Which has higher rule of law index, Japan or Spain?

Japan, at 0.956 against 0.947 in Spain as of 2025.

How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Spain?

237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Rule of Law Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Japan vs Spain: Rule of Law Index

Japan

0.956

in 2025

Spain

0.947

in 2025

Japan rank

18th

Spain rank

21st

Rule of Law Index over time

Japan
Spain

How they compare

Japan currently reports 0.956 against 0.947 in Spain, a difference of 0.009.

The two have swapped places 6 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was Japan ahead.

Japan ranks 18th and Spain ranks 21st of 173 countries.

Across the 25 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 18 and Spain in 7.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Japan	Spain	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0.33	0.318	0.012	Japan
1790s	0.33	0.318	0.012	Japan
1800s	0.33	0.3073	0.0227	Japan
1810s	0.33	0.2648	0.0652	Japan
1820s	0.33	0.2898	0.0402	Japan
1830s	0.33	0.327	0.003	Japan
1840s	0.33	0.392	0.062	Spain
1850s	0.3338	0.4416	0.1078	Spain
1860s	0.4743	0.4596	0.0147	Japan
1870s	0.7473	0.534	0.2133	Japan
1880s	0.7444	0.5492	0.1952	Japan
1890s	0.7778	0.579	0.1988	Japan
1900s	0.8546	0.579	0.2756	Japan
1910s	0.8479	0.579	0.2689	Japan
1920s	0.8472	0.4919	0.3553	Japan
1930s	0.846	0.6381	0.2079	Japan
1940s	0.8722	0.4395	0.4327	Japan
1950s	0.9451	0.435	0.5101	Japan
1960s	0.952	0.455	0.497	Japan
1970s	0.9574	0.6195	0.3379	Japan
1980s	0.9544	0.987	0.0326	Spain
1990s	0.9572	0.987	0.0298	Spain
2000s	0.96	0.9874	0.0274	Spain
2010s	0.9549	0.9754	0.0205	Spain
2020s	0.958	0.9682	0.0102	Spain

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher rule of law index, Japan or Spain?: Japan, at 0.956 against 0.947 in Spain as of 2025.
What is the difference in rule of law index between Japan and Spain?: 0.009, with Japan ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Spain?: 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do Japan and Spain rank globally for rule of law index?: Japan ranks 18th and Spain ranks 21st of 173 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Rule of Law Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Rule of Law Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 30,303 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which the government complies with the law, courts are independent, laws transparent, justice accessible, corruption absent, and the bureaucracy is impartial.