Statizoid

Rule of Law Index in Benin

Benin: Rule of Law Index was 0.77 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.77
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
57th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.779
in 2017
All-time low
0.326
in 1973
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Rule of Law Index in Benin, 1900–2025

00.20.40.60.8190019622025

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

Analysis

Benin recorded 0.77 for rule of law index in 2025.

The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and up 32.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law index in Benin peaked at 0.779 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.326, in 1973.

That places Benin 57th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.

Rule of Law Index in Benin, year by year

Year Value Change
1900 0.381 —
1901 0.381 +0.0%
1902 0.381 +0.0%
1903 0.381 +0.0%
1904 0.381 +0.0%
1905 0.381 +0.0%
1906 0.381 +0.0%
1907 0.381 +0.0%
1908 0.381 +0.0%
1909 0.381 +0.0%
1910 0.381 +0.0%
1911 0.381 +0.0%
1912 0.381 +0.0%
1913 0.381 +0.0%
1914 0.381 +0.0%
1915 0.381 +0.0%
1916 0.381 +0.0%
1917 0.381 +0.0%
1918 0.381 +0.0%
1919 0.381 +0.0%
1920 0.381 +0.0%
1921 0.381 +0.0%
1922 0.381 +0.0%
1923 0.381 +0.0%
1924 0.381 +0.0%
1925 0.381 +0.0%
1926 0.381 +0.0%
1927 0.381 +0.0%
1928 0.381 +0.0%
1929 0.381 +0.0%
1930 0.381 +0.0%
1931 0.381 +0.0%
1932 0.381 +0.0%
1933 0.381 +0.0%
1934 0.381 +0.0%
1935 0.381 +0.0%
1936 0.381 +0.0%
1937 0.381 +0.0%
1938 0.381 +0.0%
1939 0.381 +0.0%
1940 0.381 +0.0%
1941 0.381 +0.0%
1942 0.381 +0.0%
1943 0.381 +0.0%
1944 0.381 +0.0%
1945 0.381 +0.0%
1946 0.381 +0.0%
1947 0.381 +0.0%
1948 0.381 +0.0%
1949 0.381 +0.0%
1950 0.381 +0.0%
1951 0.381 +0.0%
1952 0.39 +2.4%
1953 0.39 +0.0%
1954 0.39 +0.0%
1955 0.39 +0.0%
1956 0.39 +0.0%
1957 0.39 +0.0%
1958 0.39 +0.0%
1959 0.39 +0.0%
1960 0.431 +10.5%
1961 0.44 +2.1%
1962 0.44 +0.0%
1963 0.44 +0.0%
1964 0.437 -0.7%
1965 0.437 +0.0%
1966 0.437 +0.0%
1967 0.437 +0.0%
1968 0.437 +0.0%
1969 0.437 +0.0%
1970 0.437 +0.0%
1971 0.441 +0.9%
1972 0.374 -15.2%
1973 0.326 -12.8%
1974 0.326 +0.0%
1975 0.326 +0.0%
1976 0.326 +0.0%
1977 0.326 +0.0%
1978 0.326 +0.0%
1979 0.326 +0.0%
1980 0.403 +23.6%
1981 0.403 +0.0%
1982 0.403 +0.0%
1983 0.403 +0.0%
1984 0.403 +0.0%
1985 0.403 +0.0%
1986 0.403 +0.0%
1987 0.391 -3.0%
1988 0.391 +0.0%
1989 0.391 +0.0%
1990 0.514 +31.5%
1991 0.539 +4.9%
1992 0.579 +7.4%
1993 0.579 +0.0%
1994 0.579 +0.0%
1995 0.579 +0.0%
1996 0.565 -2.4%
1997 0.535 -5.3%
1998 0.535 +0.0%
1999 0.535 +0.0%
2000 0.527 -1.5%
2001 0.527 +0.0%
2002 0.527 +0.0%
2003 0.527 +0.0%
2004 0.527 +0.0%
2005 0.561 +6.5%
2006 0.564 +0.5%
2007 0.564 +0.0%
2008 0.563 -0.2%
2009 0.563 +0.0%
2010 0.563 +0.0%
2011 0.563 +0.0%
2012 0.563 +0.0%
2013 0.634 +12.6%
2014 0.634 +0.0%
2015 0.582 -8.2%
2016 0.709 +21.8%
2017 0.779 +9.9%
2018 0.743 -4.6%
2019 0.668 -10.1%
2020 0.778 +16.5%
2021 0.767 -1.4%
2022 0.767 +0.0%
2023 0.747 -2.6%
2024 0.778 +4.1%
2025 0.77 -1.0%

Benin compared with similar countries

  • Benin's 0.77 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.3495, 2.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Benin's 0.77 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.3685, 2.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.381 0.381 0.381 10
1910s 0.381 0.381 0.381 10
1920s 0.381 0.381 0.381 10
1930s 0.381 0.381 0.381 10
1940s 0.381 0.381 0.381 10
1950s 0.3882 0.381 0.39 10
1960s 0.4373 0.431 0.44 10
1970s 0.3534 0.326 0.441 10
1980s 0.3994 0.391 0.403 10
1990s 0.5539 0.514 0.579 10
2000s 0.545 0.527 0.564 10
2010s 0.6438 0.563 0.779 10
2020s 0.7678 0.747 0.778 6

Countries ranked near Benin

  1. 54 Moldova 0.789 compare
  2. 55 Palestine 0.785 compare
  3. 56 Jordan 0.774 compare
  4. 58 Maldives 0.763 compare
  5. 59 Hong Kong 0.756 compare
  6. 60 Montenegro 0.754 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Benin

All data for Benin →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law index in Benin?
Rule of law index in Benin was 0.77 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Benin?
The highest recorded value was 0.779 in 2017.
What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Benin?
The lowest recorded value was 0.326 in 1973.
How does Benin rank for rule of law index?
Benin ranks 57th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law index rising or falling in Benin?
Over the last ten years it is up 32.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Benin 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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CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Relationships involving this indicator

Comparisons with other indicators across countries. Each was re-measured with population and national income held constant, so a relationship that only reflected country size is not listed here.

All correlations →

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Rule of Law Index in Benin. 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/benin/

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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

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.