Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in China
China: Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was -0.4292 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rule of Law - Governance estimate in China, 1996–2025
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
In 2025, rule of law - governance estimate in China stood at -0.4292 approx. -2.5 to +2.5. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 18.8% on the previous year and up 30.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rule of law - governance estimate in China peaked at -0.4292 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025 and was at its lowest, -0.8193 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 2005.
That places China 128th out of 208 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in China, year by year
| Year | approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | -0.5495 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | — |
| 1998 | -0.4895 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -10.9% |
| 2000 | -0.6102 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +24.7% |
| 2002 | -0.6492 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +6.4% |
| 2003 | -0.742 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +14.3% |
| 2004 | -0.7016 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -5.4% |
| 2005 | -0.8193 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +16.8% |
| 2006 | -0.8103 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -1.1% |
| 2007 | -0.6776 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -16.4% |
| 2008 | -0.6485 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -4.3% |
| 2009 | -0.6524 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.6% |
| 2010 | -0.6562 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.6% |
| 2011 | -0.5796 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -11.7% |
| 2012 | -0.6588 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +13.7% |
| 2013 | -0.7534 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +14.4% |
| 2014 | -0.6489 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -13.9% |
| 2015 | -0.6205 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -4.4% |
| 2016 | -0.5819 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -6.2% |
| 2017 | -0.4891 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -16.0% |
| 2018 | -0.4709 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -3.7% |
| 2019 | -0.5021 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +6.6% |
| 2020 | -0.446 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -11.2% |
| 2021 | -0.5059 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +13.4% |
| 2022 | -0.5329 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +5.3% |
| 2023 | -0.5251 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -1.5% |
| 2024 | -0.5286 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +0.7% |
| 2025 | -0.4292 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -18.8% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's -0.4292 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is -0.2073 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 2.1× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- China's -0.4292 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.5889 approx. -2.5 to +2.5. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.5195 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.5495 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.4895 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 2 |
| 2000s | -0.7012 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.8193 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.6102 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 9 |
| 2010s | -0.5961 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.7534 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.4709 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.4946 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.5329 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.4292 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
- 125 Tunisia -0.3911 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 126 Gambia -0.3953 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 127 Kazakhstan -0.4087 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 129 Sao Tome and Principe -0.4536 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 130 Benin -0.4561 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
- 131 Azerbaijan -0.4572 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
More reference data data for China
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 49.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 75.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 303.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 18.8 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 303.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 165.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 206.2 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 350.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1,480 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 102.37 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rule of law - governance estimate in China?
- Rule of law - governance estimate in China was -0.4292 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 China?
- The highest recorded value was -0.4292 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025.
- What is the lowest rule of law - governance estimate recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.8193 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2005.
- How does China rank for rule of law - governance estimate?
- China ranks 128th out of 208 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rule of law - governance estimate rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China 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.
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CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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.