Rule of Law Index in Malaysia
Malaysia: Rule of Law Index was 0.698 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
0.698
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
68th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.764
in 1956
All-time low
0.371
in 1942
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Rule of Law Index in Malaysia, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 0.698 for rule of law index in 2025.
That represents a change of up 58.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rule of law index in Malaysia peaked at 0.764 in 1956 and was at its lowest, 0.371, in 1942.
Malaysia ranks 68th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 126 years of available data.
Rule of Law Index in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.656 | — |
| 1901 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.616 | -6.1% |
| 1941 | 0.494 | -19.8% |
| 1942 | 0.371 | -24.9% |
| 1943 | 0.371 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.371 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.386 | +4.0% |
| 1946 | 0.673 | +74.4% |
| 1947 | 0.691 | +2.7% |
| 1948 | 0.691 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.691 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.691 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.691 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.691 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.691 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.702 | +1.6% |
| 1955 | 0.747 | +6.4% |
| 1956 | 0.764 | +2.3% |
| 1957 | 0.751 | -1.7% |
| 1958 | 0.726 | -3.3% |
| 1959 | 0.726 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.724 | -0.3% |
| 1961 | 0.724 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.724 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.724 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.724 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.724 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.724 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.724 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.711 | -1.8% |
| 1969 | 0.711 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.656 | -7.7% |
| 1971 | 0.656 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.645 | -1.7% |
| 1973 | 0.645 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.645 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.645 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.645 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.645 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.645 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.645 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.645 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.589 | -8.7% |
| 1982 | 0.502 | -14.8% |
| 1983 | 0.499 | -0.6% |
| 1984 | 0.494 | -1.0% |
| 1985 | 0.474 | -4.0% |
| 1986 | 0.469 | -1.1% |
| 1987 | 0.462 | -1.5% |
| 1988 | 0.413 | -10.6% |
| 1989 | 0.432 | +4.6% |
| 1990 | 0.428 | -0.9% |
| 1991 | 0.422 | -1.4% |
| 1992 | 0.422 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.422 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.422 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.41 | -2.8% |
| 1996 | 0.41 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.41 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.41 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.41 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.403 | -1.7% |
| 2001 | 0.403 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.392 | -2.7% |
| 2003 | 0.399 | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 0.422 | +5.8% |
| 2005 | 0.452 | +7.1% |
| 2006 | 0.452 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.452 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.452 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.437 | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 0.434 | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 0.445 | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 0.445 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.45 | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 0.45 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.441 | -2.0% |
| 2016 | 0.441 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.492 | +11.6% |
| 2018 | 0.72 | +46.3% |
| 2019 | 0.708 | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 0.637 | -10.0% |
| 2021 | 0.613 | -3.8% |
| 2022 | 0.66 | +7.7% |
| 2023 | 0.698 | +5.8% |
| 2024 | 0.698 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 0.698 | +0.0% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 0.698 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.4345, 1.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 0.698 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.59, 1.2× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.656 | 0.656 | 0.656 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.656 | 0.656 | 0.656 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.656 | 0.656 | 0.656 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.656 | 0.656 | 0.656 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.5355 | 0.371 | 0.691 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.718 | 0.691 | 0.764 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.7214 | 0.711 | 0.724 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.6472 | 0.645 | 0.656 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.4979 | 0.413 | 0.645 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4166 | 0.41 | 0.428 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4264 | 0.392 | 0.452 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5026 | 0.434 | 0.72 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6673 | 0.613 | 0.698 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More reference data data for Malaysia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7102 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5869 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1487 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 21.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8098 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rule of law index in Malaysia?
- Rule of law index in Malaysia was 0.698 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.764 in 1956.
- What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.371 in 1942.
- How does Malaysia rank for rule of law index?
- Malaysia ranks 68th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rule of law index rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 58.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia 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.