Statizoid

Rule of law index in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Rule of law index was 0.955 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.955
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
21st
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.982
in 1994
All-time low
0.673
in 1789
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Rule of law index in United Kingdom, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.81178919072025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for rule of law index in United Kingdom is 0.955, measured in 2025.

The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law index in United Kingdom peaked at 0.982 in 1994 and was at its lowest, 0.673, in 1789.

United Kingdom ranks 21st of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Rule of law index in United Kingdom, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.673 —
1790 0.673 +0.0%
1791 0.673 +0.0%
1792 0.673 +0.0%
1793 0.673 +0.0%
1794 0.673 +0.0%
1795 0.673 +0.0%
1796 0.673 +0.0%
1797 0.673 +0.0%
1798 0.673 +0.0%
1799 0.673 +0.0%
1800 0.673 +0.0%
1801 0.673 +0.0%
1802 0.673 +0.0%
1803 0.673 +0.0%
1804 0.673 +0.0%
1805 0.673 +0.0%
1806 0.673 +0.0%
1807 0.673 +0.0%
1808 0.673 +0.0%
1809 0.673 +0.0%
1810 0.673 +0.0%
1811 0.673 +0.0%
1812 0.673 +0.0%
1813 0.673 +0.0%
1814 0.673 +0.0%
1815 0.673 +0.0%
1816 0.673 +0.0%
1817 0.673 +0.0%
1818 0.673 +0.0%
1819 0.673 +0.0%
1820 0.781 +16.0%
1821 0.781 +0.0%
1822 0.781 +0.0%
1823 0.781 +0.0%
1824 0.781 +0.0%
1825 0.781 +0.0%
1826 0.781 +0.0%
1827 0.781 +0.0%
1828 0.781 +0.0%
1829 0.781 +0.0%
1830 0.798 +2.2%
1831 0.798 +0.0%
1832 0.798 +0.0%
1833 0.822 +3.0%
1834 0.822 +0.0%
1835 0.822 +0.0%
1836 0.822 +0.0%
1837 0.822 +0.0%
1838 0.822 +0.0%
1839 0.822 +0.0%
1840 0.822 +0.0%
1841 0.822 +0.0%
1842 0.822 +0.0%
1843 0.822 +0.0%
1844 0.822 +0.0%
1845 0.822 +0.0%
1846 0.822 +0.0%
1847 0.822 +0.0%
1848 0.822 +0.0%
1849 0.822 +0.0%
1850 0.822 +0.0%
1851 0.866 +5.4%
1852 0.866 +0.0%
1853 0.866 +0.0%
1854 0.866 +0.0%
1855 0.866 +0.0%
1856 0.866 +0.0%
1857 0.866 +0.0%
1858 0.866 +0.0%
1859 0.866 +0.0%
1860 0.866 +0.0%
1861 0.877 +1.3%
1862 0.877 +0.0%
1863 0.877 +0.0%
1864 0.877 +0.0%
1865 0.877 +0.0%
1866 0.877 +0.0%
1867 0.877 +0.0%
1868 0.877 +0.0%
1869 0.877 +0.0%
1870 0.937 +6.8%
1871 0.937 +0.0%
1872 0.937 +0.0%
1873 0.937 +0.0%
1874 0.937 +0.0%
1875 0.937 +0.0%
1876 0.937 +0.0%
1877 0.937 +0.0%
1878 0.937 +0.0%
1879 0.937 +0.0%
1880 0.937 +0.0%
1881 0.937 +0.0%
1882 0.937 +0.0%
1883 0.954 +1.8%
1884 0.954 +0.0%
1885 0.954 +0.0%
1886 0.954 +0.0%
1887 0.954 +0.0%
1888 0.954 +0.0%
1889 0.954 +0.0%
1890 0.954 +0.0%
1891 0.954 +0.0%
1892 0.954 +0.0%
1893 0.954 +0.0%
1894 0.954 +0.0%
1895 0.954 +0.0%
1896 0.954 +0.0%
1897 0.954 +0.0%
1898 0.954 +0.0%
1899 0.954 +0.0%
1900 0.963 +0.9%
1901 0.963 +0.0%
1902 0.963 +0.0%
1903 0.963 +0.0%
1904 0.963 +0.0%
1905 0.963 +0.0%
1906 0.963 +0.0%
1907 0.963 +0.0%
1908 0.963 +0.0%
1909 0.963 +0.0%
1910 0.963 +0.0%
1911 0.963 +0.0%
1912 0.964 +0.1%
1913 0.964 +0.0%
1914 0.96 -0.4%
1915 0.96 +0.0%
1916 0.958 -0.2%
1917 0.962 +0.4%
1918 0.962 +0.0%
1919 0.965 +0.3%
1920 0.965 +0.0%
1921 0.965 +0.0%
1922 0.966 +0.1%
1923 0.966 +0.0%
1924 0.966 +0.0%
1925 0.966 +0.0%
1926 0.966 +0.0%
1927 0.966 +0.0%
1928 0.968 +0.2%
1929 0.968 +0.0%
1930 0.968 +0.0%
1931 0.968 +0.0%
1932 0.968 +0.0%
1933 0.968 +0.0%
1934 0.968 +0.0%
1935 0.968 +0.0%
1936 0.968 +0.0%
1937 0.968 +0.0%
1938 0.968 +0.0%
1939 0.965 -0.3%
1940 0.965 +0.0%
1941 0.965 +0.0%
1942 0.965 +0.0%
1943 0.965 +0.0%
1944 0.965 +0.0%
1945 0.969 +0.4%
1946 0.974 +0.5%
1947 0.974 +0.0%
1948 0.974 +0.0%
1949 0.974 +0.0%
1950 0.974 +0.0%
1951 0.974 +0.0%
1952 0.974 +0.0%
1953 0.974 +0.0%
1954 0.974 +0.0%
1955 0.974 +0.0%
1956 0.974 +0.0%
1957 0.974 +0.0%
1958 0.974 +0.0%
1959 0.974 +0.0%
1960 0.975 +0.1%
1961 0.975 +0.0%
1962 0.975 +0.0%
1963 0.975 +0.0%
1964 0.975 +0.0%
1965 0.975 +0.0%
1966 0.975 +0.0%
1967 0.975 +0.0%
1968 0.975 +0.0%
1969 0.978 +0.3%
1970 0.979 +0.1%
1971 0.979 +0.0%
1972 0.979 +0.0%
1973 0.979 +0.0%
1974 0.979 +0.0%
1975 0.979 +0.0%
1976 0.979 +0.0%
1977 0.979 +0.0%
1978 0.979 +0.0%
1979 0.979 +0.0%
1980 0.979 +0.0%
1981 0.979 +0.0%
1982 0.979 +0.0%
1983 0.979 +0.0%
1984 0.979 +0.0%
1985 0.979 +0.0%
1986 0.979 +0.0%
1987 0.979 +0.0%
1988 0.979 +0.0%
1989 0.979 +0.0%
1990 0.979 +0.0%
1991 0.979 +0.0%
1992 0.979 +0.0%
1993 0.979 +0.0%
1994 0.982 +0.3%
1995 0.982 +0.0%
1996 0.982 +0.0%
1997 0.982 +0.0%
1998 0.98 -0.2%
1999 0.98 +0.0%
2000 0.98 +0.0%
2001 0.977 -0.3%
2002 0.977 +0.0%
2003 0.977 +0.0%
2004 0.977 +0.0%
2005 0.977 +0.0%
2006 0.977 +0.0%
2007 0.976 -0.1%
2008 0.976 +0.0%
2009 0.976 +0.0%
2010 0.976 +0.0%
2011 0.976 +0.0%
2012 0.976 +0.0%
2013 0.977 +0.1%
2014 0.977 +0.0%
2015 0.977 +0.0%
2016 0.977 +0.0%
2017 0.981 +0.4%
2018 0.98 -0.1%
2019 0.974 -0.6%
2020 0.969 -0.5%
2021 0.962 -0.7%
2022 0.963 +0.1%
2023 0.956 -0.7%
2024 0.957 +0.1%
2025 0.955 -0.2%

United Kingdom compared with similar countries

  • United Kingdom's 0.955 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.927, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • United Kingdom's 0.955 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.8365, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.673 0.673 0.673 1
1790s 0.673 0.673 0.673 10
1800s 0.673 0.673 0.673 10
1810s 0.673 0.673 0.673 10
1820s 0.781 0.781 0.781 10
1830s 0.8148 0.798 0.822 10
1840s 0.822 0.822 0.822 10
1850s 0.8616 0.822 0.866 10
1860s 0.8759 0.866 0.877 10
1870s 0.937 0.937 0.937 10
1880s 0.9489 0.937 0.954 10
1890s 0.954 0.954 0.954 10
1900s 0.963 0.963 0.963 10
1910s 0.9621 0.958 0.965 10
1920s 0.9662 0.965 0.968 10
1930s 0.9677 0.965 0.968 10
1940s 0.969 0.965 0.974 10
1950s 0.974 0.974 0.974 10
1960s 0.9753 0.975 0.978 10
1970s 0.979 0.979 0.979 10
1980s 0.979 0.979 0.979 10
1990s 0.9804 0.979 0.982 10
2000s 0.977 0.976 0.98 10
2010s 0.9771 0.974 0.981 10
2020s 0.9603 0.955 0.969 6

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 18 Belgium 0.964 compare
  2. 19 Canada 0.963 compare
  3. 20 Japan 0.956 compare
  4. 22 Chile 0.951 compare
  5. 23 Spain 0.947 compare
  6. 24 Czechia 0.945 compare
  7. 24 Uruguay 0.945 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law index in United Kingdom?
Rule of law index in United Kingdom was 0.955 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest rule of law index recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 0.982 in 1994.
What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 0.673 in 1789.
How does United Kingdom rank for rule of law index?
United Kingdom ranks 21st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law index rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 15 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/rule-of-law-index/united-kingdom/

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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