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

Malawi: Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was -0.1463 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
-0.1463 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Change on year
down 8.9%
World rank
105th
of 207 countries
All-time high
-0.1004 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2008
All-time low
-0.4622 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2002
Years of data
26
1996–2024

Rule of Law - Governance estimate in Malawi, 1996–2024

-0.5-0.4-0.3-0.2-0.11996201020241996: -0.323 approx. -2.5 to +2.51998: -0.412 approx. -2.5 to +2.52000: -0.414 approx. -2.5 to +2.52002: -0.462 approx. -2.5 to +2.52003: -0.369 approx. -2.5 to +2.52004: -0.288 approx. -2.5 to +2.52005: -0.172 approx. -2.5 to +2.52006: -0.221 approx. -2.5 to +2.52007: -0.164 approx. -2.5 to +2.52008: -0.1 approx. -2.5 to +2.52009: -0.122 approx. -2.5 to +2.52010: -0.133 approx. -2.5 to +2.52011: -0.191 approx. -2.5 to +2.52012: -0.299 approx. -2.5 to +2.52013: -0.236 approx. -2.5 to +2.52014: -0.31 approx. -2.5 to +2.52015: -0.32 approx. -2.5 to +2.52016: -0.343 approx. -2.5 to +2.52017: -0.26 approx. -2.5 to +2.52018: -0.293 approx. -2.5 to +2.52019: -0.305 approx. -2.5 to +2.52020: -0.263 approx. -2.5 to +2.52021: -0.245 approx. -2.5 to +2.52022: -0.215 approx. -2.5 to +2.52023: -0.134 approx. -2.5 to +2.52024: -0.146 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 Malawi is -0.1463 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of down 8.9% on the previous year and up 52.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law - governance estimate in Malawi peaked at -0.1004 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2008 and was at its lowest, -0.4622 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 2002.

That places Malawi 105th out of 207 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.

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

Annual values for Rule of Law - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Malawi, 1996 to 2024.
Year approx. -2.5 to +2.5 Change
1996 -0.323 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 —
1998 -0.4122 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +27.6%
2000 -0.4136 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +0.3%
2002 -0.4622 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +11.7%
2003 -0.3691 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -20.1%
2004 -0.2881 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -21.9%
2005 -0.1725 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -40.1%
2006 -0.2208 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +28.0%
2007 -0.1641 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -25.7%
2008 -0.1004 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -38.9%
2009 -0.1223 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +21.9%
2010 -0.1327 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +8.5%
2011 -0.1908 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +43.7%
2012 -0.2988 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +56.7%
2013 -0.2364 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -20.9%
2014 -0.3096 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +31.0%
2015 -0.3201 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +3.4%
2016 -0.3435 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +7.3%
2017 -0.2604 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -24.2%
2018 -0.2926 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +12.4%
2019 -0.3048 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +4.2%
2020 -0.2627 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -13.8%
2021 -0.2455 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -6.6%
2022 -0.2155 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -12.2%
2023 -0.1344 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -37.6%
2024 -0.1463 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +8.9%

Malawi compared with similar countries

  • Malawi's -0.1463 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for low income countries, which is -1.23 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 12% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Malawi's -0.1463 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.8754 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 17% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s -0.3676 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.4122 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.323 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2
2000s -0.257 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.4622 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.1004 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 9
2010s -0.269 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.3435 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.1327 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 10
2020s -0.2008 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.2627 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.1344 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 5

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 102 Mongolia -0.0998 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  2. 103 Albania -0.1185 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  3. 104 Armenia -0.1424 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  4. 106 Moldova -0.1613 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  5. 107 Dominican Republic -0.1823 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  6. 108 Serbia -0.2001 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare

See the full ranking of 207 places →

More reference data data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law - governance estimate in Malawi?
Rule of law - governance estimate in Malawi was -0.1463 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2024, 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 Malawi?
The highest recorded value was -0.1004 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2008.
What is the lowest rule of law - governance estimate recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was -0.4622 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2002.
How does Malawi rank for rule of law - governance estimate?
Malawi ranks 105th out of 207 countries with data for 2024.
Is rule of law - governance estimate rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is up 52.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malawi 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 Malawi. 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/malawi/

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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
207 places, 5,294 data points, 1996–2024
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.