Rule of Law Index in Panama

Panama: Rule of Law Index was 0.692 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.692
Change on year
up 3.4%
World rank
69th
of 173 countries
All-time high
0.692
in 2025
All-time low
0.136
in 1982
Years of data
123
1903–2025

Rule of Law Index in Panama, 1903–2025

0.20.40.6190319642025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for rule of law index in Panama is 0.692, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 123 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.4% on the previous year and up 15.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law index in Panama peaked at 0.692 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.136, in 1982.

Panama ranks 69th of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 123 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.3341 0.333 0.341 7
1910s 0.3393 0.333 0.37 10
1920s 0.371 0.37 0.372 10
1930s 0.375 0.338 0.38 10
1940s 0.3867 0.346 0.395 10
1950s 0.4133 0.396 0.417 10
1960s 0.3919 0.272 0.415 10
1970s 0.272 0.272 0.272 10
1980s 0.1754 0.136 0.258 10
1990s 0.5747 0.482 0.591 10
2000s 0.5919 0.591 0.6 10
2010s 0.6007 0.591 0.616 10
2020s 0.6462 0.609 0.692 6

Countries ranked near Panama

  1. 66 Guatemala 0.695 compare
  2. 67 Romania 0.694 compare
  3. 67 South Africa 0.694 compare
  4. 70 Kuwait 0.691 compare
  5. 70 Senegal 0.691 compare
  6. 72 Solomon Islands 0.669 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Panama

All data for Panama →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law index in Panama?
Rule of law index in Panama was 0.692 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Panama?
The highest recorded value was 0.692 in 2025.
What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Panama?
The lowest recorded value was 0.136 in 1982.
How does Panama rank for rule of law index?
Panama ranks 69th out of 173 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law index rising or falling in Panama?
Over the last ten years it is up 15.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Panama 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 — 123 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.