Judicial Checks on Government Index in South Africa
South Africa: Judicial Checks on Government Index was 0.895 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.895
Change on year
down 2.5%
World rank
31st
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.918
in 2024
All-time low
0.378
in 1950
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Judicial Checks on Government Index in South Africa, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.895 for judicial checks on government index in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.5% on the previous year and up 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, judicial checks on government index in South Africa peaked at 0.918 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.378, in 1950.
South Africa ranks 31st of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Judicial Checks on Government Index in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.469 | — |
| 1901 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.469 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.436 | -7.0% |
| 1949 | 0.436 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.378 | -13.3% |
| 1951 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.378 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.38 | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 0.38 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.38 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.38 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.677 | +78.2% |
| 1995 | 0.846 | +25.0% |
| 1996 | 0.856 | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 0.856 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.856 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.856 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.856 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.856 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.856 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.856 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.856 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.85 | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 0.85 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.864 | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 0.864 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.861 | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 0.861 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.861 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.861 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.846 | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 0.846 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.846 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.846 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.856 | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 0.874 | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 0.867 | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 0.867 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.867 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.89 | +2.7% |
| 2023 | 0.869 | -2.4% |
| 2024 | 0.918 | +5.6% |
| 2025 | 0.895 | -2.5% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.895 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.624, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.895 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.2945, 3.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.469 | 0.469 | 0.469 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.469 | 0.469 | 0.469 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.469 | 0.469 | 0.469 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.469 | 0.469 | 0.469 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.4624 | 0.436 | 0.469 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.378 | 0.378 | 0.378 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.378 | 0.378 | 0.378 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.378 | 0.378 | 0.378 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.378 | 0.378 | 0.378 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6467 | 0.38 | 0.856 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8569 | 0.85 | 0.864 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8564 | 0.846 | 0.874 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8843 | 0.867 | 0.918 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is judicial checks on government index in South Africa?
- Judicial checks on government index in South Africa was 0.895 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest judicial checks on government index recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.918 in 2024.
- What is the lowest judicial checks on government index recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.378 in 1950.
- How does South Africa rank for judicial checks on government index?
- South Africa ranks 31st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is judicial checks on government index rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Judicial Checks on Government Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which the executive respects the constitution, complies with the judiciary and high courts, and higher and lower courts are independent.