Rule of Law Index in Finland

Finland: Rule of Law Index was 0.985 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.985
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
8th
of 173 countries
All-time high
0.993
in 2018
All-time low
0.762
in 1898
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Rule of Law Index in Finland, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.81178919072025

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

Analysis

Finland recorded 0.985 for rule of law index in 2025.

The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 0.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law index in Finland peaked at 0.993 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.762, in 1898.

Finland ranks 8th of 173 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.849 0.849 0.849 1
1790s 0.849 0.849 0.849 10
1800s 0.8461 0.82 0.849 10
1810s 0.82 0.82 0.82 10
1820s 0.82 0.82 0.82 10
1830s 0.82 0.82 0.82 10
1840s 0.82 0.82 0.82 10
1850s 0.82 0.82 0.82 10
1860s 0.82 0.82 0.82 10
1870s 0.82 0.82 0.82 10
1880s 0.82 0.82 0.82 10
1890s 0.7948 0.762 0.82 10
1900s 0.7815 0.762 0.814 10
1910s 0.8301 0.799 0.946 10
1920s 0.9532 0.951 0.954 10
1930s 0.9585 0.937 0.966 10
1940s 0.9557 0.941 0.986 10
1950s 0.987 0.987 0.987 10
1960s 0.989 0.989 0.989 10
1970s 0.9888 0.987 0.989 10
1980s 0.9896 0.987 0.991 10
1990s 0.991 0.991 0.991 10
2000s 0.991 0.991 0.991 10
2010s 0.9916 0.991 0.993 10
2020s 0.9898 0.985 0.993 6

Countries ranked near Finland

  1. 5 New Zealand 0.989 compare
  2. 5 Sweden 0.989 compare
  3. 7 Norway 0.986 compare
  4. 8 Estonia 0.985 compare
  5. 10 Iceland 0.983 compare
  6. 11 Seychelles 0.976 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Finland

All data for Finland →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law index in Finland?
Rule of law index in Finland was 0.985 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Finland?
The highest recorded value was 0.993 in 2018.
What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Finland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.762 in 1898.
How does Finland rank for rule of law index?
Finland ranks 8th out of 173 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law index rising or falling in Finland?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Finland 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.