Moldova has improved public access to budget information, according to the International Budget Partnership’s Open Budget Survey 2021.  

Moldova’s transparency score increased from 57 in 2019 to 65 in 2021. This means that citizens have greater access to the information they need to participate in decision making and hold the government to account.The result indicates a limited disclosure but also of less technical documents of information on budget documents and places the Republic of Moldova on the 21st place out of 120 countries that were included in the evaluation, along with countries like Bulgaria, Slovakia Ukraine, Romania and the Czech Republic.

Unlike the 2019 evaluation, OBS 2021 shows an increase in the detail of budget documents, in particular, Moldova has increased the availability of budget information by: Online publication of the Mid-Year Review. Somewhat surprisingly, the pandemic did not undo hard-fought gains in transparent and accountable spending practices worldwide. Most countries were able to maintain, and in some cases build on earlier gains, thanks to increased digitalization of information and the institutionalization of accountability practices. The average transparency score has increased more than 20 percent since 2008.

However, the survey found that legislative oversight has declined. Some executive governments have found ways to undermine Supreme Audit Institutions. Only 31 percent of countries provide sufficiently detailed information to understand how their budget addresses poverty and only 14 percent present their expenditures by gender. Only 8 countries worldwide have formal channels to engage underserved communities in budget processes.

In terms of participation, the Republic of Moldova registered an upward trend compared to the evaluation 2 years ago, from 4 points to 11 points, a score significantly higher and very close to the global average of 14 points, which means that the government managed to increase the involvement of citizens in the budgeting process. The score recorded by the Republic of Moldova indicates an proximity to neighboring countries such as Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Download the country summary      Download the global report

The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparative and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria to assess public access to central government budget information; formal opportunities for the public to participate in the national budget process; and the role of budget oversight institutions, such as legislatures and national audit offices, in the budget process.

The survey helps local civil society assess and confer with their government on the reporting and use of public funds. This 8th edition of the OBS covers 120 countries. Visit www.internationalbudget.org/open-budget-survey for more information, including the full OBS methodology, the 2021 Global and Regional Reports, findings for all surveyed countries, and the Data Explorer.