What is rule of law index in Australia?

Rule of law index in Australia was 0.99 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Australia?

The highest recorded value was 0.993 in 1980.

What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Australia?

The lowest recorded value was 0.347 in 1793.

How does Australia rank for rule of law index?

Australia ranks 4th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is rule of law index rising or falling in Australia?

Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Australia data come from?

The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Rule of Law Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Rule of Law Index in Australia

Name: Rule of Law Index in Australia
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Australia: Rule of Law Index was 0.99 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

0.99

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

4th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.993

in 1980

All-time low

0.347

in 1793

Years of data

237

1789–2025

Rule of Law Index in Australia, 1789–2025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for rule of law index in Australia is 0.99, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law index in Australia peaked at 0.993 in 1980 and was at its lowest, 0.347, in 1793.

Australia ranks 4th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 237 years of available data.

Rule of Law Index in Australia, year by year

Annual values for Rule of Law Index in Australia, 1789 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1789	0.777	—
1790	0.777	+0.0%
1791	0.777	+0.0%
1792	0.777	+0.0%
1793	0.347	-55.3%
1794	0.347	+0.0%
1795	0.347	+0.0%
1796	0.347	+0.0%
1797	0.347	+0.0%
1798	0.347	+0.0%
1799	0.347	+0.0%
1800	0.347	+0.0%
1801	0.347	+0.0%
1802	0.347	+0.0%
1803	0.347	+0.0%
1804	0.347	+0.0%
1805	0.347	+0.0%
1806	0.347	+0.0%
1807	0.347	+0.0%
1808	0.347	+0.0%
1809	0.347	+0.0%
1810	0.819	+136.0%
1811	0.819	+0.0%
1812	0.819	+0.0%
1813	0.819	+0.0%
1814	0.819	+0.0%
1815	0.819	+0.0%
1816	0.819	+0.0%
1817	0.819	+0.0%
1818	0.819	+0.0%
1819	0.819	+0.0%
1820	0.819	+0.0%
1821	0.819	+0.0%
1822	0.819	+0.0%
1823	0.904	+10.4%
1824	0.904	+0.0%
1825	0.904	+0.0%
1826	0.904	+0.0%
1827	0.904	+0.0%
1828	0.904	+0.0%
1829	0.904	+0.0%
1830	0.904	+0.0%
1831	0.904	+0.0%
1832	0.904	+0.0%
1833	0.904	+0.0%
1834	0.904	+0.0%
1835	0.904	+0.0%
1836	0.904	+0.0%
1837	0.904	+0.0%
1838	0.904	+0.0%
1839	0.904	+0.0%
1840	0.904	+0.0%
1841	0.904	+0.0%
1842	0.904	+0.0%
1843	0.904	+0.0%
1844	0.904	+0.0%
1845	0.904	+0.0%
1846	0.904	+0.0%
1847	0.904	+0.0%
1848	0.904	+0.0%
1849	0.904	+0.0%
1850	0.904	+0.0%
1851	0.904	+0.0%
1852	0.904	+0.0%
1853	0.904	+0.0%
1854	0.904	+0.0%
1855	0.904	+0.0%
1856	0.972	+7.5%
1857	0.972	+0.0%
1858	0.972	+0.0%
1859	0.972	+0.0%
1860	0.972	+0.0%
1861	0.972	+0.0%
1862	0.972	+0.0%
1863	0.972	+0.0%
1864	0.972	+0.0%
1865	0.972	+0.0%
1866	0.972	+0.0%
1867	0.972	+0.0%
1868	0.972	+0.0%
1869	0.972	+0.0%
1870	0.972	+0.0%
1871	0.972	+0.0%
1872	0.972	+0.0%
1873	0.972	+0.0%
1874	0.972	+0.0%
1875	0.972	+0.0%
1876	0.972	+0.0%
1877	0.972	+0.0%
1878	0.972	+0.0%
1879	0.972	+0.0%
1880	0.972	+0.0%
1881	0.972	+0.0%
1882	0.972	+0.0%
1883	0.972	+0.0%
1884	0.972	+0.0%
1885	0.972	+0.0%
1886	0.972	+0.0%
1887	0.972	+0.0%
1888	0.972	+0.0%
1889	0.972	+0.0%
1890	0.972	+0.0%
1891	0.972	+0.0%
1892	0.972	+0.0%
1893	0.972	+0.0%
1894	0.972	+0.0%
1895	0.972	+0.0%
1896	0.972	+0.0%
1897	0.972	+0.0%
1898	0.972	+0.0%
1899	0.972	+0.0%
1900	0.972	+0.0%
1901	0.972	+0.0%
1902	0.972	+0.0%
1903	0.975	+0.3%
1904	0.975	+0.0%
1905	0.975	+0.0%
1906	0.977	+0.2%
1907	0.977	+0.0%
1908	0.977	+0.0%
1909	0.977	+0.0%
1910	0.978	+0.1%
1911	0.978	+0.0%
1912	0.978	+0.0%
1913	0.978	+0.0%
1914	0.978	+0.0%
1915	0.978	+0.0%
1916	0.972	-0.6%
1917	0.972	+0.0%
1918	0.978	+0.6%
1919	0.978	+0.0%
1920	0.978	+0.0%
1921	0.978	+0.0%
1922	0.978	+0.0%
1923	0.978	+0.0%
1924	0.978	+0.0%
1925	0.978	+0.0%
1926	0.976	-0.2%
1927	0.976	+0.0%
1928	0.976	+0.0%
1929	0.976	+0.0%
1930	0.978	+0.2%
1931	0.978	+0.0%
1932	0.976	-0.2%
1933	0.976	+0.0%
1934	0.976	+0.0%
1935	0.976	+0.0%
1936	0.976	+0.0%
1937	0.976	+0.0%
1938	0.976	+0.0%
1939	0.976	+0.0%
1940	0.975	-0.1%
1941	0.975	+0.0%
1942	0.975	+0.0%
1943	0.975	+0.0%
1944	0.975	+0.0%
1945	0.975	+0.0%
1946	0.977	+0.2%
1947	0.978	+0.1%
1948	0.978	+0.0%
1949	0.978	+0.0%
1950	0.99	+1.2%
1951	0.99	+0.0%
1952	0.99	+0.0%
1953	0.99	+0.0%
1954	0.99	+0.0%
1955	0.99	+0.0%
1956	0.99	+0.0%
1957	0.99	+0.0%
1958	0.99	+0.0%
1959	0.99	+0.0%
1960	0.99	+0.0%
1961	0.99	+0.0%
1962	0.99	+0.0%
1963	0.99	+0.0%
1964	0.99	+0.0%
1965	0.99	+0.0%
1966	0.99	+0.0%
1967	0.99	+0.0%
1968	0.99	+0.0%
1969	0.99	+0.0%
1970	0.99	+0.0%
1971	0.99	+0.0%
1972	0.99	+0.0%
1973	0.99	+0.0%
1974	0.99	+0.0%
1975	0.991	+0.1%
1976	0.991	+0.0%
1977	0.991	+0.0%
1978	0.991	+0.0%
1979	0.991	+0.0%
1980	0.993	+0.2%
1981	0.993	+0.0%
1982	0.993	+0.0%
1983	0.993	+0.0%
1984	0.993	+0.0%
1985	0.993	+0.0%
1986	0.993	+0.0%
1987	0.993	+0.0%
1988	0.993	+0.0%
1989	0.993	+0.0%
1990	0.993	+0.0%
1991	0.993	+0.0%
1992	0.993	+0.0%
1993	0.993	+0.0%
1994	0.993	+0.0%
1995	0.993	+0.0%
1996	0.993	+0.0%
1997	0.993	+0.0%
1998	0.993	+0.0%
1999	0.993	+0.0%
2000	0.993	+0.0%
2001	0.993	+0.0%
2002	0.993	+0.0%
2003	0.993	+0.0%
2004	0.993	+0.0%
2005	0.993	+0.0%
2006	0.993	+0.0%
2007	0.993	+0.0%
2008	0.993	+0.0%
2009	0.993	+0.0%
2010	0.993	+0.0%
2011	0.993	+0.0%
2012	0.993	+0.0%
2013	0.988	-0.5%
2014	0.988	+0.0%
2015	0.987	-0.1%
2016	0.989	+0.2%
2017	0.99	+0.1%
2018	0.988	-0.2%
2019	0.989	+0.1%
2020	0.989	+0.0%
2021	0.989	+0.0%
2022	0.99	+0.1%
2023	0.99	+0.0%
2024	0.99	+0.0%
2025	0.99	+0.0%

Australia compared with similar countries

Australia's 0.99 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.927, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
Australia's 0.99 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.59, 1.7× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1780s	0.777	0.777	0.777	1
1790s	0.476	0.347	0.777	10
1800s	0.347	0.347	0.347	10
1810s	0.819	0.819	0.819	10
1820s	0.8785	0.819	0.904	10
1830s	0.904	0.904	0.904	10
1840s	0.904	0.904	0.904	10
1850s	0.9312	0.904	0.972	10
1860s	0.972	0.972	0.972	10
1870s	0.972	0.972	0.972	10
1880s	0.972	0.972	0.972	10
1890s	0.972	0.972	0.972	10
1900s	0.9749	0.972	0.977	10
1910s	0.9768	0.972	0.978	10
1920s	0.9772	0.976	0.978	10
1930s	0.9764	0.976	0.978	10
1940s	0.9761	0.975	0.978	10
1950s	0.99	0.99	0.99	10
1960s	0.99	0.99	0.99	10
1970s	0.9905	0.99	0.991	10
1980s	0.993	0.993	0.993	10
1990s	0.993	0.993	0.993	10
2000s	0.993	0.993	0.993	10
2010s	0.9898	0.987	0.993	10
2020s	0.9897	0.989	0.99	6

Countries ranked near Australia

1 Denmark 0.997 compare
2 Switzerland 0.995 compare
3 Germany 0.991 compare
5 New Zealand 0.989 compare
5 Sweden 0.989 compare
7 Norway 0.986 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Australia

Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law index in Australia?: Rule of law index in Australia was 0.99 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Australia?: The highest recorded value was 0.993 in 1980.
What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Australia?: The lowest recorded value was 0.347 in 1793.
How does Australia rank for rule of law index?: Australia ranks 4th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law index rising or falling in Australia?: Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Australia data come from?: The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Rule of Law Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Rule of Law Index in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 28 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/rule-of-law-index/australia/

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About this data

Indicator: Rule of Law Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 30,303 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which the government complies with the law, courts are independent, laws transparent, justice accessible, corruption absent, and the bureaucracy is impartial.