Statizoid

Rule of Law Index in Italy

Italy: Rule of Law Index was 0.865 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.865
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
40th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.912
in 2017
All-time low
0.284
in 1927
Years of data
211
1815–2025

Rule of Law Index in Italy, 1815–2025

0.20.40.60.81181519202025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for rule of law index in Italy is 0.865, measured in 2025.

The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 3.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law index in Italy peaked at 0.912 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.284, in 1927.

Italy ranks 40th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 211 years of available data.

Rule of Law Index in Italy, year by year

Year Value Change
1815 0.714 —
1816 0.714 +0.0%
1817 0.714 +0.0%
1818 0.714 +0.0%
1819 0.714 +0.0%
1820 0.714 +0.0%
1821 0.714 +0.0%
1822 0.714 +0.0%
1823 0.714 +0.0%
1824 0.714 +0.0%
1825 0.714 +0.0%
1826 0.714 +0.0%
1827 0.714 +0.0%
1828 0.714 +0.0%
1829 0.714 +0.0%
1830 0.714 +0.0%
1831 0.714 +0.0%
1832 0.714 +0.0%
1833 0.714 +0.0%
1834 0.714 +0.0%
1835 0.714 +0.0%
1836 0.714 +0.0%
1837 0.714 +0.0%
1838 0.714 +0.0%
1839 0.714 +0.0%
1840 0.714 +0.0%
1841 0.714 +0.0%
1842 0.714 +0.0%
1843 0.714 +0.0%
1844 0.714 +0.0%
1845 0.714 +0.0%
1846 0.714 +0.0%
1847 0.714 +0.0%
1848 0.551 -22.8%
1849 0.551 +0.0%
1850 0.551 +0.0%
1851 0.551 +0.0%
1852 0.551 +0.0%
1853 0.551 +0.0%
1854 0.551 +0.0%
1855 0.551 +0.0%
1856 0.551 +0.0%
1857 0.551 +0.0%
1858 0.551 +0.0%
1859 0.551 +0.0%
1860 0.551 +0.0%
1861 0.551 +0.0%
1862 0.689 +25.0%
1863 0.689 +0.0%
1864 0.689 +0.0%
1865 0.689 +0.0%
1866 0.689 +0.0%
1867 0.689 +0.0%
1868 0.689 +0.0%
1869 0.689 +0.0%
1870 0.697 +1.2%
1871 0.706 +1.3%
1872 0.706 +0.0%
1873 0.706 +0.0%
1874 0.706 +0.0%
1875 0.706 +0.0%
1876 0.706 +0.0%
1877 0.706 +0.0%
1878 0.694 -1.7%
1879 0.694 +0.0%
1880 0.708 +2.0%
1881 0.708 +0.0%
1882 0.708 +0.0%
1883 0.708 +0.0%
1884 0.708 +0.0%
1885 0.708 +0.0%
1886 0.708 +0.0%
1887 0.708 +0.0%
1888 0.708 +0.0%
1889 0.708 +0.0%
1890 0.694 -2.0%
1891 0.694 +0.0%
1892 0.693 -0.1%
1893 0.693 +0.0%
1894 0.693 +0.0%
1895 0.693 +0.0%
1896 0.693 +0.0%
1897 0.693 +0.0%
1898 0.676 -2.5%
1899 0.676 +0.0%
1900 0.701 +3.7%
1901 0.694 -1.0%
1902 0.694 +0.0%
1903 0.694 +0.0%
1904 0.694 +0.0%
1905 0.694 +0.0%
1906 0.694 +0.0%
1907 0.694 +0.0%
1908 0.694 +0.0%
1909 0.694 +0.0%
1910 0.694 +0.0%
1911 0.694 +0.0%
1912 0.694 +0.0%
1913 0.694 +0.0%
1914 0.701 +1.0%
1915 0.686 -2.1%
1916 0.688 +0.3%
1917 0.688 +0.0%
1918 0.688 +0.0%
1919 0.696 +1.2%
1920 0.696 +0.0%
1921 0.696 +0.0%
1922 0.688 -1.1%
1923 0.521 -24.3%
1924 0.461 -11.5%
1925 0.342 -25.8%
1926 0.293 -14.3%
1927 0.284 -3.1%
1928 0.284 +0.0%
1929 0.284 +0.0%
1930 0.29 +2.1%
1931 0.29 +0.0%
1932 0.29 +0.0%
1933 0.288 -0.7%
1934 0.288 +0.0%
1935 0.288 +0.0%
1936 0.285 -1.0%
1937 0.285 +0.0%
1938 0.285 +0.0%
1939 0.285 +0.0%
1940 0.294 +3.2%
1941 0.294 +0.0%
1942 0.294 +0.0%
1943 0.288 -2.0%
1944 0.497 +72.6%
1945 0.541 +8.9%
1946 0.76 +40.5%
1947 0.798 +5.0%
1948 0.816 +2.3%
1949 0.816 +0.0%
1950 0.816 +0.0%
1951 0.816 +0.0%
1952 0.816 +0.0%
1953 0.816 +0.0%
1954 0.816 +0.0%
1955 0.816 +0.0%
1956 0.843 +3.3%
1957 0.843 +0.0%
1958 0.843 +0.0%
1959 0.84 -0.4%
1960 0.844 +0.5%
1961 0.844 +0.0%
1962 0.844 +0.0%
1963 0.847 +0.4%
1964 0.847 +0.0%
1965 0.847 +0.0%
1966 0.847 +0.0%
1967 0.847 +0.0%
1968 0.849 +0.2%
1969 0.849 +0.0%
1970 0.858 +1.1%
1971 0.859 +0.1%
1972 0.859 +0.0%
1973 0.859 +0.0%
1974 0.859 +0.0%
1975 0.855 -0.5%
1976 0.86 +0.6%
1977 0.86 +0.0%
1978 0.86 +0.0%
1979 0.862 +0.2%
1980 0.85 -1.4%
1981 0.856 +0.7%
1982 0.857 +0.1%
1983 0.857 +0.0%
1984 0.857 +0.0%
1985 0.857 +0.0%
1986 0.857 +0.0%
1987 0.865 +0.9%
1988 0.865 +0.0%
1989 0.859 -0.7%
1990 0.865 +0.7%
1991 0.866 +0.1%
1992 0.878 +1.4%
1993 0.882 +0.5%
1994 0.862 -2.3%
1995 0.872 +1.2%
1996 0.889 +1.9%
1997 0.889 +0.0%
1998 0.889 +0.0%
1999 0.889 +0.0%
2000 0.888 -0.1%
2001 0.865 -2.6%
2002 0.868 +0.3%
2003 0.873 +0.6%
2004 0.873 +0.0%
2005 0.873 +0.0%
2006 0.905 +3.7%
2007 0.903 -0.2%
2008 0.863 -4.4%
2009 0.868 +0.6%
2010 0.884 +1.8%
2011 0.905 +2.4%
2012 0.903 -0.2%
2013 0.899 -0.4%
2014 0.896 -0.3%
2015 0.896 +0.0%
2016 0.901 +0.6%
2017 0.912 +1.2%
2018 0.906 -0.7%
2019 0.906 +0.0%
2020 0.903 -0.3%
2021 0.905 +0.2%
2022 0.905 +0.0%
2023 0.886 -2.1%
2024 0.874 -1.4%
2025 0.865 -1.0%

Italy compared with similar countries

  • Italy's 0.865 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.927, 93% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Italy's 0.865 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.8365, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1810s 0.714 0.714 0.714 5
1820s 0.714 0.714 0.714 10
1830s 0.714 0.714 0.714 10
1840s 0.6814 0.551 0.714 10
1850s 0.551 0.551 0.551 10
1860s 0.6614 0.551 0.689 10
1870s 0.7027 0.694 0.706 10
1880s 0.708 0.708 0.708 10
1890s 0.6898 0.676 0.694 10
1900s 0.6947 0.694 0.701 10
1910s 0.6923 0.686 0.701 10
1920s 0.4549 0.284 0.696 10
1930s 0.2874 0.285 0.29 10
1940s 0.5398 0.288 0.816 10
1950s 0.8265 0.816 0.843 10
1960s 0.8465 0.844 0.849 10
1970s 0.8591 0.855 0.862 10
1980s 0.858 0.85 0.865 10
1990s 0.8781 0.862 0.889 10
2000s 0.8779 0.863 0.905 10
2010s 0.9008 0.884 0.912 10
2020s 0.8897 0.865 0.905 6

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 37 Cyprus 0.88 compare
  2. 38 Poland 0.879 compare
  3. 39 Bhutan 0.871 compare
  4. 41 Brazil 0.862 compare
  5. 42 Jamaica 0.847 compare
  6. 43 Malta 0.83 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Italy

All data for Italy →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law index in Italy?
Rule of law index in Italy was 0.865 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Italy?
The highest recorded value was 0.912 in 2017.
What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was 0.284 in 1927.
How does Italy rank for rule of law index?
Italy ranks 40th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law index rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Italy 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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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.

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Rule of Law Index in Italy. 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/italy/

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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

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.