Rule of Law in South Africa

South Africa: Rule of Law was 17 number off surveys/polls in 2011. ▲ Rising

Latest (2011)
17 number off surveys/polls
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 53 countries
All-time high
17 number off surveys/polls
in 2009
All-time low
7 number off surveys/polls
in 1996
Years of data
13
1996–2011

Rule of Law in South Africa, 1996–2011

0510151996200320111996: 7 number off surveys/polls1998: 9 number off surveys/polls2000: 10 number off surveys/polls2002: 12 number off surveys/polls2003: 12 number off surveys/polls2004: 13 number off surveys/polls2005: 14 number off surveys/polls2006: 16 number off surveys/polls2007: 16 number off surveys/polls2008: 16 number off surveys/polls2009: 17 number off surveys/polls2010: 17 number off surveys/polls2011: 17 number off surveys/polls

Source: World Bank Institute. Measured in number off surveys/polls.

Analysis

In 2011, rule of law in South Africa stood at 17 number off surveys/polls. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.

The figure is up 70.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law in South Africa peaked at 17 number off surveys/polls in 2009 and was at its lowest, 7 number off surveys/polls, in 1996.

That places South Africa 1st out of 53 countries with data for 2011, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.

Rule of Law in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Rule of Law (number off surveys/polls) in South Africa, 1996 to 2011.
Year number off surveys/polls Change
1996 7 number off surveys/polls
1998 9 number off surveys/polls +28.6%
2000 10 number off surveys/polls +11.1%
2002 12 number off surveys/polls +20.0%
2003 12 number off surveys/polls +0.0%
2004 13 number off surveys/polls +8.3%
2005 14 number off surveys/polls +7.7%
2006 16 number off surveys/polls +14.3%
2007 16 number off surveys/polls +0.0%
2008 16 number off surveys/polls +0.0%
2009 17 number off surveys/polls +6.2%
2010 17 number off surveys/polls +0.0%
2011 17 number off surveys/polls +0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 8 number off surveys/polls 7 number off surveys/polls 9 number off surveys/polls 2
2000s 14 number off surveys/polls 10 number off surveys/polls 17 number off surveys/polls 9
2010s 17 number off surveys/polls 17 number off surveys/polls 17 number off surveys/polls 2

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 2 Burkina Faso 16 number off surveys/polls compare
  2. 2 Ghana 16 number off surveys/polls compare
  3. 2 Kenya 16 number off surveys/polls compare
  4. 2 Nigeria 16 number off surveys/polls compare
  5. 2 Tanzania 16 number off surveys/polls compare
  6. 2 Uganda 16 number off surveys/polls compare
  7. 2 Zimbabwe 16 number off surveys/polls compare

See the full ranking of 53 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law in South Africa?
Rule of law in South Africa was 17 number off surveys/polls in 2011, according to World Bank Institute.
What is the highest rule of law recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 17 number off surveys/polls in 2009.
What is the lowest rule of law recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 7 number off surveys/polls in 1996.
How does South Africa rank for rule of law?
South Africa ranks 1st out of 53 countries with data for 2011.
Is rule of law rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 70.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from World Bank Institute, published as part of Rule of Law (number off surveys/polls). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Rule of Law in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on World Bank Institute. Retrieved 28 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/rule-of-law-number-off-surveys-polls/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/rule-of-law-number-off-surveys-polls/south-africa/">Rule of Law in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Rule of Law (number off surveys/polls)
Unit
number off surveys/polls
Source
World Bank Institute
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
53 places, 689 data points, 1996–2011
Last refreshed

See definition GV.RULE.LW.ES. This is the number of surveys/polls used to derive the GV.RULE.LW.ES.