Data for 2018

Rule of Law, 2018

Name: Rule of Law, 2018
Creator: World Bank Group
License: https://data.worldbank.org/summary-terms-of-use

Figures for 2018, as World Bank Group published them · stored as published, never rewritten

Rule of Law, 2018 covers 210 countries on 2 measures. Finland is highest, at 2.03531; Somalia is lowest, at -2.31106. The middle country reads -0.13830. Against 2017, 207 values changed (90 up, 117 down), 3 countries joined.

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Rule of Law · Data for 2018

HighestFinland

2.03531

LowestSomalia

-2.31106

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

210countries
2measures per country
2018the year it describes
209distinct 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, 2018, 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 210 countries · select a heading to sort

Rule of Law, 2018: every country, as published by World Bank Group.
derived
1	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	2.03531	92.169
2	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	2.02106	91.934
3	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	1.89402	89.841
4	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	1.88915	89.760
5	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	1.84155	88.976
6	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	1.83208	88.820
7	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	1.80891	88.438
8	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	1.80784	88.421
9	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	1.79959	88.285
10	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	1.72157	86.999
11	Canada`CAN`Northern America	1.71913	86.959
12	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	1.69680	86.591
13	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	1.64519	85.741
14	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	1.64403	85.721
=15	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	1.64257	85.697
=15	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	1.64257	85.697
17	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	1.62963	85.484
18	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	1.56677	84.448
19	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	1.53431	83.913
20	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	1.50051	83.357
21	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	1.48996	83.183
22	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	1.48023	83.022
23	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	1.45921	82.676
24	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	1.43433	82.266
25	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	1.41186	81.896
26	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	1.35452	80.951
27	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	1.32417	80.451
28	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	1.31795	80.348
29	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	1.30150	80.077
30	France`FRA`Western Europe	1.23511	78.983
31	United States`USA`Northern America	1.16056	77.755
32	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	1.13652	77.359
33	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	1.13318	77.304
34	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	1.12317	77.139
35	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	1.11503	77.005
36	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	1.06818	76.233
37	Niue`NIU`Polynesia	1.05630	76.037
38	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	1.02860	75.581
39	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	0.99703	75.060
40	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.99610	75.045
41	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	0.98655	74.888
42	Cook Islands`COK`Polynesia	0.98329	74.834
43	Chile`CHL`South America	0.98092	74.795
44	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	0.96778	74.578
45	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.94713	74.238
46	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	0.91203	73.660
47	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.89580	73.392
48	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	0.89182	73.327
49	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.87510	73.051
50	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.84171	72.501
51	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.81470	72.056
52	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	0.78786	71.614
53	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.77193	71.351
54	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.74607	70.925
55	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	0.73254	70.702
56	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.72577	70.591
57	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.68780	69.965
58	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	0.67293	69.720
59	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.65675	69.453
60	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	0.65524	69.428
61	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	0.61211	68.718
62	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	0.60731	68.639
63	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	0.58661	68.298
64	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	0.55088	67.709
65	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.54772	67.657
66	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.50518	66.956
67	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.45460	66.122
68	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	0.44420	65.951
69	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.43382	65.780
70	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	0.42240	65.592
71	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.41870	65.531
72	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.41783	65.516
73	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	0.41704	65.503
74	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.41164	65.414
75	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.41126	65.408
76	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.37495	64.810
77	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.33874	64.213
78	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	0.33536	64.158
79	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.31022	63.743
80	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.30678	63.687
81	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.30562	63.667
82	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.29851	63.550
83	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.28462	63.321
84	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	0.25300	62.800
85	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.22418	62.326
86	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	0.21286	62.139
87	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.20208	61.961
88	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.17640	61.538
89	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	0.13767	60.900
90	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.12170	60.637
91	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	0.08133	59.972
92	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.02054	58.970
93	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	-0.02612	58.201
94	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	-0.02956	58.145
95	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	-0.02958	58.144
96	Anguilla`AIA`Caribbean	-0.03359	58.078
97	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	-0.07480	57.399
98	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	-0.07816	57.344
99	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	-0.08575	57.219
100	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	-0.10685	56.871
101	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	-0.11718	56.701
102	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	-0.11895	56.671
103	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	-0.13108	56.472
104	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	-0.13404	56.423
105	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	-0.13689	56.376
106	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	-0.13971	56.329
107	Argentina`ARG`South America	-0.14614	56.223
108	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	-0.16594	55.897
109	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	-0.17177	55.801
110	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	-0.18597	55.567
111	Panama`PAN`Central America	-0.20350	55.278
112	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	-0.21321	55.118
113	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	-0.21738	55.050
114	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	-0.22089	54.992
115	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	-0.22255	54.964
116	Suriname`SUR`South America	-0.23232	54.803
117	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	-0.24216	54.641
118	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	-0.27907	54.033
119	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	-0.29606	53.753
120	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	-0.30396	53.623
121	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	-0.31064	53.513
122	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	-0.33504	53.111
123	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	-0.36352	52.642
124	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	-0.36628	52.596
125	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	-0.39631	52.101
126	Brazil`BRA`South America	-0.39771	52.078
127	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	-0.39838	52.067
128	Guyana`GUY`South America	-0.39998	52.041
129	Colombia`COL`South America	-0.40040	52.034
130	Paraguay`PRY`South America	-0.41308	51.825
131	Peru`PER`South America	-0.42585	51.615
132	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	-0.43958	51.388
133	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	-0.44507	51.298
134	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	-0.45193	51.185
135	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	-0.46253	51.010
136	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	-0.47092	50.872
137	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	-0.47676	50.776
138	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	-0.48374	50.661
139	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	-0.49305	50.507
140	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	-0.51405	50.161
141	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	-0.53450	49.824
142	Niger`NER`Western Africa	-0.57080	49.226
143	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	-0.57950	49.083
144	Belize`BLZ`Central America	-0.58891	48.928
145	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	-0.61040	48.574
146	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	-0.61802	48.448
147	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	-0.63268	48.206
148	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	-0.64152	48.061
149	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	-0.64427	48.015
150	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	-0.67382	47.528
151	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	-0.68080	47.413
152	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	-0.68134	47.405
153	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	-0.69491	47.181
154	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	-0.70871	46.954
155	Ecuador`ECU`South America	-0.71963	46.774
156	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	-0.73205	46.569
157	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	-0.74656	46.330
158	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	-0.75241	46.233
159	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	-0.76259	46.066
160	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	-0.76443	46.035
161	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	-0.78250	45.738
162	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	-0.78630	45.675
163	Mexico`MEX`Central America	-0.80668	45.339
164	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	-0.81075	45.272
165	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	-0.81137	45.262
166	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	-0.81794	45.154
167	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	-0.82413	45.052
168	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	-0.82936	44.966
169	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	-0.82999	44.955
170	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	-0.83618	44.853
171	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	-0.85880	44.481
172	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	-0.86217	44.425
173	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	-0.87787	44.166
174	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	-0.90577	43.706
175	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	-0.90780	43.673
176	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	-0.91773	43.509
177	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	-0.94418	43.074
178	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	-0.96256	42.771
179	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	-0.97611	42.548
180	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	-0.98658	42.375
181	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	-1.06449	41.091
182	Honduras`HND`Central America	-1.07371	40.939
183	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	-1.10822	40.371
184	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	-1.11849	40.201
185	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	-1.12999	40.012
186	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	-1.13010	40.010
187	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	-1.13510	39.928
188	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	-1.14290	39.799
189	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	-1.18135	39.166
190	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	-1.20081	38.845
191	Bolivia`BOL`South America	-1.22943	38.373
192	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	-1.26226	37.832
193	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	-1.29539	37.286
194	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	-1.34712	36.434
195	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	-1.35230	36.349
196	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	-1.38466	35.815
197	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	-1.45609	34.638
198	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	-1.45640	34.633
199	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	-1.54096	33.240
200	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	-1.55654	32.983
201	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	-1.60678	32.155
202	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	-1.67655	31.006
203	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	-1.67694	30.999
204	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	-1.68056	30.940
205	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	-1.69198	30.751
206	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	-1.72380	30.227
207	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	-1.77013	29.464
208	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	-1.88276	27.608
209	Venezuela`VEN`South America	-2.29612	20.797
210	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	-2.31106	20.550

02In 2018

At either end

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

Highest

1Finland2.03531
2Norway2.02106
3Denmark1.89402
4Switzerland1.88915
5Luxembourg1.84155

Lowest

210Somalia-2.31106
209Venezuela-2.29612
208South Sudan-1.88276
207Syria-1.77013
206Yemen-1.72380

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads -0.13830. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

Governance Score, Rule of Law (0–100)
HighestFinland92.169
LowestSomalia20.550
Middle country: 56.353

032017 → 2018

Since 2017

What changed between 2017 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+3 / −0countries joined / left
207values changed, of 207 in both
90 · 117rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

United States Virgin Islands0.66077 → 1.12317+0.46240
Angola-1.28971 → -1.06449+0.22522
Guinea-Bissau-1.32507 → -1.13010+0.19497
Seychelles0.28027 → 0.45460+0.17432
Montenegro-0.06942 → 0.08133+0.15076

Fell most

Nicaragua-0.85247 → -1.26226−0.40979
United States1.33344 → 1.16056−0.17288
Nauru0.38043 → 0.21286−0.16757
Barbados0.96510 → 0.81470−0.15039
Vanuatu0.55995 → 0.41164−0.14831

+ Cook Islands

+ New Caledonia

+ Niue

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

209 distinct values among 210
Values are stored exactly as published, to 18 decimals. 2 countries share 1.64257. 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 210 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
210 rows · 9.7 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download rule-of-law-2018-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 (2018). Rule of Law, 2018 [data set], describing 2018. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/rule-of-law/2018

0627 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Rule of Law, 2017
207 countries
The year after ›
Rule of Law, 2019
211 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, 2018: questions and answers

Which country has the highest rule of law in Rule of Law, 2018?

Finland, at 2.03531, of the 210 countries in the file.

What year does Rule of Law, 2018 describe?

2018.

How many countries does Rule of Law, 2018 cover?

210.

Where can I download Rule of Law, 2018?

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, 2018 the newest?

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

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