Zambia Falls Steeply on Global Rule of Law Ranking
Zambia has slipped further on the global rule of law ladder. In the 2026 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, released this week, the country’s overall score fell to 0.44, placing it 108th out of 143 countries, down from 103rd last year, when it scored 0.45.
The drop in score may look small, but the five-place fall in the rankings tells a more worrying story, and it continues a downward trend that has been building for several years.
Chapter One Foundation, a Zambian civil rights organisation, has warned that Zambia is among the countries that have suffered a sustained five-year decline in at least one of the three key safeguards against authoritarian rule, namely constraints on government powers, open government and fundamental rights.
For a government led by Hakainde Hichilema, who came to power in 2021 promising to restore constitutionalism and respect for civil liberties, these findings should serve as a serious warning that the promise of 2021 is slipping away.
By Hopewell Chin’ono
https://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index/country/2026/Zambia/