Numerous indicators and ratings aimed at assessing and comparing states based on different criteria, such as volumeof gross domestic product (GDP), freedom of speech, gender equality, or attractiveness of local cuisine, have becomean integral part of contemporary communications and international relations. Country rankings can be used as abasis for agenda setting, political influence, or developing approaches to global governance. National governmentssometimes use rankings developed by international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, or insome cases by business entities, as benchmarks for their countriesʼ development and national scorecards and indexes.Or, if the ratings are considered unsatisfactory, governments can distance themselves from such reports, accusingtheir authors of political bias.Lately, the phenomena of international indicators and ratings, the principles behind their development, andtheir influence and usage in the context of global governance have attracted attention of researchers specializing ininternational relations and other social science disciplines.This article examines different theoretical approaches to analyzing the phenomena of indexes and ratings andprovides evaluation of the phenomena. The author focuses on the premises for the increasing interest in comparativeapproaches and emergence of newly developed ratings and indexes, highlights limitations and weaknesses of suchapproaches, and examines new trends in the field and possible scenarios of its future development in the context ofcurrent global transformations.

The article was prepared within the project "Post-crisis world order: challenges and technologies, competition and cooperation" supported by the grant from Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation program for research projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development (Agreement № 075-15-2020-783)