LAHORE: Pakistan has been placed 96th among 99 countries in the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2014. That puts it near the bottom of a global survey of how the rule of law is experienced in everyday life.
The index, published by the Washington-based World Justice Project, draws on more than 100,000 household surveys and 2,400 expert surveys. It assesses countries using 47 indicators across eight themes: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice.
According to the latest data from the World Justice Project (WJP), Pakistan ranks 130th out of 143 countries in the WJP Rule of Law Index 2025, and 5th out of six in South Asia. Its overall score fell by 2.3 percent from the previous year.
In 2014, Pakistan was placed 96th out of 99 countries. The index has since expanded to cover significantly more countries, so the two ranks cannot be compared directly. But Pakistan’s relative position has remained near the bottom of both the global and the regional tables.
This year’s edition expanded its coverage to 99 countries and jurisdictions, accounting for more than 90 percent of the world’s population. It included Afghanistan and Myanmar for the first time.
The report also found a significant decline in criminal justice worldwide. Twenty countries recorded a significant drop in their criminal justice scores compared with last year, while none of the 99 countries showed significant improvement. The 2014 index is the fourth report in the WJP’s annual series. It is widely used by governments, international organisations and researchers to identify gaps in the rule of law.