Government and power in the United States

Who leads the United States, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Federal presidential republic.

Who leads the United States?

• Head of state: Donald J. Trump (President of the United States of America)
• Head of government: No Prime Minister
• Foreign minister: Marco A. Rubio (Secretary of State of the United States of America)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in the United States

Government

• The White House
  Presidential statements, executive orders, proclamations and briefings from the Executive Office of the President.
• USAGov
  The federal government's portal of information about agencies, benefits and services.

Parliament

• U.S. House of Representatives
  Information on House members, committees and floor proceedings of the lower chamber of Congress.
• U.S. Senate
  Senate roll-call votes, committee information, nominations and records of the upper chamber of Congress.
• Congress.gov
  The Library of Congress record of federal bills, their status and text, the Congressional Record and committee reports.

Elections

• Federal Election Commission
  Campaign finance filings for federal candidates, parties and PACs, and federal campaign-finance rules.

Courts

• Supreme Court of the United States
  Opinions of the Court, the docket, oral argument transcripts and audio, and court rules.

Public audit

• U.S. Government Accountability Office
  Audits, evaluations and legal decisions on federal spending and programmes, produced for Congress.

Access to information

• Office of Information Policy, US Department of Justice
  Government-wide FOIA guidance, the Department of Justice Guide to the FOIA, and annual FOIA report data for federal agencies.
• Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)
  The federal FOIA ombudsman's mediation services, agency compliance reviews and reports on the FOIA process.

Lobbying register

• Lobbying Disclosure (Secretary of the Senate)
  Lobbying registrations, quarterly activity reports and contribution reports filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
• House Lobbying Disclosure
  Lobbying registrations and reports filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Asset declarations

• US Office of Government Ethics
  Financial disclosure reports of senior executive branch officials, ethics agreements and government ethics rules.

Public contracts

• SAM.gov
  Federal contract opportunities, entity registrations, exclusions and federal assistance listings.
• USAspending.gov
  Federal spending data, including contract and grant awards by agency, recipient and location.

Laws and the official gazette

• GovInfo (U.S. Government Publishing Office)
  Official federal publications including the United States Code, public laws, the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations.

Government below the national level

• States (50): Governor and state legislature directly elected
• Counties (3,031): Usually an elected board of commissioners or supervisors; many states also elect a sheriff, prosecutor and clerk
• Municipalities (19,489) and townships (16,184): Elected council; mayor elected directly or chosen by the council; in council-manager systems the council hires a professional city manager
• Special-purpose governments: 12,535 independent school districts and 40,199 special districts (2025): School boards usually elected; special district boards elected or appointed depending on state law

How local power works in the United States

Places in the United States

• All 51 states
• The 824 largest cities
• Official statistics for the United States

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.