It’s not a secret: trust in government is slipping through people’s fingers like sand on a windy beach. In cafes from Paris to Panama City, you’ll hear the same sigh, why does government feel like it’s always one step behind, drowning in forms, forgetting who it serves? The OECD Government at a Glance 2025 report doesn’t sugarcoat the issue. It’s a sobering compendium of strained budgets, hollowed-out trust, and digital ambition that’s more aspiration than action. But within its 200-plus pages lies a signal in the noise, a signal that says: governments know they’re on borrowed time. The next few years won’t just be about policy reform or digital dashboards. It’ll be about regaining dignity, stability, and yes, a sense of basic competence.
Governments around the world are wobbling on a tightrope stretched between soaring expectations and crumbling fiscal scaffolding. And while the report reads like a policy analyst’s diary, it also doubles as a user manual for survival in the 21st century.
5 Key Takeaways
1. Budgets are tight, demands are not: With deficits up to 4.6% of GDP, governments are strapped for cash, but citizens still expect help on climate, housing, and services. In developing countries, we see national strategies stall for one simple reason: there’s no money to make them real.
2. Dignity starts at the service counter: Only 30% of people feel heard by their government. Life-event-based services are gaining traction, but only 13 OECD countries have fully pulled it off. At The RegTech, we believe dignity means fewer forms, faster answers, and no need to beg for what’s yours.
3. Climate targets look good on paper, just not in practice: Most governments talk green. Only three can measure the actual impact of their procurement policies. Big promises, little follow-through. The data is thin, and so is accountability.
4. Digital government is still half-built: Average score? 0.61 out of 1. Less than half of useful datasets are open. Digital is more promise than delivery, unless you’re lucky enough to live where systems connect. We’re trying to fix that.
5. Trust is running on fumes: Only a third of citizens feel like their voice matters. Engagement is still mostly performative. Real progress means showing people where their input goes and that it changed something. Without that, it’s all just noise.
The Budget Elephant in Every Room
Let’s start with the money, or more precisely, the lack of it. In 2023, the average fiscal deficit across OECD countries hit 4.6% of GDP. That’s a big red flag, even a screaming siren some would say. Before the pandemic, that number hovered around 2.9%. Now, post-COVID and knee-deep in inflation and demographic drag, the room for maneuver is gone. And yet, this is the very moment when governments are being asked to do more, not less. Public expectations haven’t shrunk with the budget. Quite the opposite. People expect help, on climate, education, justice, housing. The OECD’s diagnosis is crisp: doing more with less isn’t optional anymore; it’s the only game in town.
At The RegTech, our team in Dubai sees this struggle playing out across developing nations with even tighter margins. While OECD members might worry about open data strategies, many countries we work with are still struggling to digitize birth certificates. But make no mistake, the pressure is identical. Citizens everywhere want better services, faster responses, and cleaner governance.
The twist? Developing countries might have the advantage of building from scratch. They’re not burdened with legacy systems or sprawling bureaucracies. If anything, this is their moment to leapfrog. But there is the other, a bit unpleasant side of this opportunity, although the energy is visibly present, finding a proper budget for such a digital jump becomes almost a mission impossible. Many countries are just stuck after coming out with their national digital strategies.
OECD Government Glance 2025: Dignity, Not Downloads
Next is the talk about dignity, not the kind that comes from grand speeches or constitutional preambles, but the kind that arises from renewing a license without a two-hour queue or needing three copies of your grandfather’s utility bill to apply for a subsidy. Only 30% of people across OECD countries think their political system gives them a meaningful say. Even fewer believe their government is free from corporate capture. When half the population thinks they’re shouting into the void, no press release will change that.
The good news? Governments are starting to listen differently. Instead of asking people what they want in abstract terms, many are using life events, having a child, opening a business, losing a loved one, as anchors for designing public services. Out of 28 OECD countries surveyed, 20 are using this approach. But only 13 have fully integrated services for at least one life event.
This tells us two things. First: empathy is creeping back into government design. Second: progress is glacial. From The RegTech lens, the life-event model is the most humane way to structure public services. We’ve seen several African and Southeast Asian governments piloting single-window platforms where someone can handle everything around childbirth, registration, benefits, health appointments, without bouncing between agencies. It’s not flashy, but it works. And more importantly, it respects people’s time and emotional bandwidth.
Green Promises, Grey Realities
Every government claims it’s going green. But the report shows a murkier picture. Yes, 35 of 38 OECD countries have adopted green public procurement frameworks. But only three, THREE, can measure how those policies affect the environment. Without data, this just a press conference.
Twenty-three countries have enshrined emissions targets into law. That sounds solid, until you realize only 18 have established independent advisory bodies to track progress, and even fewer have equipped them with real teeth. Accountability in climate policy is still optional in many capitals. The real gap, however, lies in infrastructure planning. Of the 32 countries surveyed, 21 set climate resilience goals, but just nine use those goals to vet alternative project solutions. It’s like writing a New Year’s resolution in pen, then never looking at it again. Sounds familiar?
OECD Government Glance 2025: Digital… in Theory
Digital government was supposed to be the great equalizer. But in the OECD’s telling, the digital dream is still under construction. The average country scores 0.61 out of 1 on the Digital Government Index. That’s like getting a C-minus in a class you invented. Only 47% of high-value datasets are open to the public. When it comes to health and education, those numbers drop even lower, to 42% and 37%, respectively. If data is supposed to be fuel for smart policy, we’re running on fumes.
Some governments are using AI and automation to improve procurement – 21 of 35, to be exact. That’s encouraging, but still modest when you consider the cost savings and fraud reduction possible through smarter workflows. From our side, The RegTech is knee-deep in helping governments clean, link, and activate their datasets. There’s no sexy way to describe data interoperability. But when a social welfare agency can match real-time income records with benefits disbursement, that’s impact. In the Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa, we’re seeing rising interest in data not just as a control tool, but as an engine for fairness. That’s the real promise of digital.
Who’s at the Table?
Public trust doesn’t evaporate in a vacuum. It disappears when people feel decisions are made elsewhere, by others, for others. The OECD data is clear: people feel unheard. Only 30% feel they have a say. That’s not a democracy deficit; that’s a legitimacy crisis.
Stakeholder engagement in lawmaking has improved slightly, from 2.0 to 2.3 (on a scale of 0 to 4). But let’s not break out the champagne. It’s still low, and traditional consultation remains mostly box-checking.
Deliberative democracy offers a flicker of hope. Citizens’ assemblies, juries, and dialogues are spreading. Between 2021 and 2023, the OECD logged 148 such processes, more than 20% of all recorded since 1979. That’s progress. Not explosive, but real.
Participatory budgeting tools, accessible policy simulators, and feedback loops that don’t feel like black holes are our way to go. When people understand how decisions are made and where their input goes, the oxygen comes back into the room.
Justice and Jobs, or Just Jargon?
The civil justice system remains stuck. The average quality score across OECD countries is 0.68. It’s been basically flat for a decade. That’s not just bad for people; it’s terrible for businesses. Without fast, fair justice, contracts become worthless, and fraud thrives.
Meanwhile, 12.6% of youth in 2023 were not in employment, education, or training. That’s an improvement from 2012, but it’s still one in eight young people left behind. Governments can’t afford to waste this generation. Especially not when green and digital sectors are crying out for skills.
At The RegTech, we’re increasingly seeing a link between digital ID infrastructure and access to opportunity. If a young person can’t authenticate themselves online, they can’t enroll, apply, or compete. Digital education and inclusion shouldn’t be just about connectivity. Identity, trust, and access are equally important.
OECD Government Glance 2025: So, What Now?
The OECD Government at a Glance 2025 report isn’t a page-turner. But it’s a mirror, and it reflects a moment when governments must pick a direction. The fiscal slack is gone and the public patience is thinning, while the digital transformation is waiting. The tools exist. Real question is whether the political will can match the technical potential?
From where we stand in UAE, at The RegTech, we see reason to hope. Not because governments are suddenly becoming tech startups or trust factories. But because the demand for dignity, clarity, and fairness is now louder than ever and some governments are finally listening. That’s not a revolution. That’s progress. Quiet, slow, and absolutely necessary.
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