Democracy index

Rule of law and equality before the law

The V-Dem equality before the law and individual liberty index measures whether laws are applied fairly and predictably, whether courts are independent, and whether people have access to justice and equal protection. Here is how 179 countries score in 2025, and how that has changed since 2015.

Data: V-Dem v16, scores for 2025 · Page updated 27 October 2026

Highest score0.99Germany

Lowest score0.01North Korea

World average0.64across 179 countries

Declined since 201592countries, against 35 that improved

Key findings

The highest scores in 2025 are in Germany, Denmark and Switzerland, and the lowest in Eritrea, Afghanistan and North Korea. Democracies average 0.86, against 0.43 for autocracies. Since 2015, 92 countries have lost at least 0.02 points and 35 have gained at least as much.

Top 15 countries, 2025Equality before the law and individual liberty index, 0 to 1

Germany0.99

Denmark0.99

Switzerland0.98

Sweden0.98

Czechia0.98

Luxembourg0.98

Estonia0.98

Finland0.98

Ireland0.97

Latvia0.97

Belgium0.97

Iceland0.97

New Zealand0.97

Norway0.97

Spain0.97

Lowest 15 countries, 2025Equality before the law and individual liberty index, 0 to 1

North Korea0.01

Afghanistan0.02

Eritrea0.03

Nicaragua0.03

Yemen0.09

Myanmar0.09

Turkmenistan0.10

Sudan0.11

Libya0.12

Tajikistan0.13

Palestine (Gaza)0.14

Equatorial Guinea0.17

South Sudan0.17

Chad0.19

Venezuela0.19

Biggest changes since 2015

The largest declines were in Nicaragua, Belarus and Afghanistan. The largest gains were in The Gambia, Maldives and Syria.

Largest declines, 2015 to 2025Change in index points

Nicaragua−0.61

Belarus−0.42

Afghanistan−0.36

Myanmar−0.31

El Salvador−0.31

Burkina Faso−0.30

Rwanda−0.30

Uganda−0.26

Venezuela−0.26

Hong Kong−0.24

Largest gains, 2015 to 2025Change in index points

The Gambia+0.57

Maldives+0.33

Syria+0.28

Somalia+0.23

Uzbekistan+0.22

Bangladesh+0.19

Angola+0.16

Honduras+0.15

Malaysia+0.13

Iraq+0.12

Full ranking: equality before the law and individual liberty index 2025


1	Germany Take the test	0.99	±0.00	Liberal democracy	0.78
2	Denmark Take the test	0.99	−0.00	Liberal democracy	0.88
3	Switzerland Take the test	0.98	−0.00	Liberal democracy	0.84
4	Sweden Take the test	0.98	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.85
5	Czechia Take the test	0.98	+0.02	Liberal democracy	0.79
6	Luxembourg Take the test	0.98	+0.00	Liberal democracy	0.78
7	Estonia	0.98	+0.00	Liberal democracy	0.84
8	Finland Take the test	0.98	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.81
9	Ireland Take the test	0.97	+0.01	Liberal democracy	0.82
10	Latvia	0.97	+0.02	Liberal democracy	0.75
11	Belgium Take the test	0.97	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.79
12	Iceland Take the test	0.97	−0.00	Liberal democracy	0.72
13	New Zealand Take the test	0.97	−0.00	Liberal democracy	0.79
14	Norway Take the test	0.97	−0.02	Liberal democracy	0.85
15	Spain Take the test	0.97	+0.00	Liberal democracy	0.74
16	Seychelles	0.97	+0.11	Liberal democracy	0.68
17	Costa Rica Take the test	0.96	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.81
18	Taiwan	0.96	+0.01	Liberal democracy	0.70
19	Japan Take the test	0.96	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.73
20	Australia Take the test	0.96	−0.02	Liberal democracy	0.79
21	Netherlands Take the test	0.95	−0.02	Liberal democracy	0.77
22	Italy Take the test	0.94	+0.00	Liberal democracy	0.64
23	South Korea Take the test	0.94	±0.00	Liberal democracy	0.74
24	Chile Take the test	0.94	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.78
25	Slovenia	0.94	−0.02	Electoral democracy	0.59
26	France Take the test	0.94	−0.03	Liberal democracy	0.80
27	Cyprus	0.94	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.66
28	Austria Take the test	0.93	−0.03	Liberal democracy	0.76
29	Uruguay Take the test	0.93	−0.02	Liberal democracy	0.79
30	Lithuania	0.93	−0.03	Liberal democracy	0.71
31	Malta Take the test	0.93	+0.01	Electoral democracy	0.62
32	Sao Tome and Principe	0.91	−0.01	Electoral democracy	0.52
33	Barbados	0.91	−0.01	Liberal democracy	0.68
34	Canada Take the test	0.91	−0.06	Electoral democracy	0.74
35	Croatia	0.91	−0.02	Electoral democracy	0.59
36	Greece Take the test	0.91	−0.05	Electoral democracy	0.57
37	Albania	0.90	−0.01	Electoral autocracy	0.38
38	Singapore	0.90	−0.00	Electoral autocracy	0.36
39	Namibia	0.90	+0.03	Electoral democracy	0.52
40	The Gambia	0.90	+0.57	Electoral democracy	0.52
41	Poland Take the test	0.90	−0.06	Electoral democracy	0.65
42	Vanuatu	0.89	+0.02	Electoral democracy	0.62
43	Ghana	0.89	+0.02	Electoral democracy	0.61
44	Trinidad and Tobago	0.89	−0.03	Liberal democracy	0.67
45	Montenegro	0.88	−0.02	Electoral democracy	0.50
46	Suriname	0.88	+0.04	Electoral democracy	0.63
47	Cape Verde	0.88	−0.02	Electoral democracy	0.63
48	Jamaica	0.87	±0.00	Electoral democracy	0.68
49	Benin	0.87	−0.01	Electoral autocracy	0.32
50	Slovakia	0.87	−0.07	Electoral democracy	0.57
51	Botswana	0.87	−0.04	Electoral democracy	0.52
52	Mauritius	0.86	−0.02	Electoral democracy	0.64
53	Gabon	0.86	+0.00	Electoral autocracy	0.18
54	Moldova	0.86	+0.04	Electoral democracy	0.45
55	South Africa Take the test	0.86	−0.02	Electoral democracy	0.63
56	Brazil Take the test	0.86	+0.01	Electoral democracy	0.70
57	Romania	0.85	−0.06	Electoral democracy	0.46
58	United Kingdom Take the test	0.85	−0.09	Electoral democracy	0.69
59	Hungary	0.84	−0.06	Electoral autocracy	0.32
60	Panama	0.84	−0.06	Electoral democracy	0.57
61	Armenia	0.84	+0.05	Electoral democracy	0.37
62	Lesotho	0.83	+0.11	Electoral democracy	0.51
63	Israel	0.83	−0.07	Electoral democracy	0.59
64	Solomon Islands	0.83	+0.06	Electoral democracy	0.54
65	Malawi	0.83	−0.00	Electoral democracy	0.46
66	Senegal	0.82	−0.05	Electoral democracy	0.48
67	United States Take the test	0.82	−0.14	Electoral democracy	0.57
68	Bulgaria	0.82	−0.04	Electoral democracy	0.50
69	Timor-Leste	0.82	+0.03	Electoral democracy	0.55
70	Portugal Take the test	0.81	−0.16	Electoral democracy	0.72
71	Serbia	0.81	−0.10	Electoral autocracy	0.21
72	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.80	−0.03	Electoral autocracy	0.34
73	Argentina Take the test	0.80	−0.06	Electoral democracy	0.52
74	Jordan	0.79	+0.06	Closed autocracy	0.27
75	Liberia	0.78	+0.02	Electoral democracy	0.42
76	Honduras	0.78	+0.15	Electoral democracy	0.38
77	Sierra Leone	0.77	+0.04	Electoral autocracy	0.35
78	Guyana	0.77	−0.08	Electoral democracy	0.33
79	Bhutan	0.77	−0.04	Electoral democracy	0.46
80	Sri Lanka	0.77	+0.09	Electoral democracy	0.61
81	Fiji	0.77	+0.02	Electoral democracy	0.40
82	Dominican Republic	0.76	+0.01	Electoral democracy	0.51
83	Mongolia	0.76	−0.09	Electoral democracy	0.42
84	Kosovo	0.76	+0.03	Electoral democracy	0.46
85	Peru Take the test	0.76	−0.07	Electoral democracy	0.51
86	Tunisia	0.74	−0.04	Electoral autocracy	0.27
87	North Macedonia	0.74	+0.00	Electoral democracy	0.37
88	Maldives	0.73	+0.33	Electoral democracy	0.42
89	Colombia Take the test	0.72	−0.04	Electoral democracy	0.56
90	Tanzania	0.72	−0.04	Electoral autocracy	0.30
91	Nepal	0.72	−0.05	Electoral democracy	0.51
92	Niger	0.71	−0.11	Closed autocracy	0.18
93	Hong Kong	0.71	−0.24	Closed autocracy	0.14
94	Morocco	0.71	+0.05	Closed autocracy	0.25
95	Papua New Guinea	0.70	+0.02	Electoral autocracy	0.38
96	Malaysia	0.70	+0.13	Electoral democracy	0.35
97	Georgia	0.70	−0.13	Electoral autocracy	0.28
98	Bolivia	0.70	−0.06	Electoral democracy	0.35
99	Kenya	0.69	+0.01	Electoral democracy	0.45
100	Nigeria Take the test	0.68	+0.07	Electoral democracy	0.31
101	Zambia	0.68	−0.08	Electoral autocracy	0.38
102	Paraguay	0.67	−0.11	Electoral democracy	0.38
103	Ivory Coast	0.66	−0.16	Electoral autocracy	0.23
104	Zanzibar	0.66	−0.04	Electoral autocracy	0.25
105	Guatemala	0.61	+0.04	Electoral democracy	0.52
106	Angola	0.61	+0.16	Electoral autocracy	0.16
107	Ecuador Take the test	0.60	−0.22	Electoral democracy	0.39
108	Bangladesh	0.59	+0.19	Closed autocracy	0.12
109	Lebanon	0.58	+0.00	Electoral autocracy	0.27
110	Indonesia	0.58	−0.20	Electoral autocracy	0.30
111	Kyrgyzstan	0.58	−0.06	Electoral autocracy	0.18
112	Somaliland	0.58	−0.12	Electoral autocracy	0.30
113	Kuwait	0.58	−0.05	Closed autocracy	0.13
114	India Take the test	0.58	−0.10	Electoral autocracy	0.26
115	Oman	0.58	−0.03	Closed autocracy	0.14
116	Mali	0.58	−0.14	Closed autocracy	0.15
117	Philippines Take the test	0.56	−0.14	Electoral autocracy	0.29
118	Burkina Faso	0.55	−0.30	Closed autocracy	0.10
119	Ukraine	0.55	−0.02	Electoral autocracy	0.24
120	Kazakhstan	0.54	−0.02	Electoral autocracy	0.13
121	Togo	0.54	−0.07	Electoral autocracy	0.16
122	Mexico Take the test	0.54	−0.07	Electoral autocracy	0.22
123	Cameroon	0.49	−0.11	Electoral autocracy	0.11
124	Haiti	0.49	−0.09	Closed autocracy	0.10
125	Madagascar	0.48	−0.12	Electoral autocracy	0.19
126	United Arab Emirates	0.48	−0.11	Closed autocracy	0.08
127	Algeria	0.48	−0.13	Electoral autocracy	0.13
128	Guinea-Bissau	0.46	−0.17	Closed autocracy	0.10
129	Palestine (West Bank)	0.46	−0.23	Electoral autocracy	0.11
130	Qatar	0.45	−0.10	Closed autocracy	0.09
131	Iraq	0.45	+0.12	Electoral autocracy	0.22
132	Djibouti	0.45	−0.04	Electoral autocracy	0.12
133	Vietnam	0.43	−0.05	Closed autocracy	0.10
134	Zimbabwe	0.43	−0.10	Electoral autocracy	0.15
135	Mozambique	0.41	−0.22	Electoral autocracy	0.17
136	Somalia	0.39	+0.23	Closed autocracy	0.13
137	Uganda	0.37	−0.26	Electoral autocracy	0.17
138	Uzbekistan	0.37	+0.22	Closed autocracy	0.08
139	Thailand	0.36	+0.05	Electoral autocracy	0.31
140	Comoros	0.36	−0.19	Electoral autocracy	0.13
141	Pakistan	0.34	+0.02	Electoral autocracy	0.18
142	Ethiopia	0.34	−0.11	Electoral autocracy	0.10
143	Bahrain	0.34	+0.12	Closed autocracy	0.06
144	El Salvador	0.34	−0.31	Electoral autocracy	0.09
145	Republic of the Congo	0.32	+0.04	Electoral autocracy	0.12
146	Syria	0.32	+0.28	Closed autocracy	0.05
147	Türkiye	0.31	−0.19	Electoral autocracy	0.11
148	Russia	0.30	−0.20	Electoral autocracy	0.06
149	Azerbaijan	0.30	−0.07	Electoral autocracy	0.05
150	Egypt	0.30	+0.05	Electoral autocracy	0.12
151	Iran	0.30	−0.06	Electoral autocracy	0.10
152	Mauritania	0.28	−0.20	Electoral autocracy	0.13
153	Rwanda	0.28	−0.30	Electoral autocracy	0.09
154	Eswatini	0.25	−0.05	Closed autocracy	0.10
155	Burundi	0.24	+0.11	Electoral autocracy	0.06
156	Democratic Republic of the Congo	0.24	−0.01	Electoral autocracy	0.12
157	Central African Republic	0.24	−0.03	Electoral autocracy	0.10
158	Guinea	0.23	−0.20	Closed autocracy	0.10
159	Cuba	0.23	−0.02	Closed autocracy	0.06
160	China	0.23	−0.05	Closed autocracy	0.04
161	Laos	0.22	+0.10	Closed autocracy	0.11
162	Belarus	0.21	−0.42	Closed autocracy	0.04
163	Cambodia	0.20	−0.17	Electoral autocracy	0.05
164	Saudi Arabia	0.20	+0.01	Closed autocracy	0.05
165	Venezuela	0.19	−0.26	Electoral autocracy	0.04
166	Chad	0.19	−0.07	Electoral autocracy	0.06
167	South Sudan	0.17	+0.06	Closed autocracy	0.06
168	Equatorial Guinea	0.17	−0.01	Electoral autocracy	0.05
169	Palestine (Gaza)	0.14	−0.11	Closed autocracy	0.06
170	Tajikistan	0.13	−0.04	Electoral autocracy	0.04
171	Libya	0.12	−0.03	Closed autocracy	0.10
172	Sudan	0.11	+0.02	Closed autocracy	0.03
173	Turkmenistan	0.10	+0.04	Closed autocracy	0.03
174	Myanmar	0.09	−0.31	Closed autocracy	0.01
175	Yemen	0.09	+0.01	Closed autocracy	0.04
176	Nicaragua	0.03	−0.61	Electoral autocracy	0.02
177	Eritrea	0.03	+0.01	Closed autocracy	0.01
178	Afghanistan	0.02	−0.36	Closed autocracy	0.02
179	North Korea	0.01	+0.00	Closed autocracy	0.01

Scores run from 0 to 1. Higher is better. Click a column heading to sort. Countries with a CoreOpinion test link to it.

Frequently asked questions

Which country scores highest on the V-Dem equality before the law and individual liberty index?

Germany, with a score of 0.99 in 2025, followed by Denmark and Switzerland.

What does the equality before the law and individual liberty index measure?

It measures whether laws are applied fairly and predictably, whether courts are independent, and whether people have access to justice and equal protection. Scores run from 0 to 1, and higher is better.

Where does this data come from?

From the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) dataset, version 16, which combines assessments by thousands of country experts. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where do you stand?

See how your own views compare with the parties in your country. CoreOpinion has political tests for 46 countries.

Find your country's test

Source and licence

All scores come from the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Country-Year dataset, version 16, produced by the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg. V-Dem combines the judgements of thousands of country experts into indices that run from 0 to 1, and reports measurement uncertainty for each one. Figures here refer to 2025, with changes measured against 2015. Small differences between countries, of a few hundredths, are often within that uncertainty.

The V-Dem data is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. The rankings and tables on these pages are derived from it and shared under the same licence. See v-dem.net for the full dataset and codebook.