Data for 2012

Rule of Law, 2012

Name: Rule of Law, 2012
Creator: World Bank Group
License: https://data.worldbank.org/summary-terms-of-use

Figures for 2012, as World Bank Group published them · stored as published, never rewritten

Rule of Law, 2012 covers 209 countries on 2 measures. Norway is highest, at 1.9809; Somalia is lowest, at -2.3746. The middle country reads -0.2006. Against 2011, 209 values changed (104 up, 105 down), the same countries are covered.

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Rule of Law · Data for 2012

HighestNorway

1.9809

LowestSomalia

-2.3746

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

209countries
2measures per country
2012the year it describes
207distinct values18 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, 2012, 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 209 countries · select a heading to sort

Rule of Law, 2012: every country, as published by World Bank Group.
derived
1	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	1.9809	91.273
2	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	1.9750	91.174
3	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	1.9263	90.372
4	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	1.9158	90.200
5	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	1.8419	88.982
6	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	1.8217	88.649
7	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	1.7621	87.667
8	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	1.7496	87.462
9	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	1.7066	86.753
10	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	1.6772	86.269
11	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	1.6431	85.706
12	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	1.6280	85.458
13	Canada`CAN`Northern America	1.6049	85.077
14	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	1.5989	84.978
15	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	1.5925	84.872
16	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	1.5425	84.048
17	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	1.5141	83.581
18	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	1.4803	83.023
19	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	1.4566	82.632
20	United States`USA`Northern America	1.4126	81.907
21	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	1.4096	81.858
22	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	1.3719	81.237
23	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	1.3538	80.939
24	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	1.3353	80.635
25	Anguilla`AIA`Caribbean	1.3233	80.437
26	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	1.3207	80.394
27	France`FRA`Western Europe	1.2855	79.814
28	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	1.2805	79.732
29	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	1.2670	79.509
30	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	1.2543	79.300
31	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	1.2001	78.407
32	Chile`CHL`South America	1.1388	77.396
33	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	1.1370	77.367
34	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	1.1278	77.215
35	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	1.0825	76.469
=36	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	1.0630	76.148
=36	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	1.0630	76.148
=36	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	1.0630	76.148
39	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	1.0570	76.048
40	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	1.0539	75.997
41	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	1.0220	75.472
42	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	1.0216	75.465
43	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	1.0035	75.167
44	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	0.9595	74.442
45	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.9507	74.298
46	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	0.9055	73.553
47	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.8712	72.987
48	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	0.8653	72.889
49	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	0.8600	72.802
50	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	0.8519	72.669
51	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.8517	72.666
52	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	0.8402	72.476
53	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	0.8398	72.469
54	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.8387	72.451
55	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	0.8106	71.988
56	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	0.8028	71.859
57	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	0.7752	71.406
58	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.7232	70.548
59	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.7055	70.257
60	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.6890	69.985
61	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	0.6564	69.447
62	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	0.6550	69.425
63	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.6326	69.055
64	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	0.6104	68.689
65	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.6091	68.668
66	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.6011	68.536
67	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	0.5975	68.478
68	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.5879	68.318
69	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.5173	67.155
70	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	0.4793	66.529
71	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.4603	66.216
72	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.4500	66.046
73	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	0.3915	65.082
74	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.3894	65.048
75	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	0.3816	64.919
76	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.3523	64.437
77	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.3452	64.320
78	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.3353	64.156
79	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.3230	63.955
80	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.3041	63.642
81	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.2821	63.280
82	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.2604	62.923
83	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.1877	61.724
84	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.1816	61.624
85	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.1643	61.339
86	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.1552	61.189
87	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	0.1528	61.149
88	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.1412	60.958
89	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.1265	60.716
90	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	-0.0061	58.530
91	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	-0.0401	57.971
92	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	-0.0493	57.820
93	Suriname`SUR`South America	-0.0563	57.704
94	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	-0.0587	57.665
95	Brazil`BRA`South America	-0.0606	57.634
96	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	-0.0891	57.163
97	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	-0.0970	57.033
98	India`IND`Southern Asia	-0.1173	56.699
99	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	-0.1220	56.621
100	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	-0.1247	56.577
101	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	-0.1493	56.171
102	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	-0.1569	56.046
103	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	-0.1897	55.506
104	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	-0.1982	55.366
105	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	-0.2006	55.326
106	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	-0.2071	55.219
107	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	-0.2083	55.200
108	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	-0.2164	55.066
109	Panama`PAN`Central America	-0.2432	54.625
110	Belize`BLZ`Central America	-0.2966	53.744
111	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	-0.3169	53.409
112	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	-0.3217	53.331
113	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	-0.3244	53.286
114	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	-0.3357	53.100
115	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	-0.3369	53.080
116	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	-0.3397	53.034
117	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	-0.3590	52.715
118	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	-0.3747	52.457
119	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	-0.3770	52.420
120	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	-0.3991	52.055
121	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	-0.4084	51.902
122	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	-0.4173	51.755
123	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	-0.4290	51.563
124	Colombia`COL`South America	-0.4493	51.229
125	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	-0.4632	51.000
126	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	-0.4729	50.840
127	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	-0.4865	50.615
128	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	-0.4906	50.547
129	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	-0.4968	50.446
130	Peru`PER`South America	-0.5006	50.383
131	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	-0.5079	50.263
132	Argentina`ARG`South America	-0.5137	50.167
133	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	-0.5339	49.835
134	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	-0.5445	49.660
135	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	-0.5530	49.519
136	Guyana`GUY`South America	-0.5661	49.304
137	Niue`NIU`Polynesia	-0.5709	49.225
138	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	-0.5963	48.805
139	Mexico`MEX`Central America	-0.6196	48.422
140	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	-0.6254	48.326
141	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	-0.6408	48.072
142	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	-0.6537	47.859
143	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	-0.6588	47.775
144	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	-0.6655	47.666
145	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	-0.6683	47.620
146	Cook Islands`COK`Polynesia	-0.6990	47.113
147	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	-0.7078	46.968
148	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	-0.7239	46.703
149	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	-0.7284	46.629
150	Niger`NER`Western Africa	-0.7294	46.613
151	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	-0.7447	46.360
152	Paraguay`PRY`South America	-0.7467	46.328
153	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	-0.7492	46.286
154	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	-0.7498	46.276
155	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	-0.7504	46.266
156	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	-0.7618	46.079
157	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	-0.7994	45.460
158	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	-0.8030	45.400
159	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	-0.8170	45.170
160	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	-0.8214	45.097
161	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	-0.8260	45.022
162	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	-0.8364	44.849
163	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	-0.8397	44.795
164	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	-0.8563	44.522
165	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	-0.8569	44.511
166	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	-0.8631	44.409
167	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	-0.9096	43.643
168	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	-0.9486	43.000
169	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	-0.9523	42.940
170	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	-0.9657	42.719
171	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	-0.9708	42.635
172	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	-0.9905	42.310
173	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	-0.9937	42.258
174	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	-1.0007	42.143
175	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	-1.0465	41.387
176	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	-1.0478	41.366
177	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	-1.0574	41.209
178	Ecuador`ECU`South America	-1.0700	41.000
179	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	-1.0821	40.801
180	Bolivia`BOL`South America	-1.0839	40.771
181	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	-1.1090	40.358
182	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	-1.1195	40.185
183	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	-1.1230	40.127
184	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	-1.1402	39.843
185	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	-1.1540	39.617
186	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	-1.1777	39.226
187	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	-1.2188	38.548
188	Honduras`HND`Central America	-1.2349	38.283
189	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	-1.2387	38.220
190	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	-1.2633	37.815
191	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	-1.3180	36.914
192	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	-1.3308	36.703
193	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	-1.3341	36.649
194	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	-1.3549	36.306
195	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	-1.3569	36.273
196	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	-1.3667	36.111
197	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	-1.4190	35.249
198	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	-1.4337	35.008
199	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	-1.4454	34.814
200	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	-1.4569	34.625
201	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	-1.4750	34.326
202	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	-1.4915	34.054
203	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	-1.5701	32.760
204	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	-1.5873	32.476
205	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	-1.6419	31.577
206	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	-1.6501	31.442
207	Venezuela`VEN`South America	-1.8178	28.678
208	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	-1.8922	27.452
209	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	-2.3746	19.503

02In 2012

At either end

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

Highest

1Norway1.9809
2Finland1.9750
3Sweden1.9263
4Denmark1.9158
5Switzerland1.8419

Lowest

209Somalia-2.3746
208Afghanistan-1.8922
207Venezuela-1.8178
206Zimbabwe-1.6501
205DR Congo-1.6419

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads -0.2006. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

Governance Score, Rule of Law (0–100)
HighestNorway91.273
LowestSomalia19.503
Middle country: 55.326

032011 → 2012

Since 2011

What changed between 2011 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
209values changed, of 209 in both
104 · 105rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

Côte d’Ivoire-1.3404 → -1.0574+0.2831
Nepal-0.8900 → -0.6254+0.2646
Bosnia and Herzegovina-0.3578 → -0.1220+0.2358
Tunisia-0.3807 → -0.1569+0.2239
Belarus-0.9772 → -0.7618+0.2154

Fell most

Syria-0.9617 → -1.3308−0.3692
Cook Islands-0.3645 → -0.6990−0.3345
Tuvalu1.1671 → 0.8519−0.3152
Mali-0.4286 → -0.7239−0.2953
Bangladesh-0.7113 → -0.9708−0.2596

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

207 distinct values among 209
Values are stored exactly as published, to 18 decimals. 3 countries share 1.0630. 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 209 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
209 rows · 9.6 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download rule-of-law-2012-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 (2012). Rule of Law, 2012 [data set], describing 2012. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/rule-of-law/2012

0627 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Rule of Law, 2011
209 countries
The year after ›
Rule of Law, 2013
209 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, 2012: questions and answers

Which country has the highest rule of law in Rule of Law, 2012?

Norway, at 1.9809, of the 209 countries in the file.

What year does Rule of Law, 2012 describe?

2012.

How many countries does Rule of Law, 2012 cover?

209.

Where can I download Rule of Law, 2012?

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, 2012 the newest?

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

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