Rule of Law Index in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Rule of Law Index was 0.108 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
0.108
Change on year
down 18.8%
World rank
158th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.447
in 1909
All-time low
0.032
in 1980
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Rule of Law Index in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 0.108 for rule of law index in 2025.
That represents a change of down 18.8% on the previous year and up 47.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rule of law index in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 0.447 in 1909 and was at its lowest, 0.032, in 1980.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 158th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.298 | — |
| 1901 | 0.298 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.298 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.298 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.298 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.298 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.298 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.298 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.385 | +29.2% |
| 1909 | 0.447 | +16.1% |
| 1910 | 0.447 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.447 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.447 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.447 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.447 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.447 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.447 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.447 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.447 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.447 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.351 | -21.5% |
| 1921 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.351 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.345 | -1.7% |
| 1951 | 0.345 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.345 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.345 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.345 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.345 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.345 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.345 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.345 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.345 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.267 | -22.6% |
| 1961 | 0.28 | +4.9% |
| 1962 | 0.286 | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 0.286 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.288 | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 0.224 | -22.2% |
| 1966 | 0.149 | -33.5% |
| 1967 | 0.116 | -22.1% |
| 1968 | 0.112 | -3.4% |
| 1969 | 0.112 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.081 | -27.7% |
| 1971 | 0.072 | -11.1% |
| 1972 | 0.071 | -1.4% |
| 1973 | 0.071 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.05 | -29.6% |
| 1975 | 0.045 | -10.0% |
| 1976 | 0.045 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.037 | -17.8% |
| 1978 | 0.037 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.037 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.032 | -13.5% |
| 1981 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.032 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.048 | +50.0% |
| 1991 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.047 | -2.1% |
| 1997 | 0.038 | -19.1% |
| 1998 | 0.049 | +28.9% |
| 1999 | 0.057 | +16.3% |
| 2000 | 0.084 | +47.4% |
| 2001 | 0.083 | -1.2% |
| 2002 | 0.083 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.089 | +7.2% |
| 2004 | 0.088 | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 0.088 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.097 | +10.2% |
| 2007 | 0.094 | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 0.094 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.101 | +7.4% |
| 2010 | 0.101 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.101 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.106 | +5.0% |
| 2013 | 0.084 | -20.8% |
| 2014 | 0.084 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.073 | -13.1% |
| 2016 | 0.073 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.062 | -15.1% |
| 2018 | 0.075 | +21.0% |
| 2019 | 0.114 | +52.0% |
| 2020 | 0.157 | +37.7% |
| 2021 | 0.111 | -29.3% |
| 2022 | 0.104 | -6.3% |
| 2023 | 0.113 | +8.7% |
| 2024 | 0.133 | +17.7% |
| 2025 | 0.108 | -18.8% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 0.108 is below the median for low income countries, which is 0.174, 62% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 0.108 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.3685, 29% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.3216 | 0.298 | 0.447 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.447 | 0.447 | 0.447 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.351 | 0.351 | 0.351 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.351 | 0.351 | 0.351 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.351 | 0.351 | 0.351 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.345 | 0.345 | 0.345 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.212 | 0.112 | 0.288 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.0546 | 0.037 | 0.081 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.032 | 0.032 | 0.032 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.0479 | 0.038 | 0.057 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.0901 | 0.083 | 0.101 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0873 | 0.062 | 0.114 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.121 | 0.104 | 0.157 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
- 155 Central African Republic 0.118 compare
- 156 Mauritania 0.117 compare
- 157 Belarus 0.116 compare
- 159 Guinea 0.106 compare
- 160 Cameroon 0.086 compare
- 161 Afghanistan 0.084 compare
More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure Management 380.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied 313.43 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Burning - Crop residues 8.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.82 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Enteric Fermentation 109.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 11.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure left on 1,764 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 6,987 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure Management 601.15 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rule of law index in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Rule of law index in Democratic Republic of Congo was 0.108 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 0.447 in 1909.
- What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.032 in 1980.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for rule of law index?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 158th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rule of law index rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 47.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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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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.