Bangladesh has a weaker rule of law than several low and lower-middle-income African economies, including Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Kenya and Ghana, despite making a slight progress this year, according to the Rule of Law Index 2026 released today (21 October).
Bangladesh ranked 123rd among 143 countries and jurisdictions in the latest annual index published by the World Justice Project (WJP), placing it below Zimbabwe, which ranked 122nd, Nigeria at 120th, Sierra Leone at 110th, Liberia at 103rd, Kenya at 100th and Ghana at 62nd.
However, Bangladesh is among the minority of countries to see its Rule of Law Index score increase this year, the WJP reported.
The country overall rule of law score edged up to 0.393 out of 1 in this year's index from 0.391 last year – a 0.6% improvement that made it the 15th-biggest improver globally and the top gainer in South Asia.
Even through, Bangladesh scored well below the global average score of 0.55 the country advanced two notches to rank 123rd this year from 125th in the 2025 index.
Scores range from 0 to 1, where 1 signifies the highest possible score (strong adherence to the rule of law) and 0 signifies the lowest possible score (weak adherence to the rule of law).
Each country's score is an average of eight factors: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.
Compared to last year, Bangladesh showed improvement in only three areas – constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, and regulatory enforcement. Its performance declined in the rest of the areas - open government, fundamental rights, order and security, civil justice, and criminal justice.
In the 2026 index, Bangladesh's weakest performance was in fundamental rights, where it ranked 133rd globally with a score of 0.30, placing it among the 11 lowest-ranked countries. This factor evaluates the protection of fundamental human rights as established under international law
Civil justice was the second-weakest area, with Bangladesh ranking 132nd and scoring 0.36. This factor measures whether people can resolve their grievances through the civil justice system.
In regulatory enforcement, Bangladesh ranked 124th with a score of 0.40, reflecting the fairness and effectiveness of regulatory implementation.
The country ranked 117th in criminal justice, scoring 0.32, which reflects the functioning of the criminal justice system.
In the absence of corruption category, which assesses bribery, improper influence and the misappropriation of public resources, Bangladesh ranked 113th with a score of 0.35.
In constraints on government powers, which evaluates the extent to which those who govern are held accountable under the law, Bangladesh ranked 111th with a score of 0.38.
Bangladesh's highest ranking among the eight factors was in open government, where it placed 106th with a score of 0.41. This factor measures government transparency, accountability mechanisms and citizen participation in public policy deliberations.
The country also performed relatively well in order and security, ranking 107th with a score of 0.63. This factor assesses how effectively a society ensures the security of individuals and property.
Rule of law has weakened over the past five years
Bangladesh's rule of law has weakened over the past five years, despite a slight improvement in the latest annual index.
Its overall score fell 0.8% between 2021 and 2026, slipping to 0.39 out of 1 from 0.40, according to the country profile in the WJP Rule of Law Index 2026.
The decline reflects a deterioration in six of the index's eight factors, with civil justice suffering the sharpest decline of 4.2%. Open government followed with a 2.8% drop, while fundamental rights fell 1.5%. Regulatory enforcement, criminal justice and absence of corruption also recorded declines of 0.9%, 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively.
Constraints on government powers, and order and security were the only two factors to improve, rising 2.3% and 0.6%, respectively.
Regarding declining rule of law score Human rights activist and Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua said "I think the main reason is the deterioration in the law and order situation. During the interim government's tenure, we had expected that the elected government would be able to turn things around to some extent, as the interim government had failed to maintain or restore control over the situation."
"However, the elected government has been trying to bring the entire situation under control, and the pressure associated with this has contributed to instability. Law enforcement is also closely linked to the justice system, and our overall performance in these areas has deteriorated." he added
"This is reflected in the rankings, as international organisations monitoring these issues cannot conceal such developments in the current era." he further added.
Bangladesh only ahead of Pakistan, Afghanistan in South Asia
This year, Nepal once again emerged as South Asia's top performer, ranking 71st globally with an overall score of 0.52. It was followed by Sri Lanka (74th) and India (88th).
The three lowest-ranked countries in the region were Bangladesh (123rd), Pakistan (131st) and Afghanistan (142nd).
Globally, the top-ranked country in the 2026 index was Denmark, followed by Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Luxembourg.
The country with the lowest score was Venezuela, followed by Afghanistan, Haiti, Cambodia, and Nicaragua.
The 2026 index drew on the experiences of more than 2,15,000 households and 3,400 surveys from legal practitioners and experts in 143 countries and jurisdictions.
This data was collected from February 2026 through August 2026.
The index also highlighted a link between stronger rule of law and economic prosperity. Countries with GDP per capita above the global average of $14,406 recorded scores of 0.68 or higher.
Countries with inflation below the global median of 3.23% scored at least 0.60, highlighting the association between stronger rule of law, price stability and economic performance.