 70.4 years in 2019. Mongolia also shows promise as an Attractive Marketplace (+12), making notable headway in Attracting Investments, particularly to its mining industry.

Italy, too, stands out as a rising global star, moving up from 35^th in 2021 to 29^th in 2025. It has progressed admirably across four pillars, particularly with improvements in Leadership & Foresight.

Since 2021, Italy has embarked on transformative administrative reforms, aimed at simplifying and digitising governmental procedures for efficiency. In 2022, the government introduced legislation to restructure the civil service: defining professional profiles of public sector employees, unifying recruitment platforms, and streamlining the hiring process.³

We unpack the performance of other rising stars—Jordan, the UAE, and Vietnam—in “Helping People Rise Country Snapshot: Jordan”, “Country Spotlight 2025 & Practitioner Story: United Arab Emirates” and “Country Spotlight 2025 & Practitioner Story: Vietnam”.

Endnotes

1. Government of Mongolia. (n.d.) VISION‑2050: Introduction To Mongolia’s Long‑Term Development Policy Document. https://vision2050.gov.mn/file/AlsiinkharaaEnglish1020.pdf
2. World Bank. (21 October 2024). Mongolia Overview: Development news, research, data. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/mongolia/overview
3. Italia Domani, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. (n.d.) Reform of the Public Administration. https://www.italiadomani.gov.it/en/Interventi/riforme/riforme-orizzontali/riforma-della-pubblica-amministrazione.html