Rule of Law Index in Niger
Niger: Rule of Law Index was 0.578 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.578
Change on year
down 7.5%
World rank
85th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.708
in 1974
All-time low
0.357
in 1922
Years of data
104
1922–2025
Rule of Law Index in Niger, 1922–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Niger recorded 0.578 for rule of law index in 2025.
The figure is down 7.5% on the previous year and down 10.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rule of law index in Niger peaked at 0.708 in 1974 and was at its lowest, 0.357, in 1922.
Niger ranks 85th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 104 years of available data.
Rule of Law Index in Niger, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1922 | 0.357 | — |
| 1923 | 0.357 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.357 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.357 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.357 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.357 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.357 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.357 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.369 | +3.4% |
| 1931 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.369 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.381 | +3.3% |
| 1947 | 0.381 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.381 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.381 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.381 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.392 | +2.9% |
| 1952 | 0.392 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.392 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.392 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.392 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.392 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.392 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.403 | +2.8% |
| 1959 | 0.418 | +3.7% |
| 1960 | 0.459 | +9.8% |
| 1961 | 0.459 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.459 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.459 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.459 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.459 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.459 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.459 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.459 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.459 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.46 | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.708 | +53.9% |
| 1975 | 0.667 | -5.8% |
| 1976 | 0.667 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.667 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.667 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.667 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.652 | -2.2% |
| 1981 | 0.652 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.652 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.652 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.652 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.652 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.652 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.498 | -23.6% |
| 1988 | 0.472 | -5.2% |
| 1989 | 0.486 | +3.0% |
| 1990 | 0.54 | +11.1% |
| 1991 | 0.638 | +18.1% |
| 1992 | 0.63 | -1.3% |
| 1993 | 0.637 | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 0.637 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.637 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.576 | -9.6% |
| 1997 | 0.534 | -7.3% |
| 1998 | 0.534 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.571 | +6.9% |
| 2000 | 0.574 | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 0.574 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.574 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.574 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.574 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.574 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.574 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.576 | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 0.576 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.545 | -5.4% |
| 2010 | 0.655 | +20.2% |
| 2011 | 0.649 | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 0.658 | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 0.652 | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 0.655 | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 0.646 | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 0.646 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.608 | -5.9% |
| 2018 | 0.606 | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 0.576 | -5.0% |
| 2020 | 0.555 | -3.6% |
| 2021 | 0.61 | +9.9% |
| 2022 | 0.581 | -4.8% |
| 2023 | 0.619 | +6.5% |
| 2024 | 0.625 | +1.0% |
| 2025 | 0.578 | -7.5% |
Niger compared with similar countries
- Niger's 0.578 is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.174, 3.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Niger's 0.578 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.3685, 1.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 0.357 | 0.357 | 0.357 | 8 |
| 1930s | 0.369 | 0.369 | 0.369 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.3738 | 0.369 | 0.381 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.3946 | 0.381 | 0.418 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.459 | 0.459 | 0.459 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.5883 | 0.46 | 0.708 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.602 | 0.472 | 0.652 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5934 | 0.534 | 0.638 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5715 | 0.545 | 0.576 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6351 | 0.576 | 0.658 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5947 | 0.555 | 0.625 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Niger
More reference data data for Niger
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2425 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.66 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 9.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 9.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.8132 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.3983 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 37.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 42.83 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 3.1 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rule of law index in Niger?
- Rule of law index in Niger was 0.578 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Niger?
- The highest recorded value was 0.708 in 1974.
- What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Niger?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.357 in 1922.
- How does Niger rank for rule of law index?
- Niger ranks 85th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rule of law index rising or falling in Niger?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Niger 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 — 104 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.