Rule of law index in South Africa
South Africa: Rule of law index was 0.694 in 2025. β² Rising
Latest (2025)
0.694
Change on year
down 2.1%
World rank
70th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.786
in 2000
All-time low
0.38
in 1971
Years of data
126
1900β2025
Rule of law index in South Africa, 1900β2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, rule of law index in South Africa stood at 0.694.
That represents a change of down 2.1% on the previous year and up 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rule of law index in South Africa peaked at 0.786 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.38, in 1971.
That places South Africa 70th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.405 | 0.405 | 0.405 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.405 | 0.405 | 0.405 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.405 | 0.405 | 0.405 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.405 | 0.405 | 0.405 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.4117 | 0.398 | 0.414 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.384 | 0.384 | 0.384 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.39 | 0.39 | 0.39 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.386 | 0.38 | 0.387 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.3973 | 0.397 | 0.4 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6284 | 0.427 | 0.776 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7682 | 0.734 | 0.786 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6999 | 0.652 | 0.736 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7052 | 0.672 | 0.724 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rule of law index in South Africa?
- Rule of law index in South Africa was 0.694 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rule of law index recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.786 in 2000.
- What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.38 in 1971.
- How does South Africa rank for rule of law index?
- South Africa ranks 70th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rule of law index rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Rule of law index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).