Rule of Law Index in Brazil

Brazil: Rule of Law Index was 0.862 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.862
Change on year
up 2.9%
World rank
39th
of 173 countries
All-time high
0.862
in 2025
All-time low
0.2
in 1938
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Rule of Law Index in Brazil, 1789–2025

0.20.40.60.8178919072025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for rule of law index in Brazil is 0.862, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 237 years on record.

The figure is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 8.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law index in Brazil peaked at 0.862 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.2, in 1938.

Brazil ranks 39th of 173 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.269 0.269 0.269 1
1790s 0.269 0.269 0.269 10
1800s 0.269 0.269 0.269 10
1810s 0.269 0.269 0.269 10
1820s 0.3009 0.269 0.318 10
1830s 0.318 0.318 0.318 10
1840s 0.318 0.318 0.318 10
1850s 0.318 0.318 0.318 10
1860s 0.318 0.318 0.318 10
1870s 0.318 0.318 0.318 10
1880s 0.318 0.318 0.318 10
1890s 0.2828 0.236 0.296 10
1900s 0.296 0.296 0.296 10
1910s 0.296 0.296 0.296 10
1920s 0.2927 0.285 0.296 10
1930s 0.2333 0.2 0.248 10
1940s 0.2977 0.213 0.405 10
1950s 0.414 0.414 0.414 10
1960s 0.3049 0.209 0.414 10
1970s 0.206 0.202 0.214 10
1980s 0.3679 0.252 0.624 10
1990s 0.6931 0.652 0.718 10
2000s 0.7593 0.722 0.795 10
2010s 0.758 0.633 0.799 10
2020s 0.7347 0.635 0.862 6

Countries ranked near Brazil

  1. 36 Poland 0.879 compare
  2. 37 Bhutan 0.871 compare
  3. 38 Italy 0.865 compare
  4. 40 Jamaica 0.847 compare
  5. 41 Sri Lanka 0.829 compare
  6. 42 Botswana 0.822 compare
  7. 42 Vanuatu 0.822 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Brazil

All data for Brazil →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law index in Brazil?
Rule of law index in Brazil was 0.862 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Brazil?
The highest recorded value was 0.862 in 2025.
What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Brazil?
The lowest recorded value was 0.2 in 1938.
How does Brazil rank for rule of law index?
Brazil ranks 39th out of 173 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law index rising or falling in Brazil?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Brazil 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 — 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.