Rule of Law Index in Kenya
Kenya: Rule of Law Index was 0.64 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.64
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
78th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.701
in 2021
All-time low
0.125
in 1984
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Rule of Law Index in Kenya, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, rule of law index in Kenya stood at 0.64.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rule of law index in Kenya peaked at 0.701 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.125, in 1984.
Kenya ranks 78th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Rule of Law Index in Kenya, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.306 | — |
| 1901 | 0.306 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.306 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.306 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.306 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.313 | +2.3% |
| 1906 | 0.341 | +8.9% |
| 1907 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.341 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.332 | -2.6% |
| 1921 | 0.338 | +1.8% |
| 1922 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.338 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.336 | -0.6% |
| 1941 | 0.336 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.336 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.336 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.336 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.336 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.336 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.336 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.336 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.336 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.303 | -9.8% |
| 1951 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.286 | -5.6% |
| 1953 | 0.286 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.286 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.286 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.286 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.309 | +8.0% |
| 1958 | 0.309 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.309 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.345 | +11.7% |
| 1961 | 0.345 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.345 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.249 | -27.8% |
| 1964 | 0.263 | +5.6% |
| 1965 | 0.25 | -4.9% |
| 1966 | 0.25 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.25 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.25 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.249 | -0.4% |
| 1970 | 0.191 | -23.3% |
| 1971 | 0.191 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.173 | -9.4% |
| 1973 | 0.173 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.173 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.173 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.173 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.173 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.16 | -7.5% |
| 1979 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.143 | -10.6% |
| 1981 | 0.143 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.143 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.128 | -10.5% |
| 1984 | 0.125 | -2.3% |
| 1985 | 0.125 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.125 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.125 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.125 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.125 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.206 | +64.8% |
| 1991 | 0.207 | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 0.207 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.229 | +10.6% |
| 1994 | 0.229 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.229 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.229 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.229 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.237 | +3.5% |
| 1999 | 0.237 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.29 | +22.4% |
| 2001 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.341 | +17.6% |
| 2003 | 0.386 | +13.2% |
| 2004 | 0.375 | -2.8% |
| 2005 | 0.422 | +12.5% |
| 2006 | 0.422 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.423 | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 0.425 | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 0.43 | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 0.591 | +37.4% |
| 2011 | 0.594 | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 0.599 | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 0.605 | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.605 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.609 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 0.61 | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 0.633 | +3.8% |
| 2020 | 0.631 | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 0.701 | +11.1% |
| 2022 | 0.692 | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 0.671 | -3.0% |
| 2024 | 0.628 | -6.4% |
| 2025 | 0.64 | +1.9% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 0.64 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.3495, 1.8× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 0.64 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.3685, 1.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.3207 | 0.306 | 0.341 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.341 | 0.341 | 0.341 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.3374 | 0.332 | 0.338 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.338 | 0.338 | 0.338 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.336 | 0.336 | 0.336 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.2963 | 0.286 | 0.309 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.2796 | 0.249 | 0.345 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.174 | 0.16 | 0.191 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1307 | 0.125 | 0.143 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2239 | 0.206 | 0.237 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3804 | 0.29 | 0.43 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6056 | 0.591 | 0.633 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6605 | 0.628 | 0.701 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More reference data data for Kenya
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5379 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 12.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 14.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.377 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 14.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.8 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 58.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 68.95 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.05 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rule of law index in Kenya?
- Rule of law index in Kenya was 0.64 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 0.701 in 2021.
- What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.125 in 1984.
- How does Kenya rank for rule of law index?
- Kenya ranks 78th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rule of law index rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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 — 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.