Rule of Law Index in Bhutan
Bhutan: Rule of Law Index was 0.871 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.871
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
39th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.933
in 2012
All-time low
0.391
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Rule of Law Index in Bhutan, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, rule of law index in Bhutan stood at 0.871.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rule of law index in Bhutan peaked at 0.933 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.391, in 1900.
Bhutan ranks 39th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Rule of Law Index in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.391 | — |
| 1901 | 0.391 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.391 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.391 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.391 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.391 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.391 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.601 | +53.7% |
| 1908 | 0.605 | +0.7% |
| 1909 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.607 | +0.3% |
| 1927 | 0.617 | +1.6% |
| 1928 | 0.633 | +2.6% |
| 1929 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.633 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.634 | +0.2% |
| 1951 | 0.634 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.67 | +5.7% |
| 1953 | 0.699 | +4.3% |
| 1954 | 0.699 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.707 | +1.1% |
| 1956 | 0.717 | +1.4% |
| 1957 | 0.732 | +2.1% |
| 1958 | 0.752 | +2.7% |
| 1959 | 0.74 | -1.6% |
| 1960 | 0.75 | +1.4% |
| 1961 | 0.748 | -0.3% |
| 1962 | 0.748 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.748 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.748 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.748 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.748 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.748 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.759 | +1.5% |
| 1969 | 0.759 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.763 | +0.5% |
| 1971 | 0.763 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.762 | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 0.762 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.762 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.762 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.762 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.762 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.762 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.767 | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 0.771 | +0.5% |
| 1981 | 0.771 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.771 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.771 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.771 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.765 | -0.8% |
| 1986 | 0.765 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.765 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.765 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.765 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.765 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.765 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.774 | +1.2% |
| 1993 | 0.788 | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 0.788 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.788 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.788 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.788 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.778 | -1.3% |
| 1999 | 0.774 | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 0.788 | +1.8% |
| 2001 | 0.788 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.816 | +3.6% |
| 2003 | 0.821 | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 0.822 | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 0.822 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.842 | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 0.842 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.928 | +10.2% |
| 2009 | 0.932 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 0.932 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.93 | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 0.933 | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 0.916 | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 0.916 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.916 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.912 | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 0.919 | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 0.911 | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 0.926 | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 0.924 | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 0.921 | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 0.911 | -1.1% |
| 2023 | 0.91 | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 0.871 | -4.3% |
| 2025 | 0.871 | +0.0% |
Bhutan compared with similar countries
- Bhutan's 0.871 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.3495, 2.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Bhutan's 0.871 is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.7125, 1.2× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.4548 | 0.391 | 0.605 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.605 | 0.605 | 0.605 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.612 | 0.605 | 0.633 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.633 | 0.633 | 0.633 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.633 | 0.633 | 0.633 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.6984 | 0.634 | 0.752 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.7504 | 0.748 | 0.759 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7627 | 0.762 | 0.767 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.768 | 0.765 | 0.771 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7796 | 0.765 | 0.788 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8401 | 0.788 | 0.932 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9211 | 0.911 | 0.933 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9013 | 0.871 | 0.924 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
More reference data data for Bhutan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0217 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0671 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1192 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0167 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.1192 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0727 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0153 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.3489 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.5881 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0909 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rule of law index in Bhutan?
- Rule of law index in Bhutan was 0.871 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 0.933 in 2012.
- What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.391 in 1900.
- How does Bhutan rank for rule of law index?
- Bhutan ranks 39th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rule of law index rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan 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.