The UK tops the 2013 open data index but how do other countries compare? | News | theguardian.com

"Governments are still failing to provide "enough information in an accessible form to their citizens and businesses" according to the 2013 open data index published today by the Open Knowledge Foundation. The 2013 index, released ahead of the annual summit for the Open Government Partnership, gives the UK the best score for open data and is followed closely behind by the US. Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands follow the UK and US, while of the 70 countries assessed, Cyprus, St Kitts & Nevis, the British Virgin Islands, Kenya and Burkina Faso record the lowest scores ... The Open Knowledge Foundation note that the index - a result of community-based surveys in 70 countries - does not paint a full global picture. They explain that although there are 'many countries where governments are less open' they were not assessed due to a 'lack of openness or a sufficiently engaged civil society.' The not-for-profit organisation also points out that this includes 30 countries who are members of the Open Government Partnership ... Countries are ranked on the availability and accessibility of information in ten key areas; government spending, election results, transport timetables, pollution levels, government budget, company register, national statistics, legislation, postcodes and availability of a high level copy of a national map ... Although the UK and US lead on open government data according to the index, there are still key areas for improvement. The UK Electoral Commission doesn't allow open reuse of election data for example, whilst in the US there is no federal dataset that contains all corporate registrations ..."