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

Eswatini: Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was -0.7794 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
-0.7794 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Change on year
up 5.5%
World rank
151st
of 208 countries
All-time high
-0.2168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 1996
All-time low
-0.8717 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2005
Years of data
27
1996–2025

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

-0.8-0.6-0.4-0.21996201020251996: -0.217 approx. -2.5 to +2.51998: -0.437 approx. -2.5 to +2.52000: -0.437 approx. -2.5 to +2.52002: -0.703 approx. -2.5 to +2.52003: -0.587 approx. -2.5 to +2.52004: -0.803 approx. -2.5 to +2.52005: -0.872 approx. -2.5 to +2.52006: -0.631 approx. -2.5 to +2.52007: -0.694 approx. -2.5 to +2.52008: -0.532 approx. -2.5 to +2.52009: -0.572 approx. -2.5 to +2.52010: -0.604 approx. -2.5 to +2.52011: -0.703 approx. -2.5 to +2.52012: -0.641 approx. -2.5 to +2.52013: -0.64 approx. -2.5 to +2.52014: -0.597 approx. -2.5 to +2.52015: -0.521 approx. -2.5 to +2.52016: -0.52 approx. -2.5 to +2.52017: -0.445 approx. -2.5 to +2.52018: -0.463 approx. -2.5 to +2.52019: -0.535 approx. -2.5 to +2.52020: -0.621 approx. -2.5 to +2.52021: -0.696 approx. -2.5 to +2.52022: -0.732 approx. -2.5 to +2.52023: -0.766 approx. -2.5 to +2.52024: -0.825 approx. -2.5 to +2.52025: -0.779 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

Eswatini recorded -0.7794 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 for rule of law - governance estimate in 2025.

The figure is up 5.5% on the previous year and down 49.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law - governance estimate in Eswatini peaked at -0.2168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 1996 and was at its lowest, -0.8717 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 2005.

That places Eswatini 151st out of 208 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.

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

Annual values for Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Eswatini, 1996 to 2025.
Year approx. -2.5 to +2.5 Change
1996 -0.2168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 —
1998 -0.4371 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +101.6%
2000 -0.4368 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.1%
2002 -0.7027 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +60.9%
2003 -0.5872 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -16.4%
2004 -0.8027 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +36.7%
2005 -0.8717 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +8.6%
2006 -0.6314 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -27.6%
2007 -0.6944 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +10.0%
2008 -0.5323 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -23.3%
2009 -0.5722 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +7.5%
2010 -0.6044 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +5.6%
2011 -0.7035 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +16.4%
2012 -0.6408 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -8.9%
2013 -0.64 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.1%
2014 -0.5969 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -6.7%
2015 -0.5208 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -12.8%
2016 -0.5205 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.1%
2017 -0.4447 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -14.6%
2018 -0.4625 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +4.0%
2019 -0.535 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +15.7%
2020 -0.621 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +16.1%
2021 -0.6964 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +12.1%
2022 -0.7316 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +5.1%
2023 -0.7656 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +4.7%
2024 -0.8249 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +7.7%
2025 -0.7794 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -5.5%

Eswatini compared with similar countries

  • Eswatini's -0.7794 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is -0.6884 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
  • Eswatini's -0.7794 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.8846 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 88% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Eswatini 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
1998 -101.6% -0.2168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.4371 approx. -2.5 to +2.5

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s -0.3269 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.4371 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.2168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2
2000s -0.6479 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.8717 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.4368 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 9
2010s -0.5669 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.7035 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.4447 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 10
2020s -0.7365 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.8249 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.621 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 6

Countries ranked near Eswatini

  1. 148 Uganda -0.6705 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  2. 149 Egypt -0.6884 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  3. 150 El Salvador -0.7062 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  4. 152 Ukraine -0.7884 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  5. 153 Mauritania -0.8084 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  6. 154 Turkey -0.8121 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare

See the full ranking of 208 places →

More reference data data for Eswatini

All data for Eswatini →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law - governance estimate in Eswatini?
Rule of law - governance estimate in Eswatini was -0.7794 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 Eswatini?
The highest recorded value was -0.2168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 1996.
What is the lowest rule of law - governance estimate recorded in Eswatini?
The lowest recorded value was -0.8717 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2005.
How does Eswatini rank for rule of law - governance estimate?
Eswatini ranks 151st out of 208 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law - governance estimate rising or falling in Eswatini?
Over the last ten years it is down 49.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Eswatini 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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Rule of Law - Governance estimate in Eswatini. 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/eswatini/

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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.