Statizoid

Rule of law index in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Rule of law index was 0.177 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
0.177
Change on year
down 9.2%
World rank
143rd
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.697
in 1954
All-time low
0.177
in 2023
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Rule of law index in Zimbabwe, 1900–2025

0.20.40.6190019622025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for rule of law index in Zimbabwe is 0.177, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 126 years on record.

That represents a change of down 9.2% on the previous year and down 43.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law index in Zimbabwe peaked at 0.697 in 1954 and was at its lowest, 0.177, in 2023.

Zimbabwe ranks 143rd of 176 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 126 years of available data.

Rule of law index in Zimbabwe, year by year

Year Value Change
1900 0.568 —
1901 0.568 +0.0%
1902 0.568 +0.0%
1903 0.568 +0.0%
1904 0.568 +0.0%
1905 0.568 +0.0%
1906 0.568 +0.0%
1907 0.568 +0.0%
1908 0.568 +0.0%
1909 0.568 +0.0%
1910 0.568 +0.0%
1911 0.568 +0.0%
1912 0.568 +0.0%
1913 0.568 +0.0%
1914 0.568 +0.0%
1915 0.568 +0.0%
1916 0.568 +0.0%
1917 0.568 +0.0%
1918 0.568 +0.0%
1919 0.568 +0.0%
1920 0.568 +0.0%
1921 0.568 +0.0%
1922 0.568 +0.0%
1923 0.616 +8.5%
1924 0.633 +2.8%
1925 0.633 +0.0%
1926 0.633 +0.0%
1927 0.633 +0.0%
1928 0.633 +0.0%
1929 0.633 +0.0%
1930 0.633 +0.0%
1931 0.633 +0.0%
1932 0.633 +0.0%
1933 0.633 +0.0%
1934 0.633 +0.0%
1935 0.633 +0.0%
1936 0.633 +0.0%
1937 0.633 +0.0%
1938 0.633 +0.0%
1939 0.633 +0.0%
1940 0.633 +0.0%
1941 0.633 +0.0%
1942 0.633 +0.0%
1943 0.633 +0.0%
1944 0.633 +0.0%
1945 0.641 +1.3%
1946 0.669 +4.4%
1947 0.669 +0.0%
1948 0.669 +0.0%
1949 0.669 +0.0%
1950 0.669 +0.0%
1951 0.669 +0.0%
1952 0.669 +0.0%
1953 0.675 +0.9%
1954 0.697 +3.3%
1955 0.697 +0.0%
1956 0.697 +0.0%
1957 0.697 +0.0%
1958 0.697 +0.0%
1959 0.689 -1.1%
1960 0.67 -2.8%
1961 0.67 +0.0%
1962 0.67 +0.0%
1963 0.67 +0.0%
1964 0.531 -20.7%
1965 0.517 -2.6%
1966 0.517 +0.0%
1967 0.517 +0.0%
1968 0.517 +0.0%
1969 0.51 -1.4%
1970 0.51 +0.0%
1971 0.51 +0.0%
1972 0.51 +0.0%
1973 0.51 +0.0%
1974 0.51 +0.0%
1975 0.51 +0.0%
1976 0.51 +0.0%
1977 0.51 +0.0%
1978 0.51 +0.0%
1979 0.51 +0.0%
1980 0.646 +26.7%
1981 0.652 +0.9%
1982 0.652 +0.0%
1983 0.652 +0.0%
1984 0.652 +0.0%
1985 0.652 +0.0%
1986 0.652 +0.0%
1987 0.647 -0.8%
1988 0.656 +1.4%
1989 0.665 +1.4%
1990 0.629 -5.4%
1991 0.629 +0.0%
1992 0.629 +0.0%
1993 0.629 +0.0%
1994 0.629 +0.0%
1995 0.629 +0.0%
1996 0.629 +0.0%
1997 0.629 +0.0%
1998 0.585 -7.0%
1999 0.585 +0.0%
2000 0.274 -53.2%
2001 0.225 -17.9%
2002 0.225 +0.0%
2003 0.188 -16.4%
2004 0.188 +0.0%
2005 0.188 +0.0%
2006 0.188 +0.0%
2007 0.188 +0.0%
2008 0.188 +0.0%
2009 0.247 +31.4%
2010 0.325 +31.6%
2011 0.325 +0.0%
2012 0.329 +1.2%
2013 0.348 +5.8%
2014 0.315 -9.5%
2015 0.311 -1.3%
2016 0.292 -6.1%
2017 0.281 -3.8%
2018 0.263 -6.4%
2019 0.241 -8.4%
2020 0.238 -1.2%
2021 0.223 -6.3%
2022 0.218 -2.2%
2023 0.177 -18.8%
2024 0.195 +10.2%
2025 0.177 -9.2%

Zimbabwe compared with similar countries

  • Zimbabwe's 0.177 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.3495, 51% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Zimbabwe's 0.177 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.3685, 48% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.568 0.568 0.568 10
1910s 0.568 0.568 0.568 10
1920s 0.6118 0.568 0.633 10
1930s 0.633 0.633 0.633 10
1940s 0.6482 0.633 0.669 10
1950s 0.6856 0.669 0.697 10
1960s 0.5789 0.51 0.67 10
1970s 0.51 0.51 0.51 10
1980s 0.6526 0.646 0.665 10
1990s 0.6202 0.585 0.629 10
2000s 0.2099 0.188 0.274 10
2010s 0.303 0.241 0.348 10
2020s 0.2047 0.177 0.238 6

Countries ranked near Zimbabwe

  1. 140 Togo 0.207 compare
  2. 141 Iraq 0.199 compare
  3. 142 Congo 0.182 compare
  4. 144 Comoros 0.175 compare
  5. 145 Sudan 0.174 compare
  6. 146 Haiti 0.171 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Zimbabwe

All data for Zimbabwe →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law index in Zimbabwe?
Rule of law index in Zimbabwe was 0.177 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Zimbabwe?
The highest recorded value was 0.697 in 1954.
What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Zimbabwe?
The lowest recorded value was 0.177 in 2023.
How does Zimbabwe rank for rule of law index?
Zimbabwe ranks 143rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law index rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
Over the last ten years it is down 43.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Zimbabwe 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 — 126 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 Zimbabwe. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 14 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/rule-of-law-index/zimbabwe/

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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