<PAGE> PAGE 1
000 A000000 06/30/96
000 C000000 0000827118
000 D000000 N
000 E000000 NF
000 F000000 Y
000 G000000 N
000 H000000 N
000 I000000 3.0.a
000 J000000 A
001 A000000 WORLD GOVERNMENTS VARIABLE ACCOUNT
001 B000000 811-5450
001 C000000 6179545000
002 A000000 ONE SUN LIFE EXECUTIVE PARK
002 B000000 WELLESLEY HILLS
002 C000000 MA
002 D010000 02181
003 000000 N
004 000000 N
005 000000 N
006 000000 N
007 A000000 N
007 B000000 0
007 C010100 1
007 C010200 2
007 C010300 3
007 C010400 4
007 C010500 5
007 C010600 6
007 C010700 7
007 C010800 8
007 C010900 9
007 C011000 10
008 A000001 MASSACHUSETTS FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANY
008 B000001 A
008 C000001 801-17352
008 D010001 BOSTON
008 D020001 MA
008 D030001 02116
011 A000001 CLARENDON INSURANCE AGENCY
011 B000001 8-21590
011 C010001 BOSTON
011 C020001 MA
011 C030001 02116
013 A000001 DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP
013 B010001 BOSTON
013 B020001 MA
013 B030001 02110
014 A000001 SUN INVESTMENT SERVICES COMPANY
014 B000001 8-16198
015 A000001 STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
015 B000001 C
<PAGE> PAGE 2
015 C010001 BOSTON
015 C020001 MA
015 C030001 02110
015 E010001 X
015 A000002 CHASE MANHATTAN BANK, N.A.
015 B000002 S
015 C010002 NEW YORK
015 C020002 NY
015 C030002 10081
015 E040002 X
015 A000003 THE BANK OF NEW YORK
015 B000003 S
015 C010003 NEW YORK
015 C020003 NY
015 C030003 10286
015 E010003 X
018 000000 Y
019 A000000 Y
019 B000000 7
019 C000000 COMPASSFDS
020 C000001 0
020 C000002 0
020 C000003 0
020 C000004 0
020 C000005 0
020 C000006 0
020 C000007 0
020 C000008 0
020 C000009 0
020 C000010 0
021 000000 0
022 A000001 CHEMICAL BANK
022 B000001 13-3379014
022 C000001 128150
022 D000001 0
022 A000002 CS FIRST BOSTON
022 B000002 13-5659485
022 C000002 111279
022 D000002 2094
022 A000003 HONG KONG-SHANGHAI
022 B000003 00-0000000
022 C000003 96274
022 D000003 4955
022 A000004 LEHMAN BROS
022 B000004 13-2518466
022 C000004 89726
022 D000004 11178
022 A000005 GE FINANCIAL
022 B000005 06-1109503
022 C000005 54584
022 D000005 0
<PAGE> PAGE 3
022 A000006 PRUDENTIAL BACHE SECURITIES
022 B000006 22-2347336
022 C000006 43817
022 D000006 4362
022 A000007 SALOMON BROS
022 B000007 13-3082694
022 C000007 18601
022 D000007 20315
022 A000008 MERRILL LYNCH
022 B000008 13-3674085
022 C000008 19015
022 D000008 17775
022 A000009 GOLDMAN SACHS
022 B000009 13-5108880
022 C000009 23339
022 D000009 10293
022 A000010 NATIONS BANC
022 B000010 75-0520130
022 C000010 25692
022 D000010 6003
023 C000000 747403
023 D000000 170381
024 000000 N
025 D000001 0
025 D000002 0
025 D000003 0
025 D000004 0
025 D000005 0
025 D000006 0
025 D000007 0
025 D000008 0
026 A000000 Y
026 B000000 Y
026 C000000 N
026 D000000 Y
026 E000000 N
026 F000000 N
026 G010000 N
026 G020000 N
026 H000000 N
027 000000 Y
028 A010000 595
028 A020000 0
028 A030000 0
028 A040000 583
028 B010000 629
028 B020000 0
028 B030000 0
028 B040000 2481
028 C010000 480
028 C020000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 4
028 C030000 0
028 C040000 575
028 D010000 223
028 D020000 0
028 D030000 0
028 D040000 996
028 E010000 89
028 E020000 0
028 E030000 0
028 E040000 807
028 F010000 221
028 F020000 0
028 F030000 0
028 F040000 528
028 G010000 2237
028 G020000 0
028 G030000 0
028 G040000 5970
028 H000000 0
029 000000 N
030 A000000 0
030 B000000 0.00
030 C000000 0.00
031 A000000 0
031 B000000 0
032 000000 0
033 000000 0
034 000000 Y
035 000000 24
036 A000000 N
036 B000000 0
037 000000 N
038 000000 0
039 000000 Y
040 000000 N
042 A000000 0
042 B000000 0
042 C000000 0
042 D000000 0
042 E000000 0
042 F000000 0
042 G000000 0
042 H000000 0
043 000000 0
044 000000 0
045 000000 Y
046 000000 N
047 000000 Y
048 000000 0.000
048 A010000 300000
048 A020000 0.750
<PAGE> PAGE 5
048 B010000 0
048 B020000 0.000
048 C010000 0
048 C020000 0.000
048 D010000 0
048 D020000 0.000
048 E010000 0
048 E020000 0.000
048 F010000 0
048 F020000 0.000
048 G010000 0
048 G020000 0.000
048 H010000 0
048 H020000 0.000
048 I010000 0
048 I020000 0.000
048 J010000 0
048 J020000 0.000
048 K010000 300000
048 K020000 0.675
049 000000 N
050 000000 N
051 000000 N
052 000000 N
053 A000000 N
054 A000000 Y
054 B000000 Y
054 C000000 N
054 D000000 N
054 E000000 N
054 F000000 N
054 G000000 N
054 H000000 N
054 I000000 N
054 J000000 N
054 K000000 N
054 L000000 N
054 M000000 Y
054 N000000 N
054 O000000 N
055 A000000 Y
055 B000000 N
056 000000 Y
057 000000 N
058 A000000 Y
058 B000000 Y
058 C000000 N
058 D000000 N
058 E000000 N
059 000000 Y
060 A000000 N
<PAGE> PAGE 6
060 B000000 N
061 000000 300
062 A000000 Y
062 B000000 0.0
062 C000000 3.2
062 D000000 0.0
062 E000000 0.0
062 F000000 0.0
062 G000000 0.0
062 H000000 0.0
062 I000000 0.0
062 J000000 0.0
062 K000000 0.4
062 L000000 0.0
062 M000000 19.0
062 N000000 0.0
062 O000000 0.0
062 P000000 0.0
062 Q000000 75.4
062 R000000 0.0
063 A000000 0
063 B000000 5.0
064 A000000 Y
064 B000000 N
066 A000000 N
067 000000 N
068 A000000 N
068 B000000 Y
069 000000 N
070 A010000 Y
070 A020000 N
070 B010000 N
070 B020000 N
070 C010000 Y
070 C020000 N
070 D010000 N
070 D020000 N
070 E010000 Y
070 E020000 N
070 F010000 N
070 F020000 N
070 G010000 Y
070 G020000 N
070 H010000 N
070 H020000 N
070 I010000 N
070 I020000 N
070 J010000 N
070 J020000 N
070 K010000 Y
070 K020000 N
<PAGE> PAGE 7
070 L010000 Y
070 L020000 Y
070 M010000 Y
070 M020000 Y
070 N010000 Y
070 N020000 N
070 O010000 Y
070 O020000 N
070 P010000 Y
070 P020000 N
070 Q010000 N
070 Q020000 N
070 R010000 N
070 R020000 N
071 A000000 83429
071 B000000 80794
071 C000000 32123
071 D000000 250
072 A000000 6
072 B000000 1186
072 C000000 0
072 D000000 0
072 E000000 0
072 F000000 129
072 G000000 0
072 H000000 0
072 I000000 0
072 J000000 16
072 K000000 0
072 L000000 2
072 M000000 4
072 N000000 0
072 O000000 0
072 P000000 0
072 Q000000 0
072 R000000 17
072 S000000 1
072 T000000 0
072 U000000 0
072 V000000 0
072 W000000 226
072 X000000 395
072 Y000000 0
072 Z000000 791
072AA000000 0
072BB000000 582
072CC010000 0
072CC020000 609
072DD010000 0
072DD020000 0
072EE000000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 8
073 A010000 0.0000
073 A020000 0.0000
073 B000000 0.0000
073 C000000 0.0000
074 A000000 3
074 B000000 0
074 C000000 1045
074 D000000 30949
074 E000000 0
074 F000000 0
074 G000000 0
074 H000000 0
074 I000000 129
074 J000000 1530
074 K000000 0
074 L000000 1096
074 M000000 0
074 N000000 34752
074 O000000 1567
074 P000000 42
074 Q000000 0
074 R010000 0
074 R020000 0
074 R030000 6
074 R040000 359
074 S000000 0
074 T000000 32778
074 U010000 642
074 U020000 946
074 V010000 17.93
074 V020000 17.70
074 W000000 0.0000
074 X000000 6272
074 Y000000 4395
075 A000000 0
075 B000000 34491
076 000000 0.00
077 A000000 N
078 000000 N
080 A000000 NATIONAL UNION INSURANCE CO.
080 B000000 ICI MUTUAL
080 C000000 65000
081 A000000 Y
081 B000000 109
082 A000000 Y
082 B000000 100
083 A000000 N
083 B000000 0
084 A000000 N
084 B000000 0
085 A000000 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 9
085 B000000 N
086 A010000 0
086 A020000 0
086 B010000 0
086 B020000 0
086 C010000 0
086 C020000 0
086 D010000 0
086 D020000 0
086 E010000 0
086 E020000 0
086 F010000 0
086 F020000 0
SIGNATURE JANES O. YOST
TITLE ASSISTANT TREASURER
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000827118
<NAME> WORLD GOVERNMENTS VARIABLE ACCOUNT
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 01
<NAME> COMPASS II
<MULTIPLIER> 1000
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> DEC-31-1996
<PERIOD-START> JAN-01-1996
<PERIOD-END> JUN-30-1996
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 32159
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 32123
<RECEIVABLES> 2621
<ASSETS-OTHER> 5
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 3
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 34752
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 1567
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 407
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 1974
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 16860
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 642
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 824
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 14470
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 1644
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> (112)
<NET-ASSETS> 32870
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 0
<INTEREST-INCOME> 1186
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> (395)
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 791
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> (582)
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> (609)
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> (400)
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 46051
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> (548730)
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 0
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (3938)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 13454
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 2808
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 129
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 395
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 34491
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 18.11
<PER-SHARE-NII> 0.42
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> (0.60)
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0.00
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 17.93
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 1.00
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0.00
</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000827118
<NAME> WORLD GOVERNMENTS VARIABLE ACCOUNT
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 02
<NAME> COMPASS III
<MULTIPLIER> 1000
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> DEC-31-1996
<PERIOD-START> JAN-01-1996
<PERIOD-END> JUN-30-1996
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 32159
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 32123
<RECEIVABLES> 2621
<ASSETS-OTHER> 5
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 3
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 34752
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 1567
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 407
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 1974
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 16860
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 946
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 1021
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 14470
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 1644
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> (112)
<NET-ASSETS> 32870
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 0
<INTEREST-INCOME> 1186
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> (395)
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 791
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> (582)
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> (609)
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> (400)
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 114296
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> (347146)
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 0
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (3938)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 13454
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 2808
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 129
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 395
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 34491
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 17.89
<PER-SHARE-NII> 0.40
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> (0.59)
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0.00
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 17.70
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 1.00
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0.00
</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000827118
<NAME> WORLD GOVERNMENTS VARIABLE ACCOUNT
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 03
<NAME> COMPASS IIIb
<MULTIPLIER> 1000
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> DEC-31-1996
<PERIOD-START> JAN-01-1996
<PERIOD-END> JUN-30-1996
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 32159
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 32123
<RECEIVABLES> 2621
<ASSETS-OTHER> 5
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 3
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 34752
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 1567
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 407
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 1974
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 16860
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 420
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 316
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 14470
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 1644
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> (112)
<NET-ASSETS> 32870
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 0
<INTEREST-INCOME> 1186
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> (395)
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 791
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> (582)
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> (609)
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> (400)
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 369370
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> (38640)
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 0
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (3938)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 13454
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 2808
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 129
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 395
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 34491
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 10.36
<PER-SHARE-NII> 0.24
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> (0.35)
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0.00
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 10.25
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 1.00
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0.00
</TABLE>