Statizoid

Rule of law index in Sweden

Sweden: Rule of law index was 0.989 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.989
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
5th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.995
in 1982
All-time low
0.849
in 1789
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Rule of law index in Sweden, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.81178919072025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for rule of law index in Sweden is 0.989, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law index in Sweden peaked at 0.995 in 1982 and was at its lowest, 0.849, in 1789.

That places Sweden 5th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 237 years of available data.

Rule of law index in Sweden, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.849 —
1790 0.849 +0.0%
1791 0.849 +0.0%
1792 0.849 +0.0%
1793 0.849 +0.0%
1794 0.849 +0.0%
1795 0.849 +0.0%
1796 0.849 +0.0%
1797 0.849 +0.0%
1798 0.849 +0.0%
1799 0.849 +0.0%
1800 0.849 +0.0%
1801 0.849 +0.0%
1802 0.849 +0.0%
1803 0.849 +0.0%
1804 0.849 +0.0%
1805 0.849 +0.0%
1806 0.849 +0.0%
1807 0.849 +0.0%
1808 0.849 +0.0%
1809 0.876 +3.2%
1810 0.876 +0.0%
1811 0.876 +0.0%
1812 0.876 +0.0%
1813 0.876 +0.0%
1814 0.876 +0.0%
1815 0.876 +0.0%
1816 0.876 +0.0%
1817 0.876 +0.0%
1818 0.876 +0.0%
1819 0.876 +0.0%
1820 0.876 +0.0%
1821 0.876 +0.0%
1822 0.876 +0.0%
1823 0.876 +0.0%
1824 0.876 +0.0%
1825 0.876 +0.0%
1826 0.876 +0.0%
1827 0.876 +0.0%
1828 0.876 +0.0%
1829 0.876 +0.0%
1830 0.876 +0.0%
1831 0.876 +0.0%
1832 0.876 +0.0%
1833 0.876 +0.0%
1834 0.876 +0.0%
1835 0.876 +0.0%
1836 0.876 +0.0%
1837 0.876 +0.0%
1838 0.876 +0.0%
1839 0.876 +0.0%
1840 0.876 +0.0%
1841 0.876 +0.0%
1842 0.876 +0.0%
1843 0.876 +0.0%
1844 0.876 +0.0%
1845 0.918 +4.8%
1846 0.918 +0.0%
1847 0.918 +0.0%
1848 0.918 +0.0%
1849 0.918 +0.0%
1850 0.918 +0.0%
1851 0.918 +0.0%
1852 0.918 +0.0%
1853 0.918 +0.0%
1854 0.918 +0.0%
1855 0.918 +0.0%
1856 0.918 +0.0%
1857 0.918 +0.0%
1858 0.918 +0.0%
1859 0.918 +0.0%
1860 0.963 +4.9%
1861 0.963 +0.0%
1862 0.963 +0.0%
1863 0.963 +0.0%
1864 0.963 +0.0%
1865 0.963 +0.0%
1866 0.963 +0.0%
1867 0.963 +0.0%
1868 0.963 +0.0%
1869 0.963 +0.0%
1870 0.963 +0.0%
1871 0.963 +0.0%
1872 0.963 +0.0%
1873 0.963 +0.0%
1874 0.963 +0.0%
1875 0.963 +0.0%
1876 0.963 +0.0%
1877 0.963 +0.0%
1878 0.963 +0.0%
1879 0.963 +0.0%
1880 0.974 +1.1%
1881 0.974 +0.0%
1882 0.974 +0.0%
1883 0.974 +0.0%
1884 0.974 +0.0%
1885 0.974 +0.0%
1886 0.974 +0.0%
1887 0.974 +0.0%
1888 0.974 +0.0%
1889 0.974 +0.0%
1890 0.985 +1.1%
1891 0.985 +0.0%
1892 0.985 +0.0%
1893 0.985 +0.0%
1894 0.985 +0.0%
1895 0.985 +0.0%
1896 0.985 +0.0%
1897 0.985 +0.0%
1898 0.985 +0.0%
1899 0.985 +0.0%
1900 0.985 +0.0%
1901 0.985 +0.0%
1902 0.985 +0.0%
1903 0.985 +0.0%
1904 0.985 +0.0%
1905 0.985 +0.0%
1906 0.985 +0.0%
1907 0.985 +0.0%
1908 0.985 +0.0%
1909 0.985 +0.0%
1910 0.985 +0.0%
1911 0.985 +0.0%
1912 0.985 +0.0%
1913 0.985 +0.0%
1914 0.985 +0.0%
1915 0.985 +0.0%
1916 0.985 +0.0%
1917 0.985 +0.0%
1918 0.985 +0.0%
1919 0.986 +0.1%
1920 0.986 +0.0%
1921 0.986 +0.0%
1922 0.987 +0.1%
1923 0.987 +0.0%
1924 0.987 +0.0%
1925 0.987 +0.0%
1926 0.987 +0.0%
1927 0.987 +0.0%
1928 0.987 +0.0%
1929 0.987 +0.0%
1930 0.987 +0.0%
1931 0.986 -0.1%
1932 0.987 +0.1%
1933 0.988 +0.1%
1934 0.988 +0.0%
1935 0.988 +0.0%
1936 0.988 +0.0%
1937 0.988 +0.0%
1938 0.988 +0.0%
1939 0.988 +0.0%
1940 0.988 +0.0%
1941 0.988 +0.0%
1942 0.988 +0.0%
1943 0.988 +0.0%
1944 0.988 +0.0%
1945 0.988 +0.0%
1946 0.988 +0.0%
1947 0.988 +0.0%
1948 0.988 +0.0%
1949 0.988 +0.0%
1950 0.991 +0.3%
1951 0.991 +0.0%
1952 0.991 +0.0%
1953 0.991 +0.0%
1954 0.991 +0.0%
1955 0.991 +0.0%
1956 0.991 +0.0%
1957 0.991 +0.0%
1958 0.991 +0.0%
1959 0.991 +0.0%
1960 0.992 +0.1%
1961 0.993 +0.1%
1962 0.993 +0.0%
1963 0.993 +0.0%
1964 0.993 +0.0%
1965 0.993 +0.0%
1966 0.993 +0.0%
1967 0.993 +0.0%
1968 0.993 +0.0%
1969 0.993 +0.0%
1970 0.994 +0.1%
1971 0.994 +0.0%
1972 0.994 +0.0%
1973 0.994 +0.0%
1974 0.994 +0.0%
1975 0.994 +0.0%
1976 0.994 +0.0%
1977 0.994 +0.0%
1978 0.994 +0.0%
1979 0.994 +0.0%
1980 0.994 +0.0%
1981 0.994 +0.0%
1982 0.995 +0.1%
1983 0.995 +0.0%
1984 0.995 +0.0%
1985 0.995 +0.0%
1986 0.995 +0.0%
1987 0.995 +0.0%
1988 0.995 +0.0%
1989 0.995 +0.0%
1990 0.995 +0.0%
1991 0.995 +0.0%
1992 0.995 +0.0%
1993 0.995 +0.0%
1994 0.995 +0.0%
1995 0.995 +0.0%
1996 0.995 +0.0%
1997 0.995 +0.0%
1998 0.995 +0.0%
1999 0.995 +0.0%
2000 0.995 +0.0%
2001 0.995 +0.0%
2002 0.995 +0.0%
2003 0.995 +0.0%
2004 0.995 +0.0%
2005 0.995 +0.0%
2006 0.994 -0.1%
2007 0.994 +0.0%
2008 0.994 +0.0%
2009 0.994 +0.0%
2010 0.994 +0.0%
2011 0.995 +0.1%
2012 0.995 +0.0%
2013 0.995 +0.0%
2014 0.995 +0.0%
2015 0.992 -0.3%
2016 0.992 +0.0%
2017 0.993 +0.1%
2018 0.993 +0.0%
2019 0.993 +0.0%
2020 0.993 +0.0%
2021 0.992 -0.1%
2022 0.993 +0.1%
2023 0.99 -0.3%
2024 0.99 +0.0%
2025 0.989 -0.1%

Sweden compared with similar countries

  • Sweden's 0.989 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.927, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Sweden's 0.989 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.8365, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.849 0.849 0.849 1
1790s 0.849 0.849 0.849 10
1800s 0.8517 0.849 0.876 10
1810s 0.876 0.876 0.876 10
1820s 0.876 0.876 0.876 10
1830s 0.876 0.876 0.876 10
1840s 0.897 0.876 0.918 10
1850s 0.918 0.918 0.918 10
1860s 0.963 0.963 0.963 10
1870s 0.963 0.963 0.963 10
1880s 0.974 0.974 0.974 10
1890s 0.985 0.985 0.985 10
1900s 0.985 0.985 0.985 10
1910s 0.9851 0.985 0.986 10
1920s 0.9868 0.986 0.987 10
1930s 0.9876 0.986 0.988 10
1940s 0.988 0.988 0.988 10
1950s 0.991 0.991 0.991 10
1960s 0.9929 0.992 0.993 10
1970s 0.994 0.994 0.994 10
1980s 0.9948 0.994 0.995 10
1990s 0.995 0.995 0.995 10
2000s 0.9946 0.994 0.995 10
2010s 0.9937 0.992 0.995 10
2020s 0.9912 0.989 0.993 6

Countries ranked near Sweden

  1. 2 Switzerland 0.995 compare
  2. 3 Germany 0.991 compare
  3. 4 Australia 0.99 compare
  4. 5 New Zealand 0.989 compare
  5. 7 Norway 0.986 compare
  6. 8 Estonia 0.985 compare
  7. 8 Finland 0.985 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Sweden

All data for Sweden →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law index in Sweden?
Rule of law index in Sweden was 0.989 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Sweden?
The highest recorded value was 0.995 in 1982.
What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Sweden?
The lowest recorded value was 0.849 in 1789.
How does Sweden rank for rule of law index?
Sweden ranks 5th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law index rising or falling in Sweden?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sweden 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.

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CSV · JSON — 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Relationships involving this indicator

Comparisons with other indicators across countries. Each was re-measured with population and national income held constant, so a relationship that only reflected country size is not listed here.

All correlations →

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Rule of law index in Sweden. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 14 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/rule-of-law-index/sweden/

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About this data

Indicator
Rule of law index
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,303 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed