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Rule of law index in China

China: Rule of law index was 0.209 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.209
Change on year
down 1.4%
World rank
138th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.359
in 1979
All-time low
0.05
in 1863
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Rule of law index in China, 1789–2025

00.10.20.30.4178919072025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

China recorded 0.209 for rule of law index in 2025.

That represents a change of down 1.4% on the previous year and down 19.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law index in China peaked at 0.359 in 1979 and was at its lowest, 0.05, in 1863.

China ranks 138th of 176 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Rule of law index in China, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.057 —
1790 0.057 +0.0%
1791 0.057 +0.0%
1792 0.057 +0.0%
1793 0.057 +0.0%
1794 0.057 +0.0%
1795 0.057 +0.0%
1796 0.057 +0.0%
1797 0.057 +0.0%
1798 0.057 +0.0%
1799 0.057 +0.0%
1800 0.057 +0.0%
1801 0.057 +0.0%
1802 0.057 +0.0%
1803 0.057 +0.0%
1804 0.057 +0.0%
1805 0.057 +0.0%
1806 0.057 +0.0%
1807 0.057 +0.0%
1808 0.057 +0.0%
1809 0.057 +0.0%
1810 0.057 +0.0%
1811 0.057 +0.0%
1812 0.057 +0.0%
1813 0.057 +0.0%
1814 0.057 +0.0%
1815 0.057 +0.0%
1816 0.057 +0.0%
1817 0.057 +0.0%
1818 0.057 +0.0%
1819 0.057 +0.0%
1820 0.057 +0.0%
1821 0.057 +0.0%
1822 0.057 +0.0%
1823 0.057 +0.0%
1824 0.057 +0.0%
1825 0.057 +0.0%
1826 0.057 +0.0%
1827 0.057 +0.0%
1828 0.057 +0.0%
1829 0.057 +0.0%
1830 0.057 +0.0%
1831 0.057 +0.0%
1832 0.057 +0.0%
1833 0.057 +0.0%
1834 0.057 +0.0%
1835 0.057 +0.0%
1836 0.057 +0.0%
1837 0.057 +0.0%
1838 0.057 +0.0%
1839 0.057 +0.0%
1840 0.057 +0.0%
1841 0.057 +0.0%
1842 0.057 +0.0%
1843 0.057 +0.0%
1844 0.057 +0.0%
1845 0.057 +0.0%
1846 0.057 +0.0%
1847 0.057 +0.0%
1848 0.057 +0.0%
1849 0.057 +0.0%
1850 0.057 +0.0%
1851 0.057 +0.0%
1852 0.057 +0.0%
1853 0.057 +0.0%
1854 0.057 +0.0%
1855 0.057 +0.0%
1856 0.057 +0.0%
1857 0.057 +0.0%
1858 0.057 +0.0%
1859 0.057 +0.0%
1860 0.057 +0.0%
1861 0.057 +0.0%
1862 0.057 +0.0%
1863 0.05 -12.3%
1864 0.05 +0.0%
1865 0.05 +0.0%
1866 0.05 +0.0%
1867 0.05 +0.0%
1868 0.05 +0.0%
1869 0.05 +0.0%
1870 0.05 +0.0%
1871 0.05 +0.0%
1872 0.05 +0.0%
1873 0.05 +0.0%
1874 0.05 +0.0%
1875 0.05 +0.0%
1876 0.05 +0.0%
1877 0.05 +0.0%
1878 0.05 +0.0%
1879 0.05 +0.0%
1880 0.05 +0.0%
1881 0.05 +0.0%
1882 0.05 +0.0%
1883 0.05 +0.0%
1884 0.05 +0.0%
1885 0.05 +0.0%
1886 0.05 +0.0%
1887 0.05 +0.0%
1888 0.05 +0.0%
1889 0.05 +0.0%
1890 0.05 +0.0%
1891 0.05 +0.0%
1892 0.05 +0.0%
1893 0.05 +0.0%
1894 0.05 +0.0%
1895 0.05 +0.0%
1896 0.05 +0.0%
1897 0.05 +0.0%
1898 0.05 +0.0%
1899 0.05 +0.0%
1900 0.067 +34.0%
1901 0.067 +0.0%
1902 0.067 +0.0%
1903 0.067 +0.0%
1904 0.067 +0.0%
1905 0.067 +0.0%
1906 0.067 +0.0%
1907 0.069 +3.0%
1908 0.069 +0.0%
1909 0.069 +0.0%
1910 0.069 +0.0%
1911 0.072 +4.3%
1912 0.126 +75.0%
1913 0.132 +4.8%
1914 0.141 +6.8%
1915 0.141 +0.0%
1916 0.139 -1.4%
1917 0.138 -0.7%
1918 0.138 +0.0%
1919 0.138 +0.0%
1920 0.149 +8.0%
1921 0.149 +0.0%
1922 0.149 +0.0%
1923 0.149 +0.0%
1924 0.149 +0.0%
1925 0.149 +0.0%
1926 0.149 +0.0%
1927 0.172 +15.4%
1928 0.214 +24.4%
1929 0.211 -1.4%
1930 0.211 +0.0%
1931 0.219 +3.8%
1932 0.219 +0.0%
1933 0.219 +0.0%
1934 0.219 +0.0%
1935 0.219 +0.0%
1936 0.219 +0.0%
1937 0.221 +0.9%
1938 0.208 -5.9%
1939 0.208 +0.0%
1940 0.208 +0.0%
1941 0.208 +0.0%
1942 0.208 +0.0%
1943 0.198 -4.8%
1944 0.198 +0.0%
1945 0.198 +0.0%
1946 0.197 -0.5%
1947 0.201 +2.0%
1948 0.201 +0.0%
1949 0.261 +29.9%
1950 0.352 +34.9%
1951 0.352 +0.0%
1952 0.352 +0.0%
1953 0.352 +0.0%
1954 0.352 +0.0%
1955 0.355 +0.9%
1956 0.351 -1.1%
1957 0.313 -10.8%
1958 0.302 -3.5%
1959 0.302 +0.0%
1960 0.296 -2.0%
1961 0.296 +0.0%
1962 0.312 +5.4%
1963 0.312 +0.0%
1964 0.312 +0.0%
1965 0.305 -2.2%
1966 0.281 -7.9%
1967 0.268 -4.6%
1968 0.268 +0.0%
1969 0.268 +0.0%
1970 0.268 +0.0%
1971 0.268 +0.0%
1972 0.268 +0.0%
1973 0.268 +0.0%
1974 0.268 +0.0%
1975 0.268 +0.0%
1976 0.268 +0.0%
1977 0.289 +7.8%
1978 0.318 +10.0%
1979 0.359 +12.9%
1980 0.349 -2.8%
1981 0.337 -3.4%
1982 0.337 +0.0%
1983 0.329 -2.4%
1984 0.329 +0.0%
1985 0.329 +0.0%
1986 0.327 -0.6%
1987 0.327 +0.0%
1988 0.327 +0.0%
1989 0.327 +0.0%
1990 0.318 -2.8%
1991 0.318 +0.0%
1992 0.316 -0.6%
1993 0.309 -2.2%
1994 0.304 -1.6%
1995 0.304 +0.0%
1996 0.301 -1.0%
1997 0.304 +1.0%
1998 0.304 +0.0%
1999 0.304 +0.0%
2000 0.304 +0.0%
2001 0.305 +0.3%
2002 0.311 +2.0%
2003 0.311 +0.0%
2004 0.312 +0.3%
2005 0.243 -22.1%
2006 0.243 +0.0%
2007 0.243 +0.0%
2008 0.244 +0.4%
2009 0.246 +0.8%
2010 0.244 -0.8%
2011 0.246 +0.8%
2012 0.249 +1.2%
2013 0.263 +5.6%
2014 0.272 +3.4%
2015 0.261 -4.0%
2016 0.261 +0.0%
2017 0.253 -3.1%
2018 0.261 +3.2%
2019 0.264 +1.1%
2020 0.238 -9.8%
2021 0.236 -0.8%
2022 0.234 -0.8%
2023 0.232 -0.9%
2024 0.212 -8.6%
2025 0.209 -1.4%

China compared with similar countries

  • China's 0.209 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.4345, 48% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
  • China's 0.209 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.59, 35% of the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.057 0.057 0.057 1
1790s 0.057 0.057 0.057 10
1800s 0.057 0.057 0.057 10
1810s 0.057 0.057 0.057 10
1820s 0.057 0.057 0.057 10
1830s 0.057 0.057 0.057 10
1840s 0.057 0.057 0.057 10
1850s 0.057 0.057 0.057 10
1860s 0.0521 0.05 0.057 10
1870s 0.05 0.05 0.05 10
1880s 0.05 0.05 0.05 10
1890s 0.05 0.05 0.05 10
1900s 0.0676 0.067 0.069 10
1910s 0.1234 0.069 0.141 10
1920s 0.164 0.149 0.214 10
1930s 0.2162 0.208 0.221 10
1940s 0.2078 0.197 0.261 10
1950s 0.3383 0.302 0.355 10
1960s 0.2918 0.268 0.312 10
1970s 0.2842 0.268 0.359 10
1980s 0.3318 0.327 0.349 10
1990s 0.3082 0.301 0.318 10
2000s 0.2762 0.243 0.312 10
2010s 0.2574 0.244 0.272 10
2020s 0.2268 0.209 0.238 6

Countries ranked near China

  1. 135 Eswatini 0.225 compare
  2. 136 Kazakhstan 0.217 compare
  3. 137 Uganda 0.214 compare
  4. 138 Iran 0.209 compare
  5. 140 Togo 0.207 compare
  6. 141 Iraq 0.199 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law index in China?
Rule of law index in China was 0.209 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest rule of law index recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 0.359 in 1979.
What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 0.05 in 1863.
How does China rank for rule of law index?
China ranks 138th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law index rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is down 19.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from 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 — 237 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 China. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 14 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/rule-of-law-index/china/

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About this data

Indicator
Rule of law index
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,303 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed