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Rule of Law
Rule of Law is one of six governance indicators measured by the World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series. It is a measurement of the quality of the confidence in the rules of a society as seen by fair law enforcement practices, just court systems, and the prevalence of violence and crime in a country. EST, or point estimate, is measured on a scale of -2.5 to 2.5, with the higher scores indicating to better governance of the rule of law in the countries observed.
| 2004 | 2002 | 2000 | |
| Country | EST. | EST. | EST. |
| Afghanistan | -1.81 | -1.62 | -2.31 |
| Albania | -0.80 | -0.94 | -0.76 |
| Algeria | -0.73 | -0.62 | -0.80 |
| Andorra | 1.43 | 1.52 | |
| Angola | -1.33 | -1.53 | -1.47 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 0.91 | 0.99 | |
| Argentina | -0.71 | -0.78 | 0.17 |
| Armenia | -0.58 | -0.48 | -0.52 |
| Australia | 1.82 | 1.80 | 1.98 |
| Austria | 1.76 | 1.87 | 2.08 |
| Azerbaijan | -0.85 | -0.84 | -0.99 |
| Bahamas | 1.28 | 1.30 | 1.09 |
| Bahrain | 0.68 | 0.90 | 0.77 |
| Bangladesh | -0.86 | -0.74 | -0.65 |
| Barbados | 1.21 | 1.38 | 1.34 |
| Belarus | -1.31 | -1.13 | -0.99 |
| Belgium | 1.47 | 1.46 | 1.62 |
| Belize | 0.25 | 0.02 | 0.38 |
| Benin | -0.47 | -0.38 | -0.39 |
| Bhutan | 0.27 | 0.22 | -0.39 |
| Bolivia | -0.55 | -0.65 | -0.52 |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | -0.76 | -0.86 | -0.84 |
| Botswana | 0.73 | 0.68 | 0.67 |
| Brazil | -0.21 | -0.32 | -0.16 |
| Brunei | 0.56 | 0.61 | 0.93 |
| Bulgaria | 0.05 | 0.01 | -0.13 |
| Burkina Faso | -0.62 | -0.51 | -0.54 |
| Burma | -1.62 | -1.61 | -1.15 |
| Burundi | -1.50 | -1.43 | -0.93 |
| Cambodia | -0.98 | -0.90 | -0.77 |
| Cameroon | -1.00 | -1.19 | -1.06 |
| Canada | 1.75 | 1.77 | 1.99 |
| Cape Verde | 0.26 | 0.17 | 0.47 |
| Central African Republic | -1.44 | -1.03 | -0.66 |
| Chad | -1.15 | -0.82 | -0.81 |
| Chile | 1.16 | 1.24 | 1.31 |
| China | -0.47 | -0.26 | -0.33 |
| Colombia | -0.70 | -0.82 | -0.65 |
| Comoros | -1.04 | -1.00 | -1.19 |
| Congo (Brazzaville) | -1.74 | -1.81 | -1.86 |
| Congo (Kinshasa) | -1.18 | -1.23 | -1.19 |
| Costa Rica | 0.57 | 0.67 | 0.78 |
| Cote d’Ivoire | -1.42 | -1.24 | -0.57 |
| Croatia | 0.07 | 0.09 | 0.14 |
| Cuba | -1.12 | -0.96 | -0.64 |
| Cyprus (G) | 0.85 | 0.81 | 0.99 |
| Czech Republic | 0.69 | 0.69 | 0.59 |
| Denmark | 1.91 | 1.93 | 1.95 |
| Djibouti | -0.61 | -0.57 | -0.55 |
| Dominica | 0.66 | 0.65 | -0.32 |
| Dominican Republic | -0.54 | -0.42 | -0.20 |
| East Timor | -0.60 | -1.12 | |
| Ecuador | -0.71 | -0.65 | -0.67 |
| Egypt | -0.02 | 0.05 | 0.21 |
| El Salvador | -0.34 | -0.43 | -0.45 |
| Equatorial Guinea | -1.05 | -1.22 | -1.51 |
| Eritrea | -0.78 | -0.44 | -0.07 |
| Estonia | 0.91 | 0.78 | 0.71 |
| Ethiopia | -1.00 | -0.44 | -0.38 |
| Fiji | -0.19 | -0.38 | -0.69 |
| Finland | 1.97 | 1.96 | 2.11 |
| France | 1.33 | 1.30 | 1.47 |
| Gabon | -0.51 | -0.26 | -0.57 |
| Gambia, The | -0.32 | -0.53 | -0.34 |
| Georgia | -0.87 | -1.20 | -0.57 |
| Germany | 1.66 | 1.71 | 1.89 |
| Ghana | -0.16 | -0.16 | -0.08 |
| Greece | 0.75 | 0.77 | 0.73 |
| Grenada | 0.46 | 0.25 | 0.39 |
| Guatemala | -0.96 | -0.84 | -0.77 |
| Guinea | -1.09 | -0.73 | -0.96 |
| Guinea-Bissau | -1.26 | -1.07 | -1.27 |
| Guyana | -0.48 | -0.46 | -0.14 |
| Haiti | -1.66 | -1.78 | -1.50 |
| Honduras | -0.61 | -0.77 | -0.89 |
| Hungary | 0.85 | 0.84 | 0.84 |
| Iceland | 2.01 | 1.96 | 2.06 |
| India | -0.09 | 0.04 | 0.22 |
| Indonesia | -0.91 | -0.89 | -0.93 |
| Iran | -0.83 | -0.57 | -0.44 |
| Iraq | -1.97 | -1.65 | -1.50 |
| Ireland | 1.62 | 1.68 | 1.84 |
| Israel | 0.77 | 0.90 | 1.07 |
| Italy | 0.74 | 0.79 | 0.93 |
| Jamaica | -0.32 | -0.46 | -0.15 |
| Japan | 1.39 | 1.37 | 1.80 |
| Jordan | 0.30 | 0.34 | 0.55 |
| Kazakhstan | -0.98 | -0.92 | -0.77 |
| Kenya | -0.98 | -1.03 | -0.94 |
| Kiribati | 0.25 | 0.62 | 0.02 |
| Kuwait | 0.65 | 0.79 | 1.18 |
| Kyrgyzstan | -1.04 | -0.77 | -0.90 |
| Laos | -1.27 | -0.96 | -1.00 |
| Latvia | 0.48 | 0.42 | 0.24 |
| Lebanon | -0.32 | -0.28 | -0.10 |
| Lesotho | -0.03 | -0.08 | -0.05 |
| Liberia | -1.76 | -1.62 | -1.55 |
| Libya | -0.65 | -0.83 | -0.91 |
| Liechtenstein | 1.36 | 1.52 | |
| Lithuania | 0.60 | 0.45 | 0.25 |
| Luxembourg | 1.98 | 2.05 | 2.07 |
| Macedonia | -0.44 | -0.45 | -0.32 |
| Madagascar | -0.30 | -0.25 | -0.67 |
| Malawi | -0.29 | -0.44 | -0.46 |
| Malaysia | 0.52 | 0.52 | 0.53 |
| Maldives | -0.57 | 0.28 | -0.64 |
| Mali | -0.34 | -0.47 | -0.71 |
| Malta | 1.23 | 1.06 | 0.74 |
| Marshall Islands | -0.11 | -0.05 | |
| Mauritania | -0.62 | -0.38 | -0.53 |
| Mauritius | 0.84 | 0.86 | 0.86 |
| Mexico | -0.26 | -0.31 | -0.38 |
| Micronesia | 0.40 | -0.22 | -0.54 |
| Moldova | -0.65 | -0.53 | -0.55 |
| Monaco | |||
| Mongolia | 0.18 | 0.34 | 0.22 |
| Morocco | -0.05 | 0.07 | 0.30 |
| Mozambique | -0.60 | -0.59 | -0.65 |
| Namibia | 0.22 | 0.43 | 1.06 |
| Nauru | 0.77 | ||
| Nepal | -0.82 | -0.42 | -0.36 |
| Netherlands | 1.78 | 1.80 | 1.95 |
| New Zealand | 1.93 | 1.86 | 1.97 |
| Nicaragua | -0.65 | -0.67 | -0.91 |
| Niger | -0.92 | -0.80 | -0.82 |
| Nigeria | -1.44 | -1.40 | -0.99 |
| North Korea | -1.15 | -0.98 | -1.08 |
| Norway | 1.95 | 1.92 | 1.99 |
| Oman | 0.98 | 0.83 | 1.24 |
| Pakistan | -0.78 | -0.71 | -0.62 |
| Palau | |||
| Panama | -0.04 | -0.03 | -0.04 |
| Papua New Guinea | -0.82 | -0.93 | -0.43 |
| Paraguay | -1.09 | -1.16 | -0.83 |
| Peru | -0.63 | -0.50 | -0.53 |
| Philippines | -0.62 | -0.55 | -0.51 |
| Poland | 0.51 | 0.58 | 0.62 |
| Portugal | 1.16 | 1.26 | 1.14 |
| Qatar | 0.79 | 0.82 | 1.09 |
| Romania | -0.18 | -0.15 | -0.22 |
| Russia | -0.70 | -0.84 | -0.87 |
| Rwanda | -0.90 | -0.94 | -0.83 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 0.71 | 0.31 | 0.39 |
| Saint Lucia | 0.75 | 0.31 | 0.39 |
| Saint Vincent and Grenadines | 0.76 | 0.31 | 0.39 |
| Samoa | 0.62 | 1.04 | -0.01 |
| San Marino | 0.77 | ||
| Sao Tome and Principe | -0.55 | -0.52 | -0.69 |
| Saudi Arabia | 0.20 | 0.40 | 0.62 |
| Senegal | -0.20 | -0.23 | -0.34 |
| Serbia and Montenegro | -0.72 | -0.95 | -0.98 |
| Seychelles | -0.17 | -0.48 | -0.44 |
| Sierra Leone | -1.10 | -1.23 | -0.90 |
| Singapore | 1.82 | 1.71 | 2.10 |
| Slovakia | 0.49 | 0.35 | 0.30 |
| Slovenia | 0.93 | 1.06 | 0.87 |
| Solomon Islands | -1.15 | -1.53 | -1.34 |
| Somalia | -2.31 | -2.04 | -1.72 |
| South Africa | 0.32 | 0.11 | 0.28 |
| South Korea | 0.67 | 0.83 | 0.64 |
| Spain | 1.12 | 1.12 | 1.36 |
| Sri Lanka | -0.03 | 0.22 | -0.17 |
| Sudan | -1.59 | -1.30 | -1.10 |
| Suriname | -0.25 | -0.32 | -0.62 |
| Swaziland | -0.95 | -0.64 | -0.08 |
| Sweden | 1.85 | 1.88 | 1.96 |
| Switzerland | 1.98 | 1.98 | 2.20 |
| Syria | -0.40 | -0.40 | -0.33 |
| Taiwan | 0.83 | 0.87 | 0.86 |
| Tajikistan | -1.18 | -1.29 | -1.28 |
| Tanzania | -0.49 | -0.46 | -0.28 |
| Thailand | -0.05 | 0.23 | 0.41 |
| Togo | -1.01 | -0.69 | -0.93 |
| Tonga | -0.11 | 0.04 | -0.39 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 0.17 | 0.30 | 0.47 |
| Tunisia | 0.24 | 0.28 | 0.44 |
| Turkey | 0.04 | -0.05 | 0.05 |
| Turkmenistan | -1.43 | -1.15 | -1.13 |
| Tuvalu | 0.76 | 1.79 | 1.49 |
| Uganda | -0.79 | -0.76 | -0.58 |
| Ukraine | -0.83 | -0.84 | -1.22 |
| United Arab Emirates | 0.85 | 0.97 | 1.41 |
| United Kingdom | 1.71 | 1.76 | 1.91 |
| United States | 1.58 | 1.62 | 1.90 |
| Uruguay | 0.42 | 0.54 | 0.65 |
| Uzbekistan | -1.30 | -1.23 | -0.95 |
| Vanuatu | -0.07 | -0.21 | -0.28 |
| Venezuela | -1.10 | -1.06 | -0.82 |
| Vietnam | -0.59 | -0.42 | -0.74 |
| Yemen | -1.11 | -1.23 | -0.90 |
| Zambia | -0.54 | -0.52 | -0.44 |
| Zimbabwe | -1.53 | -1.39 | -0.74 |
Note: Individual country ratings can exceed the normal scale when their estimates of governance are either extremely high or extremely low.
Source: This material was derived from the World Bank and reflects the latest available data at the time of publication.