New Zealand - Rule of Law 2021
1.78
−0.06 from 2020
New Zealand's rule of law was 1.78 in 2021, decreased +0.06 from 1.84 in 2020. This was the 5th highest globally.
Global Ranking - 2021▾
| Rank | Country | Value | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Finland | 2.01 | -0.3% |
| 2nd | Norway | 1.91 | -1.1% |
| 3rd | Denmark | 1.90 | 4.9% |
| 4th | Singapore | 1.82 | -0.9% |
| 5th | New Zealand | 1.78 | -3.1% |
| 6th | Switzerland | 1.77 | -0.5% |
| 7th | Austria | 1.75 | -1.1% |
| 8th | Luxembourg | 1.75 | 0.7% |
| 9th | Iceland | 1.71 | -2.1% |
| 10th | Liechtenstein | 1.70 | -0.7% |
| 11th | Sweden | 1.70 | -3.9% |
| 12th | Netherlands | 1.70 | -0.5% |
| 13th | Greenland | 1.69 | -0.8% |
| 14th | Andorra | 1.64 | 1.7% |
| 15th | San Marino | 1.64 | 1.7% |
| 16th | Australia | 1.64 | 1.5% |
| 17th | Canada | 1.59 | -1.6% |
| 18th | Germany | 1.57 | 3.4% |
| 19th | Japan | 1.54 | 4.7% |
| 20th | Ireland | 1.49 | 2.5% |
| 21st | Hong Kong SAR, China | 1.41 | -8.9% |
| 22nd | United Kingdom | 1.40 | -4.7% |
| 23rd | Monaco | 1.39 | 1.7% |
| 24th | Estonia | 1.39 | 4.1% |
| 25th | United States | 1.39 | 3.9% |
| 26th | Belgium | 1.29 | -2.7% |
| 27th | France | 1.26 | -3.0% |
| 28th | Aruba | 1.25 | -1.9% |
| 29th | American Samoa | 1.14 | 1.8% |
| 30th | Guam | 1.14 | 1.8% |
| 31st | Portugal | 1.11 | -4.5% |
| 32nd | Korea | 1.10 | -4.5% |
| 33rd | Czechia | 1.09 | 7.1% |
| 34th | Lithuania | 1.07 | 13.3% |
| 35th | Slovenia | 1.00 | -3.6% |
| 36th | Latvia | 0.95 | 3.0% |
| 37th | Israel | 0.91 | -3.1% |
| 38th | Qatar | 0.90 | -7.8% |
| 39th | Chile | 0.89 | -4.3% |
| 40th | Virgin Islands (US) | 0.89 | 2.0% |
| 41st | Kiribati | 0.89 | -12.4% |
| 42nd | Samoa | 0.89 | -12.4% |
| 43rd | Brunei Darussalam | 0.86 | -4.1% |
| 44th | Spain | 0.84 | -2.1% |
| 45th | Mauritius | 0.84 | -5.0% |
| 46th | Malta | 0.84 | -5.5% |
| 47th | United Arab Emirates | 0.80 | -8.7% |
| 48th | Macao SAR, China | 0.78 | -3.8% |
| 49th | Marshall Islands | 0.77 | 29.3% |
| 50th | Cayman Islands | 0.74 | 2.1% |
| 51st | Tuvalu | 0.73 | 11.2% |
| 52nd | Palau | 0.71 | 4.4% |
| 53rd | Uruguay | 0.70 | 7.8% |
| 54th | Dominica | 0.69 | -12.6% |
| 55th | Slovak Republic | 0.68 | 3.5% |
| 56th | Bermuda | 0.64 | 2.2% |
| 57th | Cyprus | 0.61 | 10.7% |
| 58th | Bhutan | 0.61 | 4.9% |
| 59th | St. Lucia | 0.61 | -8.4% |
| 60th | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 0.58 | -2.7% |
| 61st | Puerto Rico (US) | 0.57 | -5.1% |
| 62nd | Malaysia | 0.53 | -7.2% |
| 63rd | Micronesia, Federated States of | 0.52 | 174.0% |
| 64th | Hungary | 0.51 | 2.6% |
| 65th | Grenada | 0.49 | 49.7% |
| 66th | St. Kitts and Nevis | 0.45 | -5.7% |
| 67th | Botswana | 0.45 | 18.6% |
| 68th | Vanuatu | 0.45 | 50.3% |
| 69th | Bahrain | 0.44 | -2.9% |
| 70th | Tonga | 0.43 | -13.1% |
| 71st | Poland | 0.43 | -18.9% |
| 72nd | Costa Rica | 0.42 | -15.1% |
| 73rd | Oman | 0.38 | -35.5% |
| 74th | Romania | 0.38 | 3.2% |
| 75th | Barbados | 0.34 | 15.9% |
| 76th | Namibia | 0.33 | 1.0% |
| 77th | Cabo Verde | 0.33 | -23.9% |
| 78th | Greece | 0.32 | 11.1% |
| 79th | Seychelles | 0.30 | 29.5% |
| 80th | Antigua and Barbuda | 0.30 | -25.6% |
| 81st | Fiji | 0.30 | 52.2% |
| 82nd | Croatia | 0.28 | 16.6% |
| 83rd | Italy | 0.24 | 16.3% |
| 84th | Kuwait | 0.24 | -22.9% |
| 85th | Saudi Arabia | 0.21 | -4.6% |
| 86th | Jordan | 0.18 | -2.2% |
| 87th | Rwanda | 0.17 | 127.1% |
| 88th | Georgia | 0.14 | -35.2% |
| 89th | Thailand | 0.09 | -15.9% |
| 90th | Bahamas, The | 0.07 | 234.9% |
| 91st | Tunisia | 0.07 | -53.2% |
| 92nd | South Africa | 0.06 | 126.6% |
| 93rd | Sri Lanka | 0.02 | 389.4% |
| 94th | China | 0.01 | 110.0% |
| 95th | Bulgaria | -0.07 | 46.1% |
| 96th | Nauru | -0.07 | 28.6% |
| 97th | Montenegro | -0.08 | -107.1% |
| 98th | North Macedonia | -0.10 | 5.3% |
| 99th | Ghana | -0.11 | -31.1% |
| 100th | India | -0.11 | -85.6% |
| 101st | Maldives | -0.11 | 52.1% |
| 102nd | Serbia | -0.12 | 6.1% |
| 103rd | Dominican Republic | -0.12 | 32.0% |
| 104th | Armenia | -0.12 | 4.8% |
| 105th | Suriname | -0.13 | 4.4% |
| 106th | Trinidad and Tobago | -0.16 | 7.1% |
| 107th | Viet Nam | -0.17 | 9.1% |
| 108th | Jamaica | -0.20 | 18.7% |
| 109th | Morocco | -0.24 | -30.3% |
| 110th | Malawi | -0.25 | 10.4% |
| 111th | Mongolia | -0.25 | 7.1% |
| 112th | Indonesia | -0.25 | 30.7% |
| 113th | Egypt, Arab Republic of | -0.26 | 17.9% |
| 114th | Panama | -0.27 | 5.5% |
| 115th | Albania | -0.28 | 25.7% |
| 116th | Kosovo | -0.30 | 26.1% |
| 117th | Brazil | -0.30 | -30.0% |
| 118th | Bosnia and Herzegovina | -0.30 | 4.1% |
| 119th | Ecuador | -0.35 | 34.4% |
| 120th | Moldova | -0.36 | 30.6% |
| 121st | Solomon Islands | -0.36 | -895.9% |
| 122nd | Uganda | -0.37 | -6.9% |
| 123rd | Senegal | -0.40 | -24.3% |
| 124th | Gambia, The | -0.41 | -3.1% |
| 125th | Guyana | -0.42 | 3.9% |
| 126th | Cuba | -0.42 | -47.1% |
| 127th | Kenya | -0.42 | 27.2% |
| 128th | Niger | -0.43 | 25.8% |
| 129th | Lesotho | -0.43 | 11.6% |
| 130th | Türkiye | -0.43 | -3.6% |
| 131st | Burkina Faso | -0.46 | 1.2% |
| 132nd | Colombia | -0.47 | 4.2% |
| 133rd | Argentina | -0.48 | 1.7% |
| 134th | Nepal | -0.49 | 4.8% |
| 135th | Kazakhstan | -0.51 | -9.0% |
| 136th | West Bank and Gaza | -0.51 | -8.3% |
| 137th | Peru | -0.53 | -39.1% |
| 138th | Tanzania | -0.55 | 10.4% |
| 139th | Eswatini | -0.58 | -15.3% |
| 140th | Paraguay | -0.58 | -34.6% |
| 141st | Togo | -0.59 | 13.1% |
| 142nd | Zambia | -0.61 | 6.5% |
| 143rd | Azerbaijan | -0.61 | 16.8% |
| 144th | Bangladesh | -0.63 | -10.6% |
| 145th | Benin | -0.63 | 18.2% |
| 146th | Pakistan | -0.66 | 7.6% |
| 147th | Côte d'Ivoire | -0.66 | -0.6% |
| 148th | Lao PDR | -0.66 | 24.8% |
| 149th | Philippines | -0.67 | -2.3% |
| 150th | Ukraine | -0.68 | 4.4% |
| 151st | Mauritania | -0.69 | -13.8% |
| 152nd | Gabon | -0.71 | -4.2% |
| 153rd | São Tomé and Principe | -0.73 | -2.9% |
| 154th | Papua New Guinea | -0.75 | -5.9% |
| 155th | Belize | -0.80 | 3.2% |
| 156th | Mexico | -0.81 | -25.8% |
| 157th | Algeria | -0.83 | -4.4% |
| 158th | Sierra Leone | -0.84 | -5.7% |
| 159th | El Salvador | -0.87 | -11.5% |
| 160th | Nigeria | -0.87 | -3.4% |
| 161st | Madagascar | -0.89 | -0.7% |
| 162nd | Russian Federation | -0.89 | -10.1% |
| 163rd | Cambodia | -0.92 | 4.7% |
| 164th | Mali | -0.92 | 3.1% |
| 165th | Uzbekistan | -0.92 | 17.6% |
| 166th | Liberia | -0.94 | 8.9% |
| 167th | Iran, Islamic Republic of | -0.97 | -9.0% |
| 168th | Angola | -0.98 | -3.4% |
| 169th | Timor-Leste | -1.03 | 14.5% |
| 170th | Djibouti | -1.03 | 1.3% |
| 171st | Mozambique | -1.06 | 2.0% |
| 172nd | Honduras | -1.09 | -7.7% |
| 173rd | Lebanon | -1.09 | -20.5% |
| 174th | Kyrgyz Republic | -1.10 | -14.2% |
| 175th | Congo, Republic of | -1.10 | 1.8% |
| 176th | Guatemala | -1.11 | -0.9% |
| 177th | Cameroon | -1.12 | 4.4% |
| 178th | Belarus | -1.12 | -3.3% |
| 179th | Guinea | -1.16 | 11.1% |
| 180th | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | -1.18 | 3.4% |
| 181st | Equatorial Guinea | -1.20 | -3.8% |
| 182nd | Tajikistan | -1.21 | 3.5% |
| 183rd | Sudan | -1.22 | -12.3% |
| 184th | Comoros | -1.26 | 1.5% |
| 185th | Haiti | -1.26 | -22.5% |
| 186th | Zimbabwe | -1.28 | 4.1% |
| 187th | Burundi | -1.31 | 2.1% |
| 188th | Chad | -1.34 | -0.8% |
| 189th | Nicaragua | -1.37 | -14.0% |
| 190th | Turkmenistan | -1.46 | -4.2% |
| 191st | Guinea-Bissau | -1.46 | -4.4% |
| 192nd | Myanmar | -1.47 | -22.8% |
| 193rd | Eritrea | -1.58 | -6.3% |
| 194th | Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of | -1.64 | -1.7% |
| 195th | Central African Republic | -1.69 | 3.7% |
| 196th | Congo, Democratic Republic of | -1.72 | 5.5% |
| 197th | Iraq | -1.75 | 2.8% |
| 198th | Libya | -1.80 | 4.2% |
| 199th | Yemen, Republic of | -1.80 | -1.8% |
| 200th | Afghanistan | -1.88 | -2.5% |
| 201st | South Sudan | -2.07 | -5.0% |
| 202nd | Syrian Arab Republic | -2.08 | 0.3% |
| 203rd | Somalia, Fed. Rep. | -2.28 | 1.3% |
FAQ
What was New Zealand's rule of law in 2021?▾
New Zealand's rule of law in 2021 was 1.78. This ranked 5th globally.
How did New Zealand's rule of law change in 2021?▾
New Zealand's rule of law decreased by 3.1% in 2021 compared to 2020.
Which country had the highest rule of law in 2021?▾
Finland had the highest rule of law in 2021 at 2.01.
What is the rule of law of New Zealand in 2021?▾
The rule of law of New Zealand in 2021 was 1.78. This ranked 5th globally.
How does 2021 compare to 2020 for New Zealand's rule of law?▾
New Zealand's rule of law went from 1.84 in 2020 to 1.78 in 2021, a 3.1% decrease.
Related
2020
2022
All years
Full ranking 2021
Political Stability
Government Effectiveness
Regulatory Quality
Control of Corruption
Voice and Accountability
Peak: 2014
Lowest: 2025
Rule of Law 1990s
Rule of Law 2000s
Rule of Law 2010s
Rule of Law 2020s
Highest ever
Lowest ever
Average
vs Andorra
vs Malta
vs France
vs United Arab Emirates
OECD Rule of Law
Global Ranking