Rule of Law Index in Bahrain
Bahrain: Rule of Law Index was 0.245 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.245
Change on year
down 2.8%
World rank
134th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.344
in 1958
All-time low
0.04
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Rule of Law Index in Bahrain, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, rule of law index in Bahrain stood at 0.245.
That represents a change of down 2.8% on the previous year and up 15.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rule of law index in Bahrain peaked at 0.344 in 1958 and was at its lowest, 0.04, in 1900.
Bahrain ranks 134th of 176 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Rule of Law Index in Bahrain, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.04 | — |
| 1901 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.237 | +492.5% |
| 1925 | 0.237 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.237 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.237 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.237 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.237 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.302 | +27.4% |
| 1931 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.244 | -19.2% |
| 1958 | 0.344 | +41.0% |
| 1959 | 0.344 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.315 | -8.4% |
| 1961 | 0.315 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.315 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.315 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.315 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.315 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.315 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.315 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.315 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.315 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.315 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.263 | -16.5% |
| 1972 | 0.263 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.263 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.232 | -11.8% |
| 1975 | 0.154 | -33.6% |
| 1976 | 0.216 | +40.3% |
| 1977 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.248 | +14.8% |
| 2000 | 0.248 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.248 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.285 | +14.9% |
| 2003 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.302 | +6.0% |
| 2006 | 0.302 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.285 | -5.6% |
| 2008 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.285 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.187 | -34.4% |
| 2012 | 0.187 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.194 | +3.7% |
| 2014 | 0.203 | +4.6% |
| 2015 | 0.212 | +4.4% |
| 2016 | 0.216 | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 0.216 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.221 | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 0.244 | +10.4% |
| 2020 | 0.245 | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 0.249 | +1.6% |
| 2022 | 0.251 | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 0.267 | +6.4% |
| 2024 | 0.252 | -5.6% |
| 2025 | 0.245 | -2.8% |
Bahrain compared with similar countries
- Bahrain's 0.245 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.927, 26% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Bahrain's 0.245 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.321, 76% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.1582 | 0.04 | 0.237 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.302 | 0.302 | 0.302 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.302 | 0.302 | 0.302 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.3046 | 0.244 | 0.344 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.315 | 0.315 | 0.315 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.2354 | 0.154 | 0.315 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.216 | 0.216 | 0.216 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2192 | 0.216 | 0.248 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.281 | 0.248 | 0.302 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2165 | 0.187 | 0.285 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2515 | 0.245 | 0.267 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bahrain
More reference data data for Bahrain
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.001 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0108 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0191 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0191 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0034 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0013 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0528 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0873 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rule of law index in Bahrain?
- Rule of law index in Bahrain was 0.245 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Bahrain?
- The highest recorded value was 0.344 in 1958.
- What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Bahrain?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.04 in 1900.
- How does Bahrain rank for rule of law index?
- Bahrain ranks 134th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rule of law index rising or falling in Bahrain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bahrain 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.