Rule of Law Index in Singapore
Singapore: Rule of Law Index was 0.974 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.974
Change on year
up 1.4%
World rank
14th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.975
in 2000
All-time low
0.363
in 1942
Years of data
159
1867–2025
Rule of Law Index in Singapore, 1867–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rule of law index in Singapore is 0.974, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and down 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rule of law index in Singapore peaked at 0.975 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.363, in 1942.
Singapore ranks 14th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 159 years of available data.
Rule of Law Index in Singapore, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1867 | 0.817 | — |
| 1868 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1869 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1870 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1871 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1872 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1873 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1874 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1875 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1876 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1877 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1878 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1879 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1880 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1881 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1882 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1883 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1884 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1886 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1887 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1888 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1889 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1890 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1891 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1892 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1893 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1894 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1895 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1896 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1897 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1898 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1899 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 1900 | 0.82 | +0.4% |
| 1901 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.807 | -1.6% |
| 1922 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.8 | -0.9% |
| 1941 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.363 | -54.6% |
| 1943 | 0.363 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.363 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.363 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.807 | +122.3% |
| 1947 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.807 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.752 | -6.8% |
| 1957 | 0.752 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.782 | +4.0% |
| 1959 | 0.909 | +16.2% |
| 1960 | 0.914 | +0.6% |
| 1961 | 0.914 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.914 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.934 | +2.2% |
| 1964 | 0.934 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.946 | +1.3% |
| 1966 | 0.945 | -0.1% |
| 1967 | 0.945 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.95 | +0.5% |
| 1969 | 0.95 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.958 | +0.8% |
| 1971 | 0.958 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.958 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.958 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.958 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.958 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.965 | +0.7% |
| 1977 | 0.965 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.965 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.965 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.969 | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.972 | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 0.972 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.972 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.972 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.972 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.972 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.972 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.972 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.972 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.972 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.975 | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.975 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.974 | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 0.974 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.974 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.972 | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 0.974 | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 0.974 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.969 | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 0.961 | -0.8% |
| 2025 | 0.974 | +1.4% |
Singapore compared with similar countries
- Singapore's 0.974 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.927, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Singapore's 0.974 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.59, 1.7× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860s | 0.817 | 0.817 | 0.817 | 3 |
| 1870s | 0.817 | 0.817 | 0.817 | 10 |
| 1880s | 0.817 | 0.817 | 0.817 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0.817 | 0.817 | 0.817 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0.82 | 0.82 | 0.82 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.82 | 0.82 | 0.82 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.8083 | 0.807 | 0.82 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.807 | 0.807 | 0.807 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.628 | 0.363 | 0.807 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.8037 | 0.752 | 0.909 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.9346 | 0.914 | 0.95 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.9608 | 0.958 | 0.965 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.969 | 0.969 | 0.969 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.972 | 0.972 | 0.972 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.975 | 0.975 | 0.975 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9747 | 0.974 | 0.975 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9707 | 0.961 | 0.974 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Singapore
- 12 Luxembourg 0.979 compare
- 13 Seychelles 0.976 compare
- 15 Latvia 0.973 compare
- 16 Netherlands 0.969 compare
- 17 France 0.967 compare
More reference data data for Singapore
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.008 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0066 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0618 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0618 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0269 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0096 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0378 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.2664 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Burning - Crop residues 0 (1992)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.2567 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rule of law index in Singapore?
- Rule of law index in Singapore was 0.974 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Singapore?
- The highest recorded value was 0.975 in 2000.
- What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Singapore?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.363 in 1942.
- How does Singapore rank for rule of law index?
- Singapore ranks 14th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rule of law index rising or falling in Singapore?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Singapore 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 — 159 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.