Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) by country

Rule of Law (RL) captures perceptions of the extent to which agents respect and follow the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police, courts, and the likelihood of crime and violence. Governance estimate from the aggregation model, in units of a standard normal distribution,...

Countries reporting
208
Highest
2.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Finland
Lowest
-2.2 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Venezuela
Median
-0.1191 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Years covered
30
1996–2025
Data points
5,527

What the numbers show

Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) is currently reported for 208 countries. The highest value is 2.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in Finland; the lowest is -2.2 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in Venezuela.

The median across all reporting countries is -0.1191 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, and the mean is -0.0443 approx. -2.5 to +2.5.

Over the past decade 90 countries rose and 118 fell. The largest increase was in Kuwait (up 4,093.8%), and the largest decrease in Serbia (down 5,418.3%).

Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5): full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Finland 2.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 1.9% rising
2 Denmark 2.01 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 2.1% rising
3 Norway 1.94 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 1.1% rising
4 Sweden 1.74 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 10.7% flat
5 Switzerland 1.74 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 6.7% falling
6 Liechtenstein 1.71 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 3.1% rising
7 Luxembourg 1.71 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 4.8% rising
8 Netherlands 1.67 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 10.6% flat
9 New Zealand 1.66 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 11.1% flat
10 Austria 1.65 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 6.5% falling
11 Monaco 1.65 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 2.2% rising
12 Iceland 1.61 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 0.2% falling
13 Germany 1.6 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 6.7% flat
14 Greenland 1.59 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 3.5% flat
15 Andorra 1.58 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 2.2% rising
16 Ireland 1.55 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 1.7% flat
17 Japan 1.54 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 7.5% rising
18 Singapore 1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 3.5% rising
19 Canada 1.48 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 14.5% falling
20 Australia 1.46 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 15.4% falling
21 San Marino 1.45 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 13.7% rising
22 Estonia 1.43 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 7.6% rising
23 Lithuania 1.37 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 58.2% rising
24 Tuvalu 1.35 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 38.6% rising
25 American Samoa 1.35 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 0.5% rising
26 United Kingdom 1.27 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 23.0% falling
27 Belgium 1.27 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 10.3% rising
28 Aruba 1.23 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 5.8% rising
29 South Korea 1.2 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 18.2% rising
30 Palau 1.17 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 13.2% rising
31 Czechia 1.17 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 13.3% rising
32 Latvia 1.07 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 50.4% rising
33 Samoa 1.06 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 11.1% rising
34 Portugal 1.05 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 8.1% falling
35 Guam 0.9763 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 27.9% rising
36 Micronesia (country) 0.9708 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 275.5% falling
37 France 0.9699 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 22.0% falling
38 Cayman Islands 0.9645 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 22.4% falling
39 Marshall Islands 0.9529 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 34.8% rising
40 Hong Kong 0.9409 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 40.3% flat
41 Uruguay 0.9395 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 12.8% rising
42 Slovenia 0.922 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 11.7% falling
43 Kiribati 0.8706 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 97.4% flat
44 Spain 0.8695 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 10.4% falling
45 Macao 0.8553 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 7.6% rising
46 Bermuda 0.8075 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 9.5% falling
47 United States 0.7914 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 43.7% falling
48 Tonga 0.7743 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 874.8% volatile
49 Cyprus 0.7387 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 11.8% falling
50 Bhutan 0.7218 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 38.5% volatile
51 Barbados 0.7196 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 33.8% falling
52 Chile 0.6805 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 33.0% falling
53 Israel 0.6765 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 33.4% falling
54 Mauritius 0.676 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 25.7% falling
55 Brunei 0.6737 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 45.1% falling
56 Malta 0.6662 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 39.6% falling
57 French Polynesia 0.6491 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 28.3% falling
58 Costa Rica 0.6028 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 14.8% rising
59 Italy 0.5853 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 19.9% falling
60 Grenada 0.581 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 3.4% rising
61 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.5801 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 27.1% falling
62 Seychelles 0.5779 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 99.8% rising
63 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.5779 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 7.3% falling
64 United States Virgin Islands 0.5699 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 36.1% falling
65 Antigua and Barbuda 0.569 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 37.3% falling
66 Poland 0.5689 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 31.6% falling
67 Saint Lucia 0.5678 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 29.2% falling
68 Puerto Rico 0.5658 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 22.7% falling
69 Qatar 0.5631 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 9.0% rising
70 United Arab Emirates 0.5434 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 73.0% rising
71 Vanuatu 0.5287 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 13.5% falling
72 Oman 0.5019 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 110.0% falling
73 Cape Verde 0.4548 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 32.0% falling
74 Slovakia 0.4505 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 57.6% rising
75 Dominica 0.4247 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 45.2% falling
76 Croatia 0.4206 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 14.7% volatile
77 Fiji 0.4195 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 286.9% volatile
78 Malaysia 0.4082 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 205.9% rising
79 Namibia 0.3763 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 18.2% flat
80 Romania 0.2971 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 24.6% volatile
81 Greece 0.2854 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 23.3% falling
82 Botswana 0.2811 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 36.8% falling
83 Saudi Arabia 0.2737 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 204.1% volatile
84 Nauru 0.2713 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 20.4% volatile
85 New Caledonia 0.2572 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 74.2% falling
86 Bahamas 0.2294 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 49.6% volatile
87 Hungary 0.2156 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 49.0% falling
88 Montenegro 0.2082 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 3,080.4% volatile
89 Kuwait 0.1967 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 4,093.8% volatile
90 Jordan 0.1917 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 65.7% volatile
91 Bahrain 0.1798 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 2,541.0% volatile
92 Solomon Islands 0.1793 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 198.4% volatile
93 Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) 0.1095 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 142.6% volatile
94 Rwanda 0.0981 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 159.9% volatile
95 Georgia 0.0953 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 72.7% volatile
96 Kosovo 0.0521 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2024 up 115.9% volatile
97 South Africa 0.0408 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 67.5% volatile
98 Ghana -0.0012 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 100.7% volatile
99 Maldives -0.011 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 98.2% volatile
100 Jamaica -0.0301 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 77.6% volatile
101 Albania -0.0388 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 82.1% volatile
102 Bulgaria -0.0458 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 75.6% volatile
103 Argentina -0.1024 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 76.9% volatile
104 Mongolia -0.1159 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 45.1% volatile
105 Thailand -0.1223 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 67.3% volatile
106 Dominican Republic -0.1235 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 73.8% rising
107 India -0.1287 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 6.4% volatile
108 Malawi -0.1358 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 57.6% rising
109 North Macedonia -0.1417 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 46.7% rising
110 Moldova -0.1527 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 63.3% flat
111 Vietnam -0.1749 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 46.0% rising
112 Senegal -0.1927 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 27.5% volatile
113 Sri Lanka -0.2073 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 146.3% volatile
114 Suriname -0.2174 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 33.4% flat
115 Indonesia -0.2546 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 33.9% volatile
116 Armenia -0.2653 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 24.0% rising
117 Panama -0.3031 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 193.9% volatile
118 Nepal -0.3063 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 50.9% rising
119 Guyana -0.3124 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 41.7% flat
120 Serbia -0.3213 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 5,418.3% volatile
121 Bosnia and Herzegovina -0.3397 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 61.9% rising
122 Morocco -0.341 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 2.6% volatile
123 Trinidad and Tobago -0.3489 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 3,173.1% volatile
124 Belize -0.3712 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 37.5% volatile
125 Tunisia -0.3911 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 612.8% volatile
126 Gambia -0.3953 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 56.9% volatile
127 Kazakhstan -0.4087 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 15.7% rising
128 China -0.4292 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 30.8% rising
129 Sao Tome and Principe -0.4536 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 20.3% volatile
130 Benin -0.4561 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 10.7% falling
131 Azerbaijan -0.4572 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 33.8% rising
132 Lesotho -0.4652 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 325.0% volatile
133 Philippines -0.4709 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 16.3% falling
134 Kenya -0.4744 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 24.8% rising
135 Brazil -0.4855 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 131.8% falling
136 Zambia -0.4925 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 49.0% falling
137 Cote d'Ivoire -0.5216 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 24.8% rising
138 Tanzania -0.5712 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 56.2% falling
139 Papua New Guinea -0.5726 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 0.2% rising
140 Togo -0.6275 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 22.2% rising
141 Colombia -0.6283 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 69.8% rising
142 Paraguay -0.6311 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 21.9% rising
143 Laos -0.6402 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 12.2% rising
144 East Timor -0.6412 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 37.9% falling
145 Uzbekistan -0.6414 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 41.2% rising
146 Algeria -0.6524 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 24.8% rising
147 Peru -0.6585 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 50.0% rising
148 Uganda -0.6705 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 21.6% falling
149 Egypt -0.6884 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 12.0% volatile
150 El Salvador -0.7062 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 6.3% rising
151 Eswatini -0.7794 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 49.7% falling
152 Ukraine -0.7884 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 12.0% rising
153 Mauritania -0.8084 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 15.0% falling
154 Turkey -0.8121 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 83.1% volatile
155 Sierra Leone -0.8428 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 11.0% rising
156 Liberia -0.8494 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 6.3% rising
157 Bangladesh -0.9097 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 12.1% rising
158 Burkina Faso -0.9197 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 78.9% falling
159 Kyrgyzstan -0.9314 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 7.5% flat
160 Ethiopia -0.9379 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 24.2% rising
161 Madagascar -0.9455 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 20.0% falling
162 Nigeria -0.9515 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 4.8% rising
163 Comoros -0.9551 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 26.8% rising
164 Palestine -0.9613 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 11.9% falling
165 Djibouti -1.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 2.6% falling
166 Gabon -1.02 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 59.5% falling
167 Guatemala -1.03 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 12.3% rising
168 Ecuador -1.03 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 0.6% falling
169 Cambodia -1.05 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 15.7% rising
170 Lebanon -1.06 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 32.5% falling
171 Pakistan -1.07 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 20.8% falling
172 Cuba -1.08 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 34.4% rising
173 Angola -1.12 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 10.8% rising
174 Niger -1.13 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 96.6% rising
175 Honduras -1.15 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 0.2% falling
176 Mexico -1.17 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 76.4% falling
177 Mozambique -1.18 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 38.5% falling
178 Mali -1.19 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 59.0% volatile
179 Cameroon -1.19 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 10.5% rising
180 Guinea -1.21 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 0.8% rising
181 Iran -1.22 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 28.7% falling
182 Zimbabwe -1.22 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 13.8% rising
183 Tajikistan -1.22 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 9.7% rising
184 Belarus -1.23 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 59.2% falling
185 Congo -1.25 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 18.9% rising
186 Guinea-Bissau -1.27 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 2.6% rising
187 Russia -1.27 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 38.0% falling
188 Bolivia -1.35 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 11.6% falling
189 Iraq -1.39 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 8.0% rising
190 Chad -1.41 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 3.6% falling
191 Turkmenistan -1.42 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 0.4% falling
192 Burundi -1.43 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 9.7% flat
193 North Korea -1.49 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 13.1% falling
194 Equatorial Guinea -1.54 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 3.6% falling
195 Nicaragua -1.59 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 68.4% falling
196 Haiti -1.62 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 37.8% rising
197 Libya -1.65 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 5.0% falling
198 Democratic Republic of Congo -1.66 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 5.8% rising
199 Central African Republic -1.7 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 0.5% falling
200 Myanmar -1.77 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 48.3% rising
201 Eritrea -1.77 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 7.5% falling
202 Syria -1.81 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 9.1% falling
203 Afghanistan -1.85 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 11.4% rising
204 Sudan -1.86 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 26.3% flat
205 Yemen -1.94 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 25.8% falling
206 South Sudan -2.03 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 down 19.4% falling
207 Somalia -2.17 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 1.6% rising
208 Venezuela -2.2 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2025 up 3.6% falling

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Rule of Law - Governance estimate by country. Statizoid, drawing on The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG). Retrieved 14 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/rule-of-law-governance-estimate-approx-2-5-to-2-5/

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About this data

Indicator
Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5)
Unit
approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Source
The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
208 places, 5,527 data points, 1996–2025
Last refreshed

Rule of Law (RL) captures perceptions of the extent to which agents respect and follow the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police, courts, and the likelihood of crime and violence. Governance estimate from the aggregation model, in units of a standard normal distribution, i.e. ranging from approximately -2.5 to 2.5. Larger values correspond to better governance. The (country-series-time) metadata include the (a) number of sources, and (b) standard error. The number of sources indicates the number of underlying data sources on which the governance estimate is based. The standard error indicates the precision of the governance estimate. Larger values indicate less precise estimates. A 90% confidence interval for the governance estimate is given by the estimate +/- 1.64 times the standard error.