Rule of Law Index in Malawi
Malawi: Rule of Law Index was 0.567 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.567
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
89th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.656
in 2021
All-time low
0.339
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Rule of Law Index in Malawi, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rule of law index in Malawi is 0.567, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and up 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rule of law index in Malawi peaked at 0.656 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.339, in 1900.
Malawi ranks 89th 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 Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.339 | — |
| 1901 | 0.339 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.339 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.339 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.339 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.339 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.339 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.339 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.339 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.339 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.339 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.339 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.353 | +4.1% |
| 1913 | 0.353 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.353 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.353 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.353 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.353 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.353 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.353 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.353 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.353 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.353 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.353 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.351 | -0.6% |
| 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 | 0.348 | -0.9% |
| 1945 | 0.348 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.348 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.348 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.348 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.348 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.348 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.348 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.348 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.348 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.358 | +2.9% |
| 1955 | 0.356 | -0.6% |
| 1956 | 0.356 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.356 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.356 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.356 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.356 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0.343 | -3.7% |
| 1962 | 0.343 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.364 | +6.1% |
| 1964 | 0.58 | +59.3% |
| 1965 | 0.626 | +7.9% |
| 1966 | 0.628 | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 0.601 | -4.3% |
| 1968 | 0.601 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.606 | +0.8% |
| 1970 | 0.606 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.603 | -0.5% |
| 1972 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.603 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.586 | -2.8% |
| 1992 | 0.592 | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 0.619 | +4.6% |
| 1994 | 0.43 | -30.5% |
| 1995 | 0.53 | +23.3% |
| 1996 | 0.53 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.525 | -0.9% |
| 1998 | 0.525 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.525 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.533 | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 0.535 | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 0.541 | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 0.541 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.541 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.539 | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 0.551 | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 0.539 | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 0.553 | +2.6% |
| 2009 | 0.541 | -2.2% |
| 2010 | 0.508 | -6.1% |
| 2011 | 0.508 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.504 | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 0.505 | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 0.516 | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 0.56 | +8.5% |
| 2016 | 0.538 | -3.9% |
| 2017 | 0.582 | +8.2% |
| 2018 | 0.556 | -4.5% |
| 2019 | 0.521 | -6.3% |
| 2020 | 0.626 | +20.2% |
| 2021 | 0.656 | +4.8% |
| 2022 | 0.608 | -7.3% |
| 2023 | 0.618 | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 0.571 | -7.6% |
| 2025 | 0.567 | -0.7% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 0.567 is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.174, 3.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 0.567 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.3685, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.339 | 0.339 | 0.339 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.3502 | 0.339 | 0.353 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.3518 | 0.351 | 0.353 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.351 | 0.351 | 0.351 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.3492 | 0.348 | 0.351 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.353 | 0.348 | 0.358 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.5048 | 0.343 | 0.628 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.6033 | 0.603 | 0.606 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.603 | 0.603 | 0.603 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5465 | 0.43 | 0.619 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5414 | 0.533 | 0.553 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5298 | 0.504 | 0.582 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6077 | 0.567 | 0.656 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More reference data data for Malawi
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1596 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3426 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5353 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.6012 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.87 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rule of law index in Malawi?
- Rule of law index in Malawi was 0.567 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 0.656 in 2021.
- What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.339 in 1900.
- How does Malawi rank for rule of law index?
- Malawi ranks 89th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rule of law index rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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.