**Figure 4.3: Comparison of developed and developing countries regarding vertical unbundling, 2015**

|Percentage of countries|Developed<br>countries|Developing<br>countries|
|---|---|---|
|<br>Verticallyintegrated**|26|57|
|Some degree of vertical unbundling of which:**|74|43|
|<br>Partial vertical unbundling|4|11|
|<br>Full vertical unbundling**|26|14|
|<br>Full vertical unbundling plus horizontal unbundlingin G or D**|43|18|
||100|100|

Source: Own elaboration based on RISE 2015 database ****** Differences are statistically significant at the 5% level ***** Differences are statistically significant at the 10% level The timing and extent of sector restructuring differs significantly across regions<sup>14</sup> (Figure 4.4). Two regions – Latin America & Caribbean and Europe & Central Asia – were early adopters with some 60 percent of their countries having unbundled to some degree as early as the year 2000, and no further action since that date. Countries that have pursued unbundling have at least introduced full vertical unbundling, and a significant minority of 20‐30 percent of countries in these regions have full vertical and horizontal unbundling. While the process of unbundling started later and moved more slowly in the East Asia Pacific region, by 2015 as many as 80 percent of countries had undertaken some degree of unbundling, and as many as 40 percent had full vertical and horizontal unbundling. However, a substantial share of countries has remained at the stage of partial vertical unbundling. By contrast, in South Asia, fewer than half of the countries have embarked on sector unbundling and there has been no further uptake of restructuring reforms since the early 2000s. A similar pattern is evident in the Middle East and North Africa, where barely a third of the countries have undertaken unbundling. In Sub‐Saharan Africa, vertically integrated monopolies remain the norm in over 80 percent of the countries. Interestingly, the East Asia and Pacific region (and to a much lesser extent Sub‐Saharan Africa) is the only one where momentum on restructuring reforms has actually increased over the last decade 2005‐2015. In all other regions, there has been barely any action on restructuring reforms since the early 2000s.

The detailed geographic patterns are somewhat different for restructuring than for regulation (Figure 4.5). As before, Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Indonesia, and the República Bolivariana de Venezuela stand out as countries that have eschewed reform. However, in addition, so have the majority of countries in Africa, whose systems are likely in many cases too small to make unbundling a relevant option.

> 14 Specifically, with respect to vertical integration/some degree of vertical unbundling the differences are statistically significant between Sub‐Saharan Africa and Europe & Central Asia, East Asia & Pacific and Latin America & Caribbean respectively. The percentage of countries that have fully vertically unbundled varies significantly between Europe & Central Asia and Sub‐Saharan Africa. The differences are statistically significant for Sub‐Saharan Africa and East Asia & Pacific, Latin America & Caribbean and Middle East & North Africa, as well as for East Asia & Pacific and Middle East & North Africa with respect to full vertical unbundling. Partial vertical unbundling does not vary to statistically significant degrees across regions.

14