On September 19, 2025, the United States Department of State released the Congressionally-mandated 2025 Fiscal Transparency Report. Fiscal transparency is a critical element of effective public financial management, helps build market confidence, underpins global economic stability, and levels the playing field for U.S. firms. It fosters greater government accountability by providing a window into government budgets and spending. Annual reviews of the fiscal transparency also help ensure appropriate use of U.S. taxpayer funds.
In this year's report, Department officials found that 71 of 140 governments and entities assessed met the minimum fiscal transparency requirements. Sixty-nine did not meet the minimum fiscal transparency requirements. Of these, however, 26 made significant progress toward meeting the minimum fiscal transparency requirements. Consistent with the requirement in the FY 2024 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, as continued by the FY25 Continuing Resolution, the 2025 report describes the minimum fiscal transparency requirements, reviews governments, most of which were identified as recipients of U.S. assistance in the 2014 Fiscal Transparency Report, and further assesses those that did not meet the minimum fiscal transparency requirements during the review period of January 1 to December 31, 2024. The report also indicates whether governments that did not meet those requirements made significant progress to publicly disclose national budget documentation, contracts, and licenses during the review period. The Department of State evaluated the public availability, substantial completeness, and reliability of budget documents, as well as the transparency of processes for awarding government contracts and licenses and public procurement contracts.
The report can be found on the Department's website at https://www.state.gov/fiscal-transparency-report and information on the Fiscal Transparency Innovation Fund can be found on the Department's website at https://www.state.gov/fiscal-transparency-innovation-fund/
