Rule of Law Index in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: Rule of Law Index was 0.638 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rule of Law Index in United Arab Emirates, 1971–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
United Arab Emirates recorded 0.638 for rule of law index in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rule of law index in United Arab Emirates peaked at 0.723 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.429, in 1978.
That places United Arab Emirates 79th 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 55 years of available data.
Rule of Law Index in United Arab Emirates, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0.448 | — |
| 1972 | 0.448 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.448 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.448 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.483 | +7.8% |
| 1976 | 0.464 | -3.9% |
| 1977 | 0.464 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.429 | -7.5% |
| 1979 | 0.458 | +6.8% |
| 1980 | 0.476 | +3.9% |
| 1981 | 0.474 | -0.4% |
| 1982 | 0.474 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.474 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.474 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.503 | +6.1% |
| 1986 | 0.518 | +3.0% |
| 1987 | 0.518 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.518 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.528 | +1.9% |
| 1990 | 0.505 | -4.4% |
| 1991 | 0.505 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.525 | +4.0% |
| 1993 | 0.534 | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 0.655 | +22.7% |
| 1995 | 0.655 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.666 | +1.7% |
| 1997 | 0.666 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.666 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.666 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.666 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.666 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.666 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.647 | -2.9% |
| 2004 | 0.641 | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 0.641 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.661 | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 0.702 | +6.2% |
| 2008 | 0.705 | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 0.705 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.705 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.7 | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 0.713 | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 0.701 | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 0.707 | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.707 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.707 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.711 | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 0.723 | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 0.706 | -2.4% |
| 2020 | 0.71 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 0.693 | -2.4% |
| 2022 | 0.698 | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 0.641 | -8.2% |
| 2024 | 0.638 | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 0.638 | +0.0% |
United Arab Emirates compared with similar countries
- United Arab Emirates's 0.638 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.927, 69% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- United Arab Emirates's 0.638 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.321, 2.0× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.4544 | 0.429 | 0.483 | 9 |
| 1980s | 0.4957 | 0.474 | 0.528 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6043 | 0.505 | 0.666 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.67 | 0.641 | 0.705 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.708 | 0.7 | 0.723 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6697 | 0.638 | 0.71 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates
More reference data data for United Arab Emirates
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0407 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.4839 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.6291 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0001 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.6291 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1364 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0486 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0008 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rule of law index in United Arab Emirates?
- Rule of law index in United Arab Emirates was 0.638 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rule of law index recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 0.723 in 2018.
- What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.429 in 1978.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for rule of law index?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 79th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rule of law index rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Arab Emirates 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 — 55 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.