The Rule of Law Index 2025

The World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index® 2025 is the latest report in an annual series measuring people’s perceptions and experiences of the rule of law around the world. The Index is the world’s leading source for original, independent data on the rule of law, and it is WJP’s hope that this diagnostic tool will help identify strengths and weaknesses, encourage policy choices, guide program development, and inform research to strengthen the rule of law.

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Correlation Between the Rule of Law Index and CPI scores in 2024

The 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) shows that corruption is a dangerous problem in every part of the world, but change for the better is happening in many countries.

Research also reveals that corruption is a major threat to climate action. It hinders progress in reducing emissions and adapting to the unavoidable effects of global heating.

The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories worldwide by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The results are given on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

While 32 countries have significantly reduced their corruption levels since 2012, there’s still a huge amount of work to be done – 148 countries have stayed stagnant or gotten worse during the same period. The global average of 43 has also stood still for years, while over two-thirds of countries score below 50. Billions of people live in countries where corruption destroys lives and undermines human rights.

The overall scores of the WJP Rule of Law Index® 2024 range from 0 to 1, where 1 signifies the highest possible score (strong adherence to rule of law) and 0 signifies the lowest possible score (weak adherence to rule of law).

There is a strong, positive correlation between the Rule of Law (RoL) Index and the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) score. Generally, countries with stronger rule of law—characterized by an independent judiciary, limited government powers, and adherence to legal principles—score higher (better) on the CPI. Conversely, a decline in the rule of law directly correlates with increased perceptions of corruption.