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Indicator

Rule of Law by African country

2025

World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicator for rule of law, from −2.5 (weak) to 2.5 (strong).

Africa, 202554 of 54 countries
−0.88population-weighted average
Highest in 2025Mauritius · 0.68Lowest in 2025Somalia · −2.17Reported in 202554 of 54 countries surveyed
Click a country to pin it — pinned countries are named on the map. Hatching means no record.
Western Sahara — no separate recordTanzania — −0.57Democratic Republic of the Congo — −1.66Somalia — −2.17Kenya — −0.47Sudan — −1.86Chad — −1.41South Africa — 0.04Lesotho — −0.47Zimbabwe — −1.22Botswana — 0.28Namibia — 0.38Senegal — −0.19Mali — −1.19Mauritania — −0.81Benin — −0.46Niger — −1.13Nigeria — −0.95Cameroon — −1.19Togo — −0.63Ghana — −0.00Cote d'Ivoire — −0.52Guinea — −1.21Guinea-Bissau — −1.27Liberia — −0.85Sierra Leone — −0.84Burkina Faso — −0.92Central African Republic — −1.70Republic of the Congo — −1.25Gabon — −1.02Equatorial Guinea — −1.54Zambia — −0.49Malawi — −0.14Mozambique — −1.18Eswatini — −0.78Angola — −1.12Burundi — −1.43Madagascar — −0.95Gambia — −0.40Tunisia — −0.39Algeria — −0.65Eritrea — −1.77Morocco — −0.34Egypt — −0.69Libya — −1.65Ethiopia — −0.94Djibouti — −1.02Uganda — −0.67Rwanda — 0.10South Sudan — −2.03Nigeria −0.95Nigeria −0.95Ethiopia −0.94Ethiopia −0.94Kenya −0.47Kenya −0.47South Africa 0.04South Africa 0.042025HIGHEST IN 2025Mauritiusnot drawn0.68Seychellesnot drawn0.58Cabo Verdenot drawn0.45Namibia0.38Botswana0.28LOWEST IN 2025Somalia−2.17South Sudan−2.03Sudan−1.86Eritrea−1.77Central African Republic−1.70PINNEDEthiopia−0.9430 of 54Kenya−0.4717 of 54Nigeria−0.9532 of 54South Africa0.047 of 54OTHER ISLAND STATES · NOT DRAWNComorosnot drawn−0.96Sao Tome and Principenot drawn−0.45estimate · quintiles of the observed range−2.2−1.3−1−0.7−0.40.7no record
20142025
World Bank · national statistics offices · the provider's own estimates where a country has not reportedCC BY 4.0
Countries

By region

Population-weighted, so a region’s figure is the share of its people, not the average of its countries.
Southern Africa5 of 5 countries0.03
Western Africa16 of 16 countries−0.82
Eastern Africa18 of 18 countries−0.84
Northern Africa6 of 6 countries−0.87
Middle Africa9 of 9 countries−1.46
Africaall 54 countries · 54 with a 2025 figure−0.88

What to know before you quote this

Specific to this series. For how we treat data generally, see methods.
Certainty is judged year by yearA country can be Reported in one year and Modelled the next. The tag follows the year on the scrubber, so the 2025 assessment is not a verdict on the whole series.

About this data

Rule of LawWorld Bank Worldwide Governance Indicator for rule of law, from −2.5 (weak) to 2.5 (strong).
SourceWorld Bank, with processing by Africa API
Unitestimate
Last updated15 Oct 2026
Next expected updateOct 2027
Date range1996–2025
Coverage54 of 54 countries · 54 reported, 0 modelled, 0 with no usable figure

How the figure is made

ReportedA national statistics office or the original provider published the figure for that year directly. 54 countries did so for 2025 — the certainty shown on this page is that 2025 assessment, not a per-series one.ModelledNo direct figure that year. The provider’s own estimate, interpolation or projection stands in, and is marked as such wherever it appears.No dataNo usable figure within the window. Drawn hatched on the map and left blank in the table — not zero, and not filled in.

These three states are used the same way across every indicator on the site — how we treat certainty explains the full set and what we never do to a number.

Reuse and cite

Everything on this page is open under CC BY 4.0 — use it anywhere, including commercially, as long as Africa API and the original provider are credited. The provider’s own licence still applies to their data.

How to cite this page
Africa API (2026) — "Rule of Law". Data adapted from World Bank. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026 from africa-api.com/indicators/rule-of-law
The request behind this view
GET /v1/data?metric_key=rule_of_law_estimate&year=2025&limit=100

Read next

The measures that explain this one.
GovernanceHomicide RateIntentional homicides per 100,000 people (UNODC via World Bank).GovernanceCorruption Perceptions IndexTransparency International's index of perceived public-sector corruption on a 0-100 scale (higher is cleaner).GovernanceElectoral Democracy IndexV-Dem electoral democracy (polyarchy) index on a 0-1 scale (higher is more democratic).

Rule of Law: most recent figure per country, highest to lowest

54 countries · each with its own period

The figures at the top of the page compare every country in the same year. This list takes each country’s newest figure instead, whatever its period, so the order can differ.

#CountryRule of LawPeriod
1Mauritius0.682025
2Seychelles0.582025
3Cabo Verde0.452025
4Namibia0.382025
5Botswana0.282025
6Rwanda0.12025
7South Africa0.042025
8Ghana-02025
9Malawi-0.142025
10Senegal-0.192025
11Morocco-0.342025
12Tunisia-0.392025
13Gambia-0.42025
14Sao Tome and Principe-0.452025
15Benin-0.462025
16Lesotho-0.472025
17Kenya-0.472025
18Zambia-0.492025
19Cote d'Ivoire-0.522025
20Tanzania-0.572025
21Togo-0.632025
22Algeria-0.652025
23Uganda-0.672025
24Egypt-0.692025
25Eswatini-0.782025
26Mauritania-0.812025
27Sierra Leone-0.842025
28Liberia-0.852025
29Burkina Faso-0.922025
30Ethiopia-0.942025
31Madagascar-0.952025
32Nigeria-0.952025
33Comoros-0.962025
34Djibouti-1.022025
35Gabon-1.022025
36Angola-1.122025
37Niger-1.132025
38Mozambique-1.182025
39Mali-1.192025
40Cameroon-1.192025
41Guinea-1.212025
42Zimbabwe-1.222025
43Republic of the Congo-1.252025
44Guinea-Bissau-1.272025
45Chad-1.412025
46Burundi-1.432025
47Equatorial Guinea-1.542025
48Libya-1.652025
49Democratic Republic of the Congo-1.662025
50Central African Republic-1.72025
51Eritrea-1.772025
52Sudan-1.862025
53South Sudan-2.032025
54Somalia-2.172025
Which observations are included?
The ranking includes 54 of 54 countries with available observations for 2023 or later and within 2 years of the freshest result. Each figure shows its reporting period. Countries without an eligible observation are omitted.
Does a higher value mean a better result?
The ranking is sorted by value, from highest to lowest. The order does not rate a country's performance. Interpretation depends on the indicator and its definition.

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