We continue to focus on local government transparency.

Who studies the transparency of municipalities in other countries and how? Today, we're sharing ratings and research from all over the world with you.

• TI Slovakia has been studying municipal transparency since 2010. The rating assesses the openness, value and volume of information proactively provided by municipalities in the country's 100 largest cities. In comparison with 2010, the average level of transparency has increased from 40% to 57%. The next study on the transparency of Slovak cities is planned for this year.
   
• In Spain, since 2008, the Municipal Transparency Index has been published, which measures the transparency level of the country's 110 largest municipalities. During this time, the Index has become extremely influential and popular. A special section dedicated to transparency has appeared on the websites of most municipalities. The average city transparency index increased by more than 72%.
   
• In neighboring Portugal, the Municipal Transparency Index has been running since 2013. The research there covers 7 areas. They include "taxes, tariffs and prices," "interaction with the commumity," "plans and reports." Learn more about the Portuguese example here.
   
• Since 2016, Transparency International Austria has been measuring government transparency in the 50 largest cities in the country by the number of residents. The rating is formed based on the assessment of the completeness, clarity and availability of information on official websites. However, most cities in Austria can hardly claim to be successful. There, the average percentage of implementation of recommendations is only 33.14%.
   
• Following the examples of Austria, Portugal, Slovakia and Ukraine, the activists of TI Ireland have developed a National Integrity Index. It evaluates transparency, accountability and ethics. The study found that municipalities in Ireland are reluctant to publish information about tenders, expenses and donations. In addition, councils focused on implementing mandatory standards and were rather passive in implementing best practices.
   
• Canada. There, the measurement of openness of local authorities covers 68 major cities. They contain as much as 61% of the local population. The study has showed that the average level of transparency is 43%.
   
• TI Ukraine has been evaluating the openness of city councils since 2017. Our Transparency Ranking covers 100 largest cities in Ukraine and consists of 86 indicators in 14 areas. Over the three years of the study, the level of transparency increased to 45.7%. This means that city councils are revealing more and more information, and citizens are getting opportunities to control the government.