Malta ranks 30th in global rule of law index

Malta has ranked 30th in a rule of law ranking by the World Justice Project (WJP), its first ever entry into the 139-nation ranking.

Malta’s score placed it at 23 out of 31 countries in the European Union, European Free Trade Association, and North America regions, and 30 out of 46 among high-income countries, surpassing neighbour Italy.

Regionally, Denmark led the European and North America rankings, first globally, followed by Norway and Finland. Greece, Bulgaria, and Hungary were at the lower end of the regional rank.

However, 17 out of 24 countries within the region declined in the last year, of which 11 had also declined in the previous year.

Malta scored the highest index ranking in order and security, and lowest in civil justice, regulatory enforcement, and constraints on government powers.

WJP Rule of Law Index 2021 performance (1 is best)
FACTOR	GLOBAL RANK	REGIONAL RANK*	INCOME RANK**
Constraints on Government Powers	37/139	26/31	33/46
Absence of Corruption	30/139	20/31	29/46
Open Government	31/139	23/31	30/46
Fundamental Rights	26/139	20/31	25/46
Order and Security	7/139	5/31	7/46
Regulatory Enforcement	44/139	26/31	39/46
Civil Justice	45/139	25/31	38/46
Criminal Justice	27/139	20/31	27/46
Malta overall rank 30/139, regional rank 23/31*
*Countries and jurisdictions measured in the European Union, European Free Trade Association, and North America region: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States

The WJP Rule of Law Index evaluates rule of law in 139 countries or jurisdictions and is based on national surveys of more than 138,000 households and 4,200 legal practitioners and experts around the world.

It defines the rule of law as a durable system of laws, institutions, norms, and community commitment that delivers: accountability, just laws, open government, and accessible justice.

Rule of Law Around the World

The 2021 Index shows that globally more countries declined than improved in overall rule of law performance for the fourth consecutive year.

In a year dominated by the global COVID-19 pandemic, 74.2% of countries covered experienced declines in rule of law performance, while 25.8% improved. The 74.2% of countries that experienced declines this year account for 84.7% of the world’s population, or approximately 6.5 billion people.

The declines were widespread and seen in all corners of the world. For the second year in a row, in every region, a majority of countries slipped backward or remained unchanged in their overall rule of law performance.

Use slider to see differences between 2020 and 2021

 Over the past year, 82% of countries in the Index experienced a decline in at least one dimension of civic space (civic participation, freedom of opinion and expression, and freedom of assembly and association) and 94% of countries in the Index experienced increased delays in administrative, civil, or criminal proceedings.

The top three performers this year were Denmark, Norway, and Finland. Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia, and Venezuela, RB had the lowest overall rule of law scores.

The countries with the biggest improvement in rule of law in the past year were Uzbekistan (4.1%), Moldova (3.2%), and Mongolia (2.0%). The countries with the biggest decline in rule of law in the past year were Belarus (-7.5%) and Myanmar (-6.3%). Nigeria, Nicaragua, Kyrgyz Republic, and Argentina tie for the third biggest decline (-3.7%).