Hanoi (VNA) - The Open Budget Survey (OBS) 2019 from the International Budget Partnership (IBP) ranks Vietnam 77th out of 117 countries around the world, up 14 places against the previous survey in 2017, the Ministry of Finance reported on May 18.
The OBS is the world’s only independent and comparative assessment of the three pillars of public budget accountability - transparency, oversight, and public participation - and been conducted by IBP biannually since 2006.
Vietnam’s budget transparency scored 38 out of 100, an increase of 23 points compared to 2017. The average score globally was 45.
Vietnam scored 11 out of 100 for public participation and 74 out of 100 for budget oversight, up four points and two points, respectively, from 2017.
Vietnam increased the availability of budget information by publishing the Executive’s Budget Proposal, the Citizens Budget, and the Audit Report online and increasing the information provided in the In-Year Reports.
The language used in the Citizens Budget report was viewed as simple and easy for people to understand, thus increasing their participation in budget allocation and monitoring.
The country has so far published online seven out of eight budget documents: the Pre-Budget Statement, the Executive’s Budget Proposal, the Enacted Budget, the Citizens Budget, In-Year Reports, the Year-End Report, and the Audit Report, in a timely manner./.
Vietnam has adequate budget oversight
Vietnamese legislative and auditing agencies scored a respective 61 and 75 points on a 100-point scale in terms of budget oversight, as announced in the 2015 Open Budget Index (OBI).
