What is the difference in rule of law between South Africa and Zimbabwe?

1 number off surveys/polls, with South Africa ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Zimbabwe?

13 years are reported by both, from 1996 to 2011.

Where does this data come from?

World Bank Institute, published as Rule of Law (number off surveys/polls). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

South Africa vs Zimbabwe: Rule of Law

South Africa

17 number off surveys/polls

in 2011

Zimbabwe

16 number off surveys/polls

in 2011

South Africa rank

1st

Zimbabwe rank

2nd

Rule of Law over time

South Africa
Zimbabwe

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 17 number off surveys/polls against 16 number off surveys/polls in Zimbabwe, a difference of 1 number off surveys/polls.

That makes South Africa's figure about 1.1 times Zimbabwe's.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 13 shared years of data; in 1996 it was South Africa ahead.

South Africa ranks 1st and Zimbabwe ranks 2nd of 53 countries.

South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	South Africa	Zimbabwe	Difference	Ahead
1990s	8 number off surveys/polls	7 number off surveys/polls	1 number off surveys/polls	South Africa
2000s	14 number off surveys/polls	13.44 number off surveys/polls	0.5556 number off surveys/polls	South Africa
2010s	17 number off surveys/polls	16 number off surveys/polls	1 number off surveys/polls	South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher rule of law, South Africa or Zimbabwe?: South Africa, at 17 number off surveys/polls against 16 number off surveys/polls in Zimbabwe as of 2011.
What is the difference in rule of law between South Africa and Zimbabwe?: 1 number off surveys/polls, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Zimbabwe?: 13 years are reported by both, from 1996 to 2011.
How do South Africa and Zimbabwe rank globally for rule of law?: South Africa ranks 1st and Zimbabwe ranks 2nd of 53 countries.
Where does this data come from?: World Bank Institute, published as Rule of Law (number off surveys/polls). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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South Africa vs Zimbabwe: Rule of Law. Statizoid, drawing on World Bank Institute. Retrieved 03 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/rule-of-law-number-off-surveys-polls/south-africa/zimbabwe/

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About this data

Indicator: Rule of Law (number off surveys/polls)
Unit: number off surveys/polls
Source: World Bank Institute
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 53 places, 689 data points, 1996–2011
Last refreshed: 21 August 2026

See definition GV.RULE.LW.ES. This is the number of surveys/polls used to derive the GV.RULE.LW.ES.