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About the Library
This Law Library is a collection of laws and regulations on financial and business interest disclosure for public officials (referred here as “financial disclosure” but also known as “income and asset disclosure”). It offers access to over 1,000 laws and regulations across 176 jurisdictions worldwide. The Library also provides information on closely-related topics such as restrictions on public officials’ activities.
The Library is intended as an unbiased legal source for practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers within national governments; international organizations; development agencies; the media; academia and the private sector engaged in the fields of financial disclosure, anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), governance, transparency and the fight against corruption in general.
The Library includes legally-binding texts at a national level. The nature and range of these texts differ from one country to another but typically encompass documents such as constitutions, laws, acts, regulations, decrees, codes, rules, orders, etc. To simplify, these texts will be referred to throughout the website as “laws”.
Among others, the laws include:
- anti-corruption laws
- incompatibility laws
- tax laws
- laws on status of Members of Parliament/Cabinet Members
- civil service laws
- implementing decrees and regulations
- conflict of interest rules
- rules of procedure
- codes of ethics/conduct
- standing orders of Parliament
Laws are classified according to the following five categories:
- Disclosing officials: Laws that contain information on which categories of public officials (eg: ministers, members of parliament, judiciary, mayors, CEOs of publicly owned companies, etc) are mandated to submit disclosures.
- Information disclosed: Laws that contain information on the type of data that the public officials are required to disclose (such as assets, liabilities, gifts, sponsored travel, sources and values of income, business activities, etc).
- Public availability: Laws that contain information on the status of availability of filed disclosures to the public (publicly available - with or without conditions, available to certain public agencies or by following certain procedures, confidentiality provisions, etc).
- Restrictions: Laws that contain information on possible restrictions imposed on public officials (restrictions on accepting gifts or sponsored travel, exercising certain activities, owning stocks in all or certain companies, etc).
- Enforcement: Laws that contain information on the designated entity mandated to receive disclosures and how they manage them (if they check for completion, publish compliance data, receive complaints from the public, advise officials, etc); frequency of disclosure (upon taking and/or leaving office, annually, etc), whether family members are required to disclose and if so, which members (spouse, minor children, etc) and under what conditions (frequency, content).
- Members of Parliament (MPs): Laws on the disclosure of Members of Parliament (lower house).
- Members of the Executive (MEXs): Laws on the disclosure of Members of the Executive (heads of state and government, and/or cabinet members).
- Verification: Laws that contain information on whether agencies conduct any kind of examination or check on the information disclosed and the methodology used for such checks (if they check the information contained in disclosures against public or private sector records, against previous disclosures by the same official or against the official’s lifestyle; if they check all or only some disclosures; if agencies can request information from other entities or possess powers of investigation, etc).
- Sanctions: Laws that contain information on penalties or sanctions associated with potential violations of disclosure regulations such as: failure to submit disclosure, submitssion of false information, or when discrepancies are found upon checking disclosures.
- Other: Other laws that contain relevant information in the context of financial disclosure and public sector transparency.
Afghanistan | Dominica | Lebanon | Saudi Arabia |
Albania | Dominican Republic | Lesotho | Senegal |
Algeria | Ecuador | Liberia; | Serbia |
Angola | Egypt, Arab Rep. | Lithuania | Seychelles |
Antigua and Barbuda | El Salvador | Luxembourg | Sierra Leone |
Argentina | Eritrea | Macedonia, FYR | Singapore |
Armenia | Estonia | Madagascar | Slovak Republic |
Australia | Ethiopia | Malawi | Slovenia |
Austria | Fiji | Malaysia | Solomon Islands |
Azerbaijan | Finland | Maldives | South Africa |
Bahamas, The | France | Mali | Spain |
Bahrain | Gabon | Mauritania | Sri Lanka |
Bangladesh | Gambia, The | Mauritius | St. Lucia |
Belarus | Georgia | Mexico | St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
Belgium | Germany | Micronesia, Fed. Sts. | Sudan |
Belize | Ghana | Moldova | Suriname |
Benin | Greece | Mongolia | Swaziland |
Bhutan | Guatemala | Montenegro | Sweden |
Bolivia | Guinea | Morocco | Switzerland |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Guinea-Bissau | Mozambique | Syrian Arab Republic |
Botswana | Guyana | Namibia | Taiwan, China |
Brazil | Haiti | Netherlands | Tajikistan |
Brunei Darussalam | Honduras | New Zealand | Tanzania |
Bulgaria | Hong Kong SAR, China | Nicaragua | Thailand |
Burkina Faso | Hungary | Niger | Timor-Leste |
Burundi | Iceland | Nigeria | Togo |
Cambodia | India | Norway | Tonga |
Cameroon | Indonesia | Oman | Trinidad and Tobago |
Canada | Iran, Islamic Rep. | Pakistan | Tunisia |
Cape Verde | Iraq | Palau | Turkey |
Central African Republic | Ireland | Panama | Uganda |
Chad | Israel | Papua New Guinea | Ukraine |
Chile | Italy | Paraguay | United Arab Emirates |
China | Jamaica | Peru | United Kingdom |
Colombia | Japan | Philippines | United States |
Comoros | Jordan | Poland | Uruguay |
Congo, Dem. Rep. | Kazakhstan | Portugal | Uzbekistan |
Congo, Rep. | Kenya | Puerto Rico | Vanuatu |
Costa Rica | Kiribati | Qatar; | Venezuela, R.B |
Côte d'Ivoire | Korea, Rep. | Romania | Vietnam |
Croatia | Kuwait | Russian Federation | West Bank and Gaza |
Czech Republic | Kyrgyz Republic | Rwanda | Yemen, Rep. |
Denmark | Lao PDR | Samoa | Zambia |
Djibouti | Latvia | São Tomé and Principe | Zimbabwe |
- East Asia & Pacific: Brunei Darussalam • Cambodia • China • Fiji • Hong Kong SAR, China • Indonesia • Kiribati • Lao PDR • Malaysia • Micronesia, Fed. Sts. • Mongolia • Palau • Papua New Guinea • Philippines • Samoa • Singapore • Solomon Islands • Taiwan, China • Thailand • Timor-Leste • Tonga • Vanuatu • Vietnam
- Europe & Central Asia: Albania • Armenia • Azerbaijan • Belarus • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Bulgaria • Croatia • Georgia • Kazakhstan • Kyrgyz Republic • Latvia • Lithuania • Macedonia, FYR • Moldova • Montenegro • Romania • Russian Federation • Serbia • Tajikistan • Turkey • Ukraine • Uzbekistan
- Latin America & Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda • Argentina • Bahamas, The • Belize • Bolivia • Brazil • Chile • Colombia • Costa Rica • Dominica • Dominican Republic • Ecuador • El Salvador • Guatemala • Guyana • Haiti • Honduras • Jamaica • Mexico • Nicaragua • Panama • Paraguay • Peru • Puerto Rico • St. Lucia • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Suriname • Trinidad and Tobago • Uruguay • Venezuela, RB
- Middle East & North Africa: Algeria • Bahrain • Djibouti • Egypt, Arab Rep. • Iran, Islamic Rep. • Iraq • Jordan • Kuwait • Lebanon • Morocco • Oman • Qatar • Saudi Arabia • Syrian Arab Republic • Tunisia • United Arab Emirates • West Bank and Gaza • Yemen, Rep.
- OECD High Income: Australia • Austria • Belgium • Canada • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Iceland • Ireland • Israel • Italy • Japan • Korea, Rep. • Luxembourg • Netherlands • New Zealand • Norway • Poland • Portugal • Slovak Republic • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • United Kingdom • United States
- South Asia: Afghanistan • Bangladesh • Bhutan • India • Maldives • Pakistan • Sri Lanka
- Sub-Saharan Africa: Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cameroon • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros • Congo, Dem. Rep. • Congo, Rep. • Côte d'Ivoire • Eritrea • Ethiopia • Gabon • Gambia, The • Ghana • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Kenya • Lesotho • Liberia • Madagascar • Malawi • Mali • Mauritania • Mauritius • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger • Nigeria • Rwanda • São Tomé and Principe • Senegal • Seychelles • Sierra Leone • South Africa • Sudan • Swaziland • Tanzania • Togo • Uganda • Zambia • Zimbabwe
Regions are categorized according to World Bank classifications.
- High income: Australia • Austria • The Bahamas • Bahrain • Belgium • Brunei Darussalam • Canada • Croatia • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hong Kong SAR, China • Hungary • Iceland • Ireland • Israel • Italy • Japan • Korea, Rep. • Kuwait • Luxembourg • Netherlands • New Zealand • Norway • Oman • Poland • Portugal • Puerto Rico • Qatar • Saudi Arabia • Singapore • Slovak Republic • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • Taiwan, China • Trinidad and Tobago • United Arab Emirates • United Kingdom • United States
- Upper middle income:;Algeria • Angola • Antigua and Barbuda • Argentina • Azerbaijan • Belarus • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Botswana • Brazil • Bulgaria • Chile • China • Colombia • Costa Rica • Dominica • Dominican Republic • Ecuador • Gabon • Iran, Islamic Rep. • Jamaica • Jordan • Kazakhstan • Latvia • Lebanon • Lithuania • Macedonia, FYR • Malaysia • Maldives • Mauritius • Mexico • Montenegro • Namibia • Palau • Panama • Peru • Romania • Russian Federation • Serbia • Seychelles • South Africa • St. Lucia • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Suriname • Thailand • Tunisia • Turkey • Uruguay • Venezuela, RB
- Lower middle income:;Albania;•Armenia • Belize • Bhutan • Bolivia • Cameroon • Cape Verde • Congo, Rep. • Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti • Egypt, Arab Rep. • El Salvador • Fiji • Georgia • Ghana • Guatemala • Guyana • Honduras • India • Indonesia • Iraq • Kiribati • Lao PDR • Lesotho • Micronesia, Fed. Sts. • Moldova • Mongolia • Morocco • Nicaragua • Nigeria • Pakistan • Papua New Guinea • Paraguay • Philippines • Samoa • São Tomé and Principe • Senegal • Solomon Islands • Sri Lanka • Sudan • Swaziland • Syrian Arab Republic • Timor-Leste • Tonga • Ukraine • Uzbekistan • Vanuatu • Vietnam • West Bank and Gaza • Yemen, Rep. • Zambia
- Low income: Afghanistan • Bangladesh • Benin • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cambodia • Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros • Congo, Dem. Rep. • Eritrea • Ethiopia • Gambia, The • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Haiti • Kenya • Kyrgyz Republic • Liberia • Madagascar • Malawi • Mali • Mauritania •Mozambique • Niger • Rwanda • Sierra Leone • Tajikistan • Tanzania • Togo • Uganda • Zimbabwe
Income levels are categorized according to World Bank classifications.
- Albanian
- Arabic
- Armenian
- Bengali
- Bosnian
- Bulgarian
- Chinese
- Croatian
- Danish
- Dhivehi
- Dutch
- Dzongkha
- English
- Finnish
- French
- German
- Icelandic
- Indonesian
- Italian
- Khmer
- Kinyarwanda
- Moldovan
- Mongolian
- Norwegian
- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Russian
- Slovenian
- Spanish
- Swedish
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Vietnamese
The laws available on this website for a given jurisdiction do not necessarily represent all laws pertaining to that jurisdiction on the subject of financial disclosure or transparency in general. Read the full legal disclaimer.
If you would like to suggest additional laws for inclusion in the Financial Disclosure Law Library, please contact us at assetdisclosure@worldbank.org