Mapped: Countries Ranked by Rule of Law in 2026

How Countries Compare on Rule of Law in 2026

The rule of law means that governments, institutions, and individuals are accountable to laws applied fairly and consistently.

The World Justice Project’s 2026 Rule of Law Index measures this across 143 countries using eight factors, including constraints on government power, corruption, fundamental rights, security, regulatory enforcement, and civil and criminal justice.

Ranking Countries Based on Rule of Law

The following table ranks countries by their 2026 Rule of Law Index scores, ranging from zero (weakest) to one (strongest).

Rank	Country / Jurisdiction	2026 Overall Score
1	Denmark	0.90
2	Norway	0.89
3	Finland	0.87
4	Sweden	0.86
5	Luxembourg	0.83
6	Germany	0.83
7	New Zealand	0.83
8	Ireland	0.82
9	Netherlands	0.82
10	Estonia	0.82
11	Austria	0.80
12	Australia	0.80
13	Canada	0.80
14	Singapore	0.79
15	Japan	0.78
16	Lithuania	0.78
17	Belgium	0.78
18	United Kingdom	0.78
19	Latvia	0.75
20	Korea, Rep.	0.74
21	Czechia	0.73
22	Uruguay	0.72
23	France	0.72
24	Hong Kong SAR, China	0.71
25	Spain	0.71
26	Slovenia	0.68
27	Portugal	0.68
28	Cyprus	0.67
29	Malta	0.67
30	United States	0.67
31	Costa Rica	0.67
32	Poland	0.67
33	Barbados	0.66
34	Chile	0.66
35	Italy	0.66
36	United Arab Emirates	0.64
37	St. Kitts and Nevis	0.64
38	Slovak Republic	0.64
39	Antigua and Barbuda	0.64
40	Rwanda	0.64
41	Qatar	0.62
42	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	0.62
43	St. Lucia	0.62
44	Croatia	0.61
45	Romania	0.61
46	Namibia	0.61
47	Greece	0.60
48	Mauritius	0.60
49	Botswana	0.60
50	Grenada	0.59
51	The Bahamas	0.59
52	Kuwait	0.58
53	Malaysia	0.57
54	Dominica	0.57
55	Georgia	0.57
56	Jamaica	0.57
57	Montenegro	0.57
58	Senegal	0.56
59	Kosovo	0.56
60	South Africa	0.56
61	Jordan	0.55
62	Ghana	0.55
63	Bulgaria	0.55
64	Argentina	0.54
65	North Macedonia	0.54
66	Moldova	0.53
67	Kazakhstan	0.53
68	Mongolia	0.53
69	Malawi	0.52
70	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.52
71	Nepal	0.52
72	Panama	0.52
73	Trinidad and Tobago	0.52
74	Sri Lanka	0.51
75	Indonesia	0.51
76	Brazil	0.51
77	Dominican Republic	0.50
78	Hungary	0.50
79	Uzbekistan	0.50
80	Thailand	0.50
81	Guyana	0.50
82	Vietnam	0.50
83	Suriname	0.50
84	Belize	0.49
85	Algeria	0.49
86	The Gambia	0.49
87	Ukraine	0.49
88	India	0.48
89	Tunisia	0.48
90	Morocco	0.48
91	Albania	0.48
92	China	0.48
93	Peru	0.47
94	Benin	0.47
95	Serbia	0.46
96	Colombia	0.46
97	Philippines	0.46
98	Paraguay	0.45
99	Kyrgyz Republic	0.45
100	Kenya	0.45
101	Burkina Faso	0.45
102	Ecuador	0.45
103	Liberia	0.45
104	Belarus	0.44
105	Tanzania	0.44
106	Guatemala	0.44
107	Côte d’Ivoire	0.44
108	Zambia	0.44
109	Lebanon	0.44
110	Sierra Leone	0.44
111	Madagascar	0.43
112	Togo	0.42
113	Angola	0.42
114	El Salvador	0.42
115	Honduras	0.41
116	Niger	0.41
117	Türkiye	0.41
118	Guinea	0.40
119	Gabon	0.40
120	Nigeria	0.40
121	Russian Federation	0.40
122	Zimbabwe	0.40
123	Bangladesh	0.39
124	Congo, Rep.	0.39
125	Mexico	0.39
126	Uganda	0.38
127	Mali	0.38
128	Iran, Islamic Rep.	0.37
129	Mozambique	0.37
130	Bolivia	0.37
131	Pakistan	0.36
132	Mauritania	0.36
133	Ethiopia	0.36
134	Cameroon	0.35
135	Egypt, Arab Rep.	0.35
136	Congo, Dem. Rep.	0.33
137	Myanmar	0.33
138	Sudan	0.33
139	Nicaragua	0.32
140	Cambodia	0.31
141	Haiti	0.31
142	Afghanistan	0.31
143	Venezuela, RB	0.26

Northern Europe dominates the top of the rankings, with Denmark (0.90), Norway (0.89), and Finland (0.87) taking the first three spots. At the opposite end, Venezuela (0.26), Afghanistan, and Haiti occupy the bottom three positions.

Why Is Rule of Law Declining Globally?

The following countries experienced the largest annual declines in their rule of law scores:

Rank	Country	Annual Change (%)
1	Haiti	-5.6%
2	Tanzania	-3.6%
3	Sudan	-2.8%
4	Mexico	-2.7%
5	Colombia	-2.5%
6	Nicaragua	-2.5%
7	Iran, Islamic Rep.	-2.3%
8	Indonesia	-2.3%
9	Ecuador	-2.2%
10	Pakistan	-2.1%

According to the World Justice Project, weakening checks on executive power, political interference in courts, and shrinking civic freedoms are contributing to the prolonged decline.

Freedom of expression deteriorated in 64% of countries, while freedom of assembly declined in 67%. These trends also threaten press freedom, limiting the ability of citizens and journalists to scrutinize governments.

Meanwhile, the following countries recorded the largest improvements:

Rank	Country	Annual Change (%)
1	Latvia	+1.6%
2	Trinidad and Tobago	+1.2%
3	Guatemala	+1.1%
4	Liberia	+0.9%
5	Croatia	+0.9%
6	St. Kitts and Nevis	+0.8%
7	Algeria	+0.8%
8	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	+0.8%
9	Zimbabwe	+0.7%
10	Bolivia	+0.7%

Latvia led with a 1.6% increase in its overall score, followed by Trinidad and Tobago (+1.2%) and Guatemala (+1.1%). Liberia and Croatia also registered gains of 0.9% each, showing that progress remains possible despite the broader global trend.

Why Is the U.S. Falling Behind Canada

Canada ranks 13th globally with a score of 0.80, compared with the United States in 30th place at 0.67. The gap reflects differences in institutional checks, legal protections, and government accountability.

One of the weaker areas for the U.S. is fundamental rights, where it ranks 49th globally.

Separately, International IDEA reports that several American democracy indicators have reached 50-year lows. These institutional pressures also raise questions about public trust in news and information.

Europe Leads, While Asia and the Middle East Diverge

Northern and Western Europe generally maintain strong scores, reflecting established judicial oversight and institutional accountability.

Asia shows greater variation, with Singapore scoring 0.79 and Japan 0.78, compared with China’s 0.48. Similarly, the UAE scores 0.64, while Iran stands at 0.37. These differences illustrate the wide range of legal and institutional conditions within regions.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Explore Visualizing Law and Order Around the World to discover how legal institutions and accountability compare across countries.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-countries-ranked-by-rule-of-law-2026/