Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Bhutan

Bhutan: Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was 0.7218 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.7218 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Change on year
down 10.1%
World rank
50th
of 208 countries
All-time high
0.8025 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2024
All-time low
-0.2135 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 1996
Years of data
27
1996–2025

Rule of Law - Governance estimate in Bhutan, 1996–2025

-0.2500.250.50.751996201020251996: -0.213 approx. -2.5 to +2.51998: -0.185 approx. -2.5 to +2.52000: -0.171 approx. -2.5 to +2.52002: -0.137 approx. -2.5 to +2.52003: -0.137 approx. -2.5 to +2.52004: 0.092 approx. -2.5 to +2.52005: 0.253 approx. -2.5 to +2.52006: 0.045 approx. -2.5 to +2.52007: 0.221 approx. -2.5 to +2.52008: 0.364 approx. -2.5 to +2.52009: 0.159 approx. -2.5 to +2.52010: 0.132 approx. -2.5 to +2.52011: 0.172 approx. -2.5 to +2.52012: 0.155 approx. -2.5 to +2.52013: 0.246 approx. -2.5 to +2.52014: 0.344 approx. -2.5 to +2.52015: 0.521 approx. -2.5 to +2.52016: 0.527 approx. -2.5 to +2.52017: 0.645 approx. -2.5 to +2.52018: 0.688 approx. -2.5 to +2.52019: 0.682 approx. -2.5 to +2.52020: 0.672 approx. -2.5 to +2.52021: 0.703 approx. -2.5 to +2.52022: 0.698 approx. -2.5 to +2.52023: 0.736 approx. -2.5 to +2.52024: 0.803 approx. -2.5 to +2.52025: 0.722 approx. -2.5 to +2.5

Source: The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG). Measured in approx. -2.5 to +2.5.

Analysis

The most recent figure for rule of law - governance estimate in Bhutan is 0.7218 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, measured in 2025.

That represents a change of down 10.1% on the previous year and up 38.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law - governance estimate in Bhutan peaked at 0.8025 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2024 and was at its lowest, -0.2135 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 1996.

That places Bhutan 50th out of 208 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Bhutan, year by year

Annual values for Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Bhutan, 1996 to 2025.
Year approx. -2.5 to +2.5 Change
1996 -0.2135 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 —
1998 -0.1852 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -13.3%
2000 -0.1705 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -7.9%
2002 -0.1372 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -19.6%
2003 -0.1373 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +0.1%
2004 0.0921 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -167.0%
2005 0.2534 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +175.3%
2006 0.0451 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -82.2%
2007 0.2212 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +390.0%
2008 0.3639 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +64.5%
2009 0.1585 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -56.4%
2010 0.1316 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -17.0%
2011 0.1723 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +31.0%
2012 0.1552 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -9.9%
2013 0.2462 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +58.7%
2014 0.3444 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +39.9%
2015 0.5212 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +51.3%
2016 0.5272 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +1.2%
2017 0.6449 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +22.3%
2018 0.6878 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +6.6%
2019 0.6819 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.9%
2020 0.6721 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -1.4%
2021 0.7035 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +4.7%
2022 0.6976 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.8%
2023 0.736 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +5.5%
2024 0.8025 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +9.0%
2025 0.7218 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -10.1%

Bhutan compared with similar countries

  • Bhutan's 0.7218 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is -0.7515 approx. -2.5 to +2.5. (47 countries reporting)
  • Bhutan's 0.7218 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for South Asia, which is -0.1485 approx. -2.5 to +2.5. (6 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Bhutan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2007 +390.0% 0.0451 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.2212 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
2005 +175.3% 0.0921 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.2534 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
2004 +167.0% -0.1373 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.0921 approx. -2.5 to +2.5

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s -0.1993 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.2135 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.1852 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2
2000s 0.0766 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.1705 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.3639 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 9
2010s 0.4113 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.1316 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.6878 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 10
2020s 0.7222 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.6721 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 0.8025 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 6

Countries ranked near Bhutan

  1. 47 United States 0.7914 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  2. 48 Tonga 0.7743 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  3. 49 Cyprus 0.7387 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  4. 51 Barbados 0.7196 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  5. 52 Chile 0.6805 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  6. 53 Israel 0.6765 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare

See the full ranking of 208 places →

More reference data data for Bhutan

All data for Bhutan →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law - governance estimate in Bhutan?
Rule of law - governance estimate in Bhutan was 0.7218 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025, according to The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG).
What is the highest rule of law - governance estimate recorded in Bhutan?
The highest recorded value was 0.8025 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2024.
What is the lowest rule of law - governance estimate recorded in Bhutan?
The lowest recorded value was -0.2135 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 1996.
How does Bhutan rank for rule of law - governance estimate?
Bhutan ranks 50th out of 208 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law - governance estimate rising or falling in Bhutan?
Over the last ten years it is up 38.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Bhutan data come from?
The figures come from The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG), published as part of Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Rule of Law - Governance estimate in Bhutan. Statizoid, drawing on The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG). Retrieved 15 October 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/rule-of-law-governance-estimate-approx-2-5-to-2-5/bhutan/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/rule-of-law-governance-estimate-approx-2-5-to-2-5/bhutan/">Rule of Law - Governance estimate in Bhutan</a> — Statizoid

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.