World Bank report details Zimbabwe's steep decline

WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's slide into political and economic chaos represents one of the most dramatic declines in any country's governance over the past decade, according to World Bank bank data released on Tuesday.

The report shows a sharp deterioration in Zimbabwe measured against six indicators -- rule of law, corruption, voice and accountability, quality of regulations, political stability and government effectiveness.

Corruption and other government flaws have notably escalated in Zimbabwe since 2000, according to the bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators, based on the most comprehensive data from 212 countries (www.govindicators.org).

In 2000, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe began a controversial land reform campaign in which the government seized white-owned farms, plunging the country's economy into a severe crisis.

Since then, Mugabe has also come under increasing diplomatic pressure from the West to step down after nearly 30 years in power, while the country's opposition Movement for Democratic Change threatens his hold at home.

But Daniel Kaufmann, director of governance at the World Bank Institute, said while governance in Zimbabwe had shown a "dramatic decline," it is not the only country faring badly on that front.

"There are some countries that on a number of dimensions of governance rate below Zimbabwe or at the same level over a longer period of time, such as North Korea or Myanmar," Kaufmann told reporters.

Other countries that did not score high included Venezuela, Ivory Coast, Belarus, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan.

But the World Bank indicators also showed that good governance is not only found in the world's richest countries, but can also be part of developing nations.

Over a dozen developing countries, notably Chile, Botswana, Slovenia, Estonia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Czech Republic, Hungary and Lithuania all have vibrant democracies and little corruption, faring better than industrialized nations such as Italy and Greece.

For example, the report rates Chile as nearly on a par with the United States and France when it comes to controlling corruption.

The indicators cover 212 countries between 1996 and 2007 and draw from 35 different data sources that capture tens of thousands of surveys from the private sector, experts, grassroots groups and non-governmental organizations.

For years African countries has been perceived as a region riddled with corruption and ineffective government, but Kaufmann said there has been significant improvement in eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana and Tanzania.

"Quite a few countries in Africa are making inroads," he said. "Progress reflects reforms in those countries where political leaders, policy-makers, civil society and the private sector view good governance and corruption control as crucial for sustained and shared growth."

While many African countries that show progress in governance are also economically stronger, Kaufmann cautioned there was no evidence that higher growth meant less corruption or more effective government.

The report noted significant improvements in governance in Liberia since 2005 when President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first female head of state, took office following the West African country's elections.

Liberia scored higher on two fronts -- controlling corruption and voice and accountability -- which cover how citizens are able to participate in selecting their governments as well as freedom of expression and a free media. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; editing by Gary Crosse)