Rule of Law Index in Botswana
Botswana: Rule of Law Index was 0.822 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.822
Change on year
up 3.5%
World rank
45th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.912
in 1999
All-time low
0.788
in 2023
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Rule of Law Index in Botswana, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Botswana recorded 0.822 for rule of law index in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.5% on the previous year and down 5.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rule of law index in Botswana peaked at 0.912 in 1999 and was at its lowest, 0.788, in 2023.
That places Botswana 45th 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 Botswana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.847 | — |
| 1901 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.847 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.859 | +1.4% |
| 1942 | 0.859 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.859 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.859 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.859 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.866 | +0.8% |
| 1947 | 0.866 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.866 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.866 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.866 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.866 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.866 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.866 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.866 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.866 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.866 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.866 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.866 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.866 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.858 | -0.9% |
| 1961 | 0.868 | +1.2% |
| 1962 | 0.868 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.868 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.868 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.868 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.888 | +2.3% |
| 1967 | 0.898 | +1.1% |
| 1968 | 0.898 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.898 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.898 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.899 | +0.1% |
| 1972 | 0.899 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.899 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.899 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.899 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.899 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.899 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.899 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.899 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.899 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.902 | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 0.902 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.902 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.902 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.902 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.905 | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 0.905 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.905 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.905 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.905 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.905 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.905 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.905 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.905 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.907 | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 0.907 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.907 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.908 | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 0.912 | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 0.909 | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 0.909 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.909 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.909 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.909 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.909 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.909 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.905 | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 0.906 | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 0.901 | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 0.91 | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 0.91 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.897 | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 0.891 | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 0.885 | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 0.87 | -1.7% |
| 2016 | 0.87 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.866 | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 0.876 | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 0.884 | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 0.9 | +1.8% |
| 2021 | 0.852 | -5.3% |
| 2022 | 0.825 | -3.2% |
| 2023 | 0.788 | -4.5% |
| 2024 | 0.794 | +0.8% |
| 2025 | 0.822 | +3.5% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 0.822 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.4345, 1.9× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 0.822 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.3685, 2.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.847 | 0.847 | 0.847 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.847 | 0.847 | 0.847 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.847 | 0.847 | 0.847 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.847 | 0.847 | 0.847 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.8606 | 0.847 | 0.866 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.866 | 0.866 | 0.866 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.878 | 0.858 | 0.898 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.8989 | 0.898 | 0.899 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.9029 | 0.899 | 0.905 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9066 | 0.905 | 0.912 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9075 | 0.901 | 0.909 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8859 | 0.866 | 0.91 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8302 | 0.788 | 0.9 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More reference data data for Botswana
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0472 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0078 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0825 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.97 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0424 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rule of law index in Botswana?
- Rule of law index in Botswana was 0.822 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 0.912 in 1999.
- What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.788 in 2023.
- How does Botswana rank for rule of law index?
- Botswana ranks 45th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rule of law index rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Botswana 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.