Laws
World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2026
- Scores in the World of Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index (WJP ROLI) range from 0.00 to 1.00. Higher scores are preferable.
Snapshot
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Denmark ranks #1 in the 2025 Rule of Law Index, thanks to strong constraints on government power, low corruption, and consistently effective civil and criminal justice systems.
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Venezuela ranks last (#143) for 2025, reflecting severe weaknesses in checks on power and fundamental rights, with poor performance across multiple justice dimensions.
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Rule of law declined in 68% of countries in 2025 (up from 57% in 2024), largely due to weaker judicial independence, eroding checks and balances, and shrinking civic space.
The World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index provides a comparative snapshot of how well legal systems function across countries worldwide. The rankings on this page reveal where countries currently stand relative to one another, based on the latest available data shown in the table above.
What the WJP Rule of Law Index Measures An annual ranking by the World Justice Project comparing how well the rule of law is experienced in practice across countries.
How to Interpret the 0.00–1.00 Score Each country receives a composite score from 0.00 to 1.00 based on [eight factor categories with 44 indicators](https://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index/factors/2025). Higher scores indicate stronger legal accountability, rights protection, and justice systems.
Core Institutional Areas Covered by WJP The index includes measures related to constraints on government power, open government, absence of corruption, order and security, fundamental rights, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.
How Rule of Law Performance Changes Over Time
The Rule of Law Index is updated annually, helping reveal improvements or erosion of institutional strength over time. Comparing the 2024 and 2025 editions shows a clear acceleration in global decline: in 2025, rule-of-law performance fell in 68% of countries, up from 57% in 2024, with average declines outpacing improvements. The World Justice Project links this shift to weaker constraints on executive power, reduced judicial independence, and shrinking civic space, signaling deeper structural pressure rather than short-term fluctuation.
Countries at the Top of the Rule of Law Index
The most recent results in 2026 come from the 2025 Rule of Law Index. Denmark topped the list again with an overall score of 0.90. Finishing in a close second was Norway with a score of 0.89, followed by Finland (0.87), Sweden (0.85), and Germany (0.83).
Nations at the Bottom of the Rule of Law Index
The lowest score in the Rule of Law Index was for Venezuela, which had a total score of 0.26. Other countries at the bottom of the 2025 Rule of Law Index include Afghanistan (0.31), Cambodia (0.31), Haiti (0.32), and Nicaragua (0.33).
Sources
- World Justice Project Rule of Law Datasheet 2024 - WJP
- World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2024 - WJP
- World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2023 - WJP
- World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2022 - WJP
- World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2021 - WJP
- WJP Rule of Law Index - World Justice Project
