Asian Parliamentary Openness Index 2026

Assessment date: October 2026

Insights

9 countries were assessed

As this is the inaugural assessment cycle, it includes only the 9 founding member countries of the AAPO network. The assessment will expand to include more countries in future cycles.

Share

Overall Score

Key finding:

Publishing information is the most developed form of parliamentary openness. Across all the legislatures assessed, openness on information performs strongest (62.2%), ahead of citizen participation (50.0%) and accountability (46.4%). The challenge for Asia–Pacific is not whether parliaments disclose information, but whether disclosure actually enables meaningful citizen participation, influence, and scrutiny. Across lower chambers, there is a 61.19% gap between the most open legislature, which is South Korea (90.81%), and Indonesia (29.62%). Only four of nine lower or single chambers (44.4%) score above the 58.31% average, suggesting a massive, uneven gap in parliamentary openness in Asia–Pacific.

Compare
Highlight
Parliamentary type U UnicameralB Bicameral
Rank
Average
58.31%

Compare by Dimension

Key finding:

On openness and information, the deeper divide is between publication and usability. While parliamentary information is increasingly public, there is inconsistent structure for scrutiny and reuse. On accountability is the most polarised dimension in the index, with visible disparity across the indicators of codes of conduct and register of assets and interests. On citizen participation, the index shows that the public has extensive channels to observe parliamentary proceedings but without meaningful opportunities to influence political decisions. Across all dimensions, one conclusion has taken precedence: rules are not in shortage in the region, but there is serious room for improvements in their enforcement and compliance within legislative chambers.

How a parliament proactively discloses comprehensive legislative, financial, administrative, and procedural data in accessible formats. Key indicators cover session proceedings, schedules, and voting records; draft laws and budget documents; MP profiles and parliamentary spending; and legal freedom-of-information frameworks.

Compare
Highlight
Parliamentary type U UnicameralB Bicameral
Rank
Average
63.14%

Go deeper into the data

Explore every country's full profile, or browse the index indicator by indicator.

Submit your feedback

If you have concerns about a country’s score, suggestions for improving the index, or feedback on the website experience, you can submit feedback. Your input will be reviewed and shared with the team best placed to address it.