The Ministry of Justice leads, while the Ministry of Health ranks last in the 2025 Administrative Reform Index. Photo: Chart of the Administrative Reform Index of ministries and ministerial-level agencies. Photo courtesy of Ministry of Home Affairs

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) clinched the top spot in Việt Nam’s 2025 Public Administration Reform Index for ministries and ministry-level agencies, scoring 95.48 per cent, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA).

In contrast, the Ministry of Health (MoH) recorded the lowest index, at 81.01 per cent, 14.47 percentage points lower than that of the MoJ.

Twelve ministries and ministry-level agencies averaged 87.2 per cent on the overall PAR Index, a 2.77 percentage point jump from 84.43 per cent in 2024. Six ministries beat the average.

The 2025 results split across two tiers. Group A, with scores of 90 per cent or above, included the MoJ, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the Ministry of Finance (MoF), and the MoHA. Group B, with scores ranging from 80 per cent to under 90 per cent, comprised the Ministry of Construction (MoC), the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MEA), the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST); the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST); the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the Ministry of Education and Training (MET), and the MoH.

Five of seven component indices improved year-on-year, namely institutional and administrative procedure reform, organisational restructuring, public finance overhaul, and digital transformation. Meanwhile, two others declined, including administrative reform leadership and governance, and civil service regime reforms.

The leadership and governance index led all components at 93.99 per cent, signaling sustained high-level attention from the Party Central Committee, Government, and Prime Minister. The slight dip from 94.95 per cent in 2024 reflected communication lapses and patchy reporting by several ministries, the MoHA said.

Organisational restructuring scored second at 92.02 per cent, up 1.4 percentage points from 2024 (90.62 per cent). Eleven out of 12 agencies cleared 90 per cent. The MoCST was the sole underperfomer, at 87.94 per cent.

Administrative procedure reform placed third at 89.49%, surging 6.11 percentage points from 83.38 per cent. The MoHA, MoJ, SBV, MoCST, MoFA, and MoC all surpassed 90 per cent.

Civil service reform slid to fourth, dropping 1.99 percentage points to 86.77 per cent from 88.77 per cent. The central bank led at 95.83 per cent, followed by the MoF (95.06 per cent) and MoJ (93.48 per cent). Nine ministries fell short of 90 per cent while the MoFA placed last at 69.60 per cent.

Public finance reform jumped to fifth, vaulting 10.53 percentage points to 85.08 per cent from 74.55 per cent. The SBV, MoJ, and MoF all cleared 90 per cent. The MoH (69.8 per cent) and MoCST (67.62 per cent) anchored the bottom, both below 70 per cent.

Institutional reform ranked sixth at 83.99 per cent, rising 4.56 percentage points from 79.42 per cent. The MoJ stood alone above 90 per cent, at 94.87 per cent. The MoCST (79.79 per cent), MoFA (77 per cent), and MEA (74.12 per cent) came in below 80 per cent.

Digital transformation in state agencies trailed all components at 81.39 per cent, slightly up from 81.20 per cent. The MoJ (96.86 per cent) and MoF (96.05 per cent) dominated the category. The MoCST (67.27 per cent), MoH (62.97 per cent), MET (62.7 per cent) propped up the bottom. — VNA/VNS