What is rule of law index in Canada?

Rule of law index in Canada was 0.963 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Canada?

The highest recorded value was 0.982 in 2016.

What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Canada?

The lowest recorded value was 0.929 in 1841.

How does Canada rank for rule of law index?

Canada ranks 19th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is rule of law index rising or falling in Canada?

Over the last ten years it is down 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Canada 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.

Rule of Law Index in Canada

Name: Rule of Law Index in Canada
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Canada: Rule of Law Index was 0.963 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

0.963

Change on year

down 0.1%

World rank

19th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.982

in 2016

All-time low

0.929

in 1841

Years of data

185

1841–2025

Rule of Law Index in Canada, 1841–2025

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

Analysis

In 2025, rule of law index in Canada stood at 0.963.

The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 1.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law index in Canada peaked at 0.982 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 0.929, in 1841.

That places Canada 19th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 185 years of available data.

Rule of Law Index in Canada, year by year

Annual values for Rule of Law Index in Canada, 1841 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1841	0.929	—
1842	0.929	+0.0%
1843	0.929	+0.0%
1844	0.929	+0.0%
1845	0.929	+0.0%
1846	0.929	+0.0%
1847	0.929	+0.0%
1848	0.929	+0.0%
1849	0.929	+0.0%
1850	0.929	+0.0%
1851	0.929	+0.0%
1852	0.929	+0.0%
1853	0.929	+0.0%
1854	0.929	+0.0%
1855	0.929	+0.0%
1856	0.929	+0.0%
1857	0.929	+0.0%
1858	0.929	+0.0%
1859	0.929	+0.0%
1860	0.929	+0.0%
1861	0.929	+0.0%
1862	0.929	+0.0%
1863	0.929	+0.0%
1864	0.929	+0.0%
1865	0.929	+0.0%
1866	0.929	+0.0%
1867	0.929	+0.0%
1868	0.929	+0.0%
1869	0.929	+0.0%
1870	0.929	+0.0%
1871	0.929	+0.0%
1872	0.929	+0.0%
1873	0.929	+0.0%
1874	0.929	+0.0%
1875	0.929	+0.0%
1876	0.929	+0.0%
1877	0.929	+0.0%
1878	0.929	+0.0%
1879	0.929	+0.0%
1880	0.929	+0.0%
1881	0.929	+0.0%
1882	0.929	+0.0%
1883	0.929	+0.0%
1884	0.929	+0.0%
1885	0.929	+0.0%
1886	0.929	+0.0%
1887	0.929	+0.0%
1888	0.929	+0.0%
1889	0.929	+0.0%
1890	0.929	+0.0%
1891	0.929	+0.0%
1892	0.929	+0.0%
1893	0.929	+0.0%
1894	0.929	+0.0%
1895	0.929	+0.0%
1896	0.929	+0.0%
1897	0.929	+0.0%
1898	0.929	+0.0%
1899	0.929	+0.0%
1900	0.929	+0.0%
1901	0.929	+0.0%
1902	0.929	+0.0%
1903	0.929	+0.0%
1904	0.929	+0.0%
1905	0.929	+0.0%
1906	0.929	+0.0%
1907	0.929	+0.0%
1908	0.934	+0.5%
1909	0.934	+0.0%
1910	0.934	+0.0%
1911	0.936	+0.2%
1912	0.936	+0.0%
1913	0.936	+0.0%
1914	0.941	+0.5%
1915	0.943	+0.2%
1916	0.943	+0.0%
1917	0.943	+0.0%
1918	0.944	+0.1%
1919	0.944	+0.0%
1920	0.944	+0.0%
1921	0.944	+0.0%
1922	0.939	-0.5%
1923	0.939	+0.0%
1924	0.939	+0.0%
1925	0.939	+0.0%
1926	0.939	+0.0%
1927	0.939	+0.0%
1928	0.939	+0.0%
1929	0.939	+0.0%
1930	0.939	+0.0%
1931	0.939	+0.0%
1932	0.939	+0.0%
1933	0.939	+0.0%
1934	0.941	+0.2%
1935	0.941	+0.0%
1936	0.941	+0.0%
1937	0.941	+0.0%
1938	0.941	+0.0%
1939	0.941	+0.0%
1940	0.941	+0.0%
1941	0.941	+0.0%
1942	0.941	+0.0%
1943	0.941	+0.0%
1944	0.941	+0.0%
1945	0.941	+0.0%
1946	0.941	+0.0%
1947	0.941	+0.0%
1948	0.941	+0.0%
1949	0.954	+1.4%
1950	0.956	+0.2%
1951	0.956	+0.0%
1952	0.956	+0.0%
1953	0.956	+0.0%
1954	0.956	+0.0%
1955	0.956	+0.0%
1956	0.956	+0.0%
1957	0.956	+0.0%
1958	0.956	+0.0%
1959	0.956	+0.0%
1960	0.962	+0.6%
1961	0.961	-0.1%
1962	0.961	+0.0%
1963	0.961	+0.0%
1964	0.961	+0.0%
1965	0.961	+0.0%
1966	0.966	+0.5%
1967	0.972	+0.6%
1968	0.972	+0.0%
1969	0.97	-0.2%
1970	0.966	-0.4%
1971	0.97	+0.4%
1972	0.97	+0.0%
1973	0.97	+0.0%
1974	0.97	+0.0%
1975	0.97	+0.0%
1976	0.971	+0.1%
1977	0.971	+0.0%
1978	0.971	+0.0%
1979	0.971	+0.0%
1980	0.973	+0.2%
1981	0.973	+0.0%
1982	0.971	-0.2%
1983	0.975	+0.4%
1984	0.975	+0.0%
1985	0.977	+0.2%
1986	0.977	+0.0%
1987	0.979	+0.2%
1988	0.979	+0.0%
1989	0.975	-0.4%
1990	0.977	+0.2%
1991	0.977	+0.0%
1992	0.977	+0.0%
1993	0.977	+0.0%
1994	0.977	+0.0%
1995	0.977	+0.0%
1996	0.977	+0.0%
1997	0.977	+0.0%
1998	0.977	+0.0%
1999	0.977	+0.0%
2000	0.977	+0.0%
2001	0.977	+0.0%
2002	0.977	+0.0%
2003	0.977	+0.0%
2004	0.977	+0.0%
2005	0.977	+0.0%
2006	0.977	+0.0%
2007	0.979	+0.2%
2008	0.979	+0.0%
2009	0.979	+0.0%
2010	0.98	+0.1%
2011	0.98	+0.0%
2012	0.98	+0.0%
2013	0.98	+0.0%
2014	0.981	+0.1%
2015	0.981	+0.0%
2016	0.982	+0.1%
2017	0.982	+0.0%
2018	0.982	+0.0%
2019	0.977	-0.5%
2020	0.965	-1.2%
2021	0.967	+0.2%
2022	0.961	-0.6%
2023	0.963	+0.2%
2024	0.964	+0.1%
2025	0.963	-0.1%

Canada compared with similar countries

Canada's 0.963 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.927, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1840s	0.929	0.929	0.929	9
1850s	0.929	0.929	0.929	10
1860s	0.929	0.929	0.929	10
1870s	0.929	0.929	0.929	10
1880s	0.929	0.929	0.929	10
1890s	0.929	0.929	0.929	10
1900s	0.93	0.929	0.934	10
1910s	0.94	0.934	0.944	10
1920s	0.94	0.939	0.944	10
1930s	0.9402	0.939	0.941	10
1940s	0.9423	0.941	0.954	10
1950s	0.956	0.956	0.956	10
1960s	0.9647	0.961	0.972	10
1970s	0.97	0.966	0.971	10
1980s	0.9754	0.971	0.979	10
1990s	0.977	0.977	0.977	10
2000s	0.9776	0.977	0.979	10
2010s	0.9805	0.977	0.982	10
2020s	0.9638	0.961	0.967	6

Countries ranked near Canada

16 Netherlands 0.969 compare
17 France 0.967 compare
18 Belgium 0.964 compare
20 Japan 0.956 compare
21 United Kingdom 0.955 compare
22 Chile 0.951 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Canada

Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.05 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.92 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 20.47 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.92 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 20.47 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 6.86 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 7.45 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 22.03 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 99.83 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 15.88 (2050)

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law index in Canada?: Rule of law index in Canada was 0.963 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Canada?: The highest recorded value was 0.982 in 2016.
What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Canada?: The lowest recorded value was 0.929 in 1841.
How does Canada rank for rule of law index?: Canada ranks 19th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law index rising or falling in Canada?: Over the last ten years it is down 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Canada 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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Rule of Law Index in Canada. 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/canada/

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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: 18 September 2026

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.