New Zealand - Rule of Law 2025
1.63
−0.08 from 2024
New Zealand's rule of law was 1.63 in 2025. This was the 12th highest globally.
Global Ranking - 2025▾
| Rank | Country | Value | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Denmark | 1.97 | 3.0% |
| 2nd | Finland | 1.93 | -1.7% |
| 3rd | Luxembourg | 1.77 | 0.8% |
| 4th | Liechtenstein | 1.76 | 2.8% |
| 5th | Ireland | 1.75 | 7.0% |
| 6th | Norway | 1.72 | -6.1% |
| 7th | Singapore | 1.71 | -2.2% |
| 8th | Iceland | 1.70 | -1.3% |
| 9th | Switzerland | 1.69 | -3.9% |
| 10th | Greenland | 1.67 | -0.9% |
| 11th | Austria | 1.65 | -5.6% |
| 12th | New Zealand | 1.63 | -4.7% |
| 13th | San Marino | 1.63 | 10.1% |
| 14th | Netherlands | 1.59 | -2.9% |
| 15th | Japan | 1.59 | 3.3% |
| 16th | Estonia | 1.55 | 8.5% |
| 17th | Germany | 1.53 | -1.2% |
| 18th | Sweden | 1.53 | -4.7% |
| 19th | Andorra | 1.47 | -0.6% |
| 20th | Monaco | 1.47 | -0.7% |
| 21st | Australia | 1.42 | -7.0% |
| 22nd | Canada | 1.37 | -6.7% |
| 23rd | Lithuania | 1.34 | 5.5% |
| 24th | United States | 1.31 | -1.7% |
| 25th | Belgium | 1.30 | 0.0% |
| 26th | Aruba | 1.30 | 2.0% |
| 27th | United Kingdom | 1.29 | -7.7% |
| 28th | Korea | 1.24 | -0.7% |
| 29th | Czechia | 1.21 | 5.6% |
| 30th | American Samoa | 1.19 | -2.0% |
| 31st | Tuvalu | 1.18 | 16.6% |
| 32nd | Hong Kong SAR, China | 1.09 | -15.5% |
| 33rd | Brunei Darussalam | 1.09 | 22.5% |
| 34th | Micronesia, Federated States of | 1.08 | 66.9% |
| 35th | Portugal | 1.06 | -0.6% |
| 36th | France | 1.06 | -10.4% |
| 37th | Palau | 1.04 | 11.6% |
| 38th | Qatar | 1.04 | 11.8% |
| 39th | Latvia | 1.01 | -2.8% |
| 40th | Slovenia | 0.96 | -7.3% |
| 41st | Guam | 0.92 | -2.6% |
| 42nd | Virgin Islands (US) | 0.91 | -4.0% |
| 43rd | United Arab Emirates | 0.88 | 0.2% |
| 44th | Marshall Islands | 0.87 | 29.1% |
| 45th | Grenada | 0.86 | 41.9% |
| 46th | Mauritius | 0.86 | 6.6% |
| 47th | Uruguay | 0.83 | 15.2% |
| 48th | Samoa | 0.75 | -17.1% |
| 49th | Israel | 0.74 | -5.9% |
| 50th | Bhutan | 0.73 | 8.9% |
| 51st | Macao SAR, China | 0.72 | -7.7% |
| 52nd | Cayman Islands | 0.72 | -0.6% |
| 53rd | Spain | 0.70 | -14.4% |
| 54th | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 0.68 | 19.1% |
| 55th | Slovak Republic | 0.68 | 12.8% |
| 56th | St. Lucia | 0.64 | 5.3% |
| 57th | Bermuda | 0.63 | -7.7% |
| 58th | Dominica | 0.61 | -1.7% |
| 59th | Malta | 0.61 | -13.0% |
| 60th | Malaysia | 0.61 | 5.9% |
| 61st | Tonga | 0.59 | 8.3% |
| 62nd | Seychelles | 0.57 | 32.5% |
| 63rd | Oman | 0.55 | -9.7% |
| 64th | Cyprus | 0.55 | -13.1% |
| 65th | St. Kitts and Nevis | 0.51 | 7.0% |
| 66th | Saudi Arabia | 0.50 | 20.5% |
| 67th | Namibia | 0.48 | 7.3% |
| 68th | Chile | 0.48 | -23.9% |
| 69th | Puerto Rico (US) | 0.47 | -4.6% |
| 70th | Poland | 0.46 | 0.5% |
| 71st | Bahrain | 0.45 | -3.9% |
| 72nd | Kiribati | 0.45 | -23.8% |
| 73rd | Barbados | 0.45 | 7.5% |
| 74th | Romania | 0.43 | -1.1% |
| 75th | Botswana | 0.42 | 7.7% |
| 76th | Italy | 0.41 | 5.5% |
| 77th | Hungary | 0.38 | -10.2% |
| 78th | Croatia | 0.38 | 5.4% |
| 79th | Kuwait | 0.38 | 10.9% |
| 80th | Antigua and Barbuda | 0.37 | -1.2% |
| 81st | Cabo Verde | 0.35 | -12.4% |
| 82nd | Greece | 0.32 | 50.0% |
| 83rd | Costa Rica | 0.32 | -18.3% |
| 84th | Jordan | 0.31 | 19.5% |
| 85th | India | 0.29 | 52.4% |
| 86th | South Africa | 0.29 | 231.1% |
| 87th | Rwanda | 0.28 | 34.2% |
| 88th | Fiji | 0.27 | -12.4% |
| 89th | Bahamas, The | 0.24 | 35.3% |
| 90th | Vanuatu | 0.24 | 68.8% |
| 91st | Thailand | 0.23 | -7.1% |
| 92nd | Maldives | 0.20 | 357.4% |
| 93rd | China | 0.11 | 384.3% |
| 94th | Georgia | 0.11 | -35.6% |
| 95th | Nauru | 0.06 | 400.4% |
| 96th | Dominican Republic | 0.02 | 114.4% |
| 97th | Albania | 0.01 | 107.2% |
| 98th | Moldova | -0.02 | 88.1% |
| 99th | Jamaica | -0.02 | 87.9% |
| 100th | Indonesia | -0.04 | 76.9% |
| 101st | Bulgaria | -0.04 | -445.4% |
| 102nd | North Macedonia | -0.04 | 75.5% |
| 103rd | Serbia | -0.06 | 26.0% |
| 104th | Malawi | -0.08 | 50.0% |
| 105th | Suriname | -0.09 | -41.3% |
| 106th | Armenia | -0.12 | 4.9% |
| 107th | Montenegro | -0.12 | -189.6% |
| 108th | Morocco | -0.12 | 3.7% |
| 109th | Egypt, Arab Republic of | -0.13 | 27.8% |
| 110th | Mongolia | -0.14 | 25.0% |
| 111th | Sri Lanka | -0.14 | -59.8% |
| 112th | Viet Nam | -0.15 | -71.9% |
| 113th | Ghana | -0.16 | -60.7% |
| 114th | Kenya | -0.21 | 36.7% |
| 115th | Guyana | -0.26 | 24.1% |
| 116th | Kosovo | -0.26 | 15.4% |
| 117th | Tunisia | -0.27 | -97.1% |
| 118th | Trinidad and Tobago | -0.28 | 1.2% |
| 119th | Tanzania | -0.30 | 20.4% |
| 120th | El Salvador | -0.31 | 15.3% |
| 121st | Senegal | -0.32 | -17.4% |
| 122nd | Brazil | -0.34 | -11.0% |
| 123rd | Côte d'Ivoire | -0.38 | 17.6% |
| 124th | Philippines | -0.39 | 7.4% |
| 125th | Nepal | -0.39 | 14.8% |
| 126th | Bosnia and Herzegovina | -0.40 | -13.1% |
| 127th | Gambia, The | -0.41 | -8.6% |
| 128th | Solomon Islands | -0.41 | -55.0% |
| 129th | Benin | -0.43 | 15.0% |
| 130th | Kazakhstan | -0.43 | 2.9% |
| 131st | Papua New Guinea | -0.44 | 18.9% |
| 132nd | Argentina | -0.44 | -7.6% |
| 133rd | Panama | -0.44 | -28.2% |
| 134th | Colombia | -0.48 | -3.9% |
| 135th | Togo | -0.49 | 7.9% |
| 136th | Bangladesh | -0.49 | 2.6% |
| 137th | Lesotho | -0.50 | -3.4% |
| 138th | Uganda | -0.50 | -4.6% |
| 139th | Zambia | -0.55 | -3.4% |
| 140th | Belize | -0.55 | 13.6% |
| 141st | Azerbaijan | -0.55 | 2.7% |
| 142nd | Cuba | -0.55 | -22.0% |
| 143rd | Türkiye | -0.58 | -13.8% |
| 144th | Peru | -0.59 | -9.2% |
| 145th | Paraguay | -0.63 | -7.6% |
| 146th | Niger | -0.65 | 8.8% |
| 147th | Timor-Leste | -0.65 | 22.1% |
| 148th | Uzbekistan | -0.66 | 21.3% |
| 149th | São Tomé and Principe | -0.66 | 4.5% |
| 150th | Algeria | -0.67 | 1.4% |
| 151st | Mauritania | -0.68 | -6.2% |
| 152nd | Lao PDR | -0.69 | 17.1% |
| 153rd | Eswatini | -0.71 | -19.3% |
| 154th | West Bank and Gaza | -0.72 | -5.6% |
| 155th | Cambodia | -0.76 | 7.6% |
| 156th | Burkina Faso | -0.83 | -11.8% |
| 157th | Pakistan | -0.84 | 2.4% |
| 158th | Sierra Leone | -0.86 | -3.0% |
| 159th | Nigeria | -0.88 | 1.0% |
| 160th | Gabon | -0.92 | -5.3% |
| 161st | Madagascar | -0.94 | 3.8% |
| 162nd | Liberia | -0.96 | 6.9% |
| 163rd | Cameroon | -0.97 | 6.9% |
| 164th | Mexico | -0.97 | -19.9% |
| 165th | Ecuador | -0.97 | -1.0% |
| 166th | Ukraine | -0.99 | -10.9% |
| 167th | Mozambique | -0.99 | 3.2% |
| 168th | Guinea | -1.00 | 10.1% |
| 169th | Congo, Republic of | -1.00 | 1.6% |
| 170th | Mali | -1.04 | -6.6% |
| 171st | Guatemala | -1.09 | -1.7% |
| 172nd | Honduras | -1.10 | -0.1% |
| 173rd | Angola | -1.10 | -0.5% |
| 174th | Burundi | -1.14 | 8.9% |
| 175th | Djibouti | -1.22 | -8.1% |
| 176th | Zimbabwe | -1.22 | 4.3% |
| 177th | Iran, Islamic Republic of | -1.22 | -15.4% |
| 178th | Tajikistan | -1.27 | 0.6% |
| 179th | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | -1.28 | -4.8% |
| 180th | Kyrgyz Republic | -1.34 | -14.2% |
| 181st | Lebanon | -1.35 | -16.1% |
| 182nd | Nicaragua | -1.38 | -7.8% |
| 183rd | Chad | -1.39 | -2.8% |
| 184th | Equatorial Guinea | -1.42 | -6.2% |
| 185th | Comoros | -1.43 | -6.8% |
| 186th | Russian Federation | -1.46 | -22.8% |
| 187th | Belarus | -1.48 | -17.9% |
| 188th | Guinea-Bissau | -1.54 | -7.2% |
| 189th | Turkmenistan | -1.55 | -4.1% |
| 190th | Congo, Democratic Republic of | -1.56 | 6.3% |
| 191st | Afghanistan | -1.61 | 2.4% |
| 192nd | Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of | -1.65 | -0.4% |
| 193rd | Haiti | -1.65 | -21.2% |
| 194th | Iraq | -1.67 | 1.4% |
| 195th | Central African Republic | -1.71 | 3.0% |
| 196th | Sudan | -1.75 | -4.7% |
| 197th | Libya | -1.78 | -0.4% |
| 198th | Eritrea | -1.87 | -5.9% |
| 199th | Yemen, Republic of | -1.88 | -2.4% |
| 200th | Myanmar | -1.94 | -20.0% |
| 201st | Syrian Arab Republic | -2.02 | 0.6% |
| 202nd | Somalia, Fed. Rep. | -2.15 | 2.8% |
| 203rd | South Sudan | -2.19 | -2.2% |
FAQ
What was New Zealand's rule of law in 2025?▾
New Zealand's rule of law in 2025 was 1.63. This ranked 12th globally.
How did New Zealand's rule of law change in 2025?▾
New Zealand's rule of law decreased by 4.7% in 2025 compared to 2024.
Which country had the highest rule of law in 2025?▾
Denmark had the highest rule of law in 2025 at 1.97.
What is the rule of law of New Zealand in 2025?▾
The rule of law of New Zealand in 2025 was 1.63. This ranked 12th globally.
Related
All years
Full ranking 2025
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