Data for 2003

Rule of Law, 2003

Name: Rule of Law, 2003
Creator: World Bank Group
License: https://data.worldbank.org/summary-terms-of-use

Figures for 2003, as World Bank Group published them · stored as published, never rewritten

Rule of Law, 2003 covers 200 countries on 2 measures. Finland is highest, at 2.0112; Somalia is lowest, at -2.5041. The middle country reads -0.1577. Against 2002, 200 values changed (81 up, 119 down), the same countries are covered.

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Rule of Law · Data for 2003

HighestFinland

2.0112

LowestSomalia

-2.5041

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the better end.

200countries
2measures per country
2003the year it describes
188distinct values20 decimals, as published
Sep 26, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Rule of Law, 2003, as published. World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 200 countries · select a heading to sort

Rule of Law, 2003: every country, as published by World Bank Group.
derived
1	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	2.0112	91.772
2	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	1.9371	90.550
3	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	1.9128	90.150
4	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	1.8889	89.757
5	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	1.8808	89.624
6	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	1.8807	89.622
7	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	1.8475	89.075
8	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	1.8100	88.456
9	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	1.7832	88.015
10	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	1.7260	87.072
11	Canada`CAN`Northern America	1.6970	86.595
12	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	1.6913	86.500
13	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	1.6540	85.886
14	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	1.6002	85.000
15	United States`USA`Northern America	1.5540	84.238
16	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	1.5428	84.053
17	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	1.4572	82.643
18	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	1.4539	82.588
19	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	1.3957	81.630
20	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	1.3743	81.277
21	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	1.3246	80.458
22	France`FRA`Western Europe	1.3000	80.053
23	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	1.2873	79.843
24	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	1.2796	79.716
25	Chile`CHL`South America	1.2706	79.568
26	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	1.2089	78.552
27	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	1.1648	77.824
28	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	1.1543	77.652
=29	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	1.0602	76.102
=29	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	1.0602	76.102
=29	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	1.0602	76.102
32	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.9682	74.586
33	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	0.9534	74.341
34	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.9316	73.981
35	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.9079	73.592
36	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.9059	73.559
37	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.8960	73.396
38	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	0.8919	73.329
39	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.8811	73.149
40	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.8808	73.145
41	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.8636	72.862
=42	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	0.8422	72.509
=42	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	0.8422	72.509
=42	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	0.8422	72.509
=42	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	0.8422	72.509
=42	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	0.8422	72.509
=42	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	0.8422	72.509
=42	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	0.8422	72.509
=42	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	0.8422	72.509
=42	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	0.8422	72.509
=42	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	0.8422	72.509
=42	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	0.8422	72.509
53	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	0.8046	71.889
54	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	0.8018	71.843
55	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	0.7987	71.792
56	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.7785	71.459
57	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	0.7550	71.073
58	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	0.7525	71.031
59	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.7523	71.027
60	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.7325	70.701
61	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.7161	70.431
62	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	0.6812	69.856
63	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.6263	68.951
64	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.5826	68.232
65	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.5637	67.921
66	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.5526	67.736
67	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	0.5397	67.524
68	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.5239	67.264
69	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.4858	66.636
70	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.4761	66.477
71	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.4698	66.372
72	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.4660	66.311
73	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.4042	65.292
74	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.3826	64.936
75	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.3613	64.585
76	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	0.3507	64.410
77	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.3474	64.356
78	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.2781	63.214
79	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.2765	63.188
80	Belize`BLZ`Central America	0.2757	63.174
81	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.2125	62.134
82	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.1985	61.903
83	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.1802	61.600
84	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.1671	61.385
85	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	0.1511	61.121
86	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.1473	61.060
87	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.0554	59.544
88	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.0340	59.192
89	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.0156	58.889
90	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.0055	58.723
91	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	-0.0004	58.626
92	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	-0.0132	58.415
93	Panama`PAN`Central America	-0.0211	58.284
94	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	-0.0425	57.931
95	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	-0.0498	57.810
96	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	-0.0738	57.416
97	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	-0.0950	57.066
98	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	-0.1179	56.688
99	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	-0.1229	56.606
100	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	-0.1373	56.369
101	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	-0.1781	55.697
102	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	-0.1829	55.618
103	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	-0.1925	55.460
104	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	-0.2049	55.255
105	Suriname`SUR`South America	-0.2113	55.150
106	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	-0.2175	55.048
107	Mexico`MEX`Central America	-0.2442	54.608
108	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	-0.2817	53.989
109	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	-0.3044	53.616
110	Bolivia`BOL`South America	-0.3172	53.405
111	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	-0.3256	53.267
112	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	-0.3734	52.479
113	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	-0.3761	52.434
114	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	-0.4083	51.904
115	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	-0.4320	51.514
116	Brazil`BRA`South America	-0.4370	51.431
117	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	-0.4384	51.407
118	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	-0.4463	51.278
119	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	-0.4533	51.162
120	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	-0.4576	51.092
121	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	-0.4656	50.959
122	Peru`PER`South America	-0.4858	50.627
123	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	-0.4913	50.536
124	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	-0.5052	50.306
125	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	-0.5250	49.980
126	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	-0.5417	49.706
127	Guyana`GUY`South America	-0.5461	49.633
128	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	-0.5795	49.082
129	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	-0.5872	48.956
130	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	-0.6179	48.450
131	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	-0.6366	48.142
132	Ecuador`ECU`South America	-0.6608	47.744
133	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	-0.6811	47.408
134	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	-0.7078	46.969
135	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	-0.7126	46.889
136	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	-0.7156	46.840
137	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	-0.7220	46.734
138	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	-0.7238	46.705
139	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	-0.7334	46.547
140	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	-0.7364	46.498
141	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	-0.7420	46.405
142	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	-0.7554	46.184
143	Argentina`ARG`South America	-0.7570	46.158
144	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	-0.7734	45.888
145	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	-0.7827	45.734
146	Colombia`COL`South America	-0.7872	45.660
147	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	-0.8176	45.159
148	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	-0.8204	45.113
149	Niger`NER`Western Africa	-0.8238	45.057
150	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	-0.8334	44.899
151	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	-0.9052	43.715
152	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	-0.9054	43.712
153	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	-0.9178	43.508
154	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	-0.9184	43.498
155	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	-0.9382	43.171
156	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	-0.9548	42.899
157	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	-0.9614	42.789
158	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	-0.9653	42.726
159	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	-0.9774	42.527
160	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	-0.9820	42.450
161	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	-0.9898	42.321
162	Honduras`HND`Central America	-0.9991	42.169
163	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	-1.0095	41.998
164	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	-1.0128	41.942
165	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	-1.0205	41.816
166	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	-1.0371	41.543
167	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	-1.0533	41.275
168	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	-1.0699	41.003
169	Paraguay`PRY`South America	-1.1058	40.411
170	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	-1.1512	39.663
171	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	-1.1569	39.569
172	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	-1.1633	39.462
173	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	-1.1918	38.993
174	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	-1.1974	38.902
175	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	-1.2028	38.811
176	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	-1.2064	38.754
177	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	-1.2504	38.028
178	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	-1.2644	37.797
179	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	-1.3277	36.754
180	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	-1.3389	36.569
181	Venezuela`VEN`South America	-1.3664	36.116
182	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	-1.3731	36.007
183	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	-1.3912	35.708
184	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	-1.4041	35.495
185	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	-1.4402	34.901
186	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	-1.4906	34.070
187	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	-1.5122	33.713
188	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	-1.5609	32.912
189	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	-1.5612	32.907
190	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	-1.5857	32.503
191	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	-1.5858	32.501
192	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	-1.6520	31.411
193	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	-1.6660	31.180
194	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	-1.7180	30.323
195	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	-1.7832	29.248
196	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	-1.8145	28.733
197	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	-1.8691	27.834
198	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	-1.9855	25.914
199	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	-2.0516	24.825
200	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	-2.5041	17.370

02In 2003

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.

Highest

1Finland2.0112
2Denmark1.9371
3Sweden1.9128
4Iceland1.8889
5Switzerland1.8808

Lowest

200Somalia-2.5041
199DR Congo-2.0516
198Afghanistan-1.9855
197Zimbabwe-1.8691
196Myanmar-1.8145

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads -0.1577. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

Governance Score, Rule of Law (0–100)
HighestFinland91.772
LowestSomalia17.370
Middle country: 56.033

032002 → 2003

Since 2002

What changed between 2002 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
200values changed, of 200 in both
81 · 119rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

Timor-Leste-0.7627 → -0.0950+0.6677
Kosovo0.0604 → 0.6812+0.6208
Macau0.5424 → 1.0602+0.5178
Sierra Leone-1.4574 → -1.1512+0.3062
Latvia0.2546 → 0.4858+0.2312

Fell most

Tonga0.8475 → -0.0498−0.8974
Central African Republic-1.0506 → -1.5612−0.5106
Thailand0.3372 → -0.0425−0.3797
Chad-1.1954 → -1.4906−0.2952
Puerto Rico0.8027 → 0.5397−0.2630

Changes in value, not in places: a country’s place also moves when others do. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

How values are stored

188 distinct values among 200
Values are stored exactly as published, to 20 decimals. 11 countries share 0.8422. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The position is ours
World Bank Group publishes values only; the order is this site’s.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 200 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
200 rows · 9.3 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download rule-of-law-2003-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
World Bank Group’s own file, on its own site.
WB_WGI_WIDEF.csv

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

World Bank Group (2003). Rule of Law, 2003 [data set], describing 2003. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/rule-of-law/2003

0627 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Rule of Law, 2002
200 countries
The year after ›
Rule of Law, 2004
205 countries
All of them
Rule of Law: every year
27 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions

Rule of Law, 2003: questions and answers

Which country has the highest rule of law in Rule of Law, 2003?

Finland, at 2.0112, of the 200 countries in the file.

What year does Rule of Law, 2003 describe?

2003.

How many countries does Rule of Law, 2003 cover?

200.

Where can I download Rule of Law, 2003?

On this page, as a CSV file holding every value exactly as published, or from the publisher’s own site, linked below.

Is Rule of Law, 2003 the newest?

No. The newest held here is Rule of Law, 2025.

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