Afghanistan Ranks 142nd in 2026 Rule of Law Index, Scoring Lowest on Fundamental Rights

Afghanistan Ranks 142nd in 2026 Rule of Law Index, Scoring Lowest on Fundamental Rights
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Afghanistan ranked 142nd out of 143 countries and jurisdictions in the World Justice Project’s (WJP) 2026 Rule of Law Index, with an overall score of 0.31.

The country placed last among the six South Asian countries assessed and 15th among 15 low-income countries, remaining ahead of only Venezuela globally. Its overall score was unchanged from the previous year.

The country’s weakest performance was in fundamental rights, where it scored 0.23 and ranked 140th globally. Its criminal justice score was 0.24 (135th), followed by absence of corruption at 0.29 (131st), civil justice at 0.31 (138th), and open government at 0.32 (131st). Afghanistan scored 0.34 for constraints on government powers (125th), 0.35 for regulatory enforcement (137th), and 0.37 for order and security (140th).

The index evaluates eight areas: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice. Its 2026 edition covers 143 countries and jurisdictions, representing 95 percent of the world’s population, and draws on more than 215,000 household surveys and 3,400 surveys of legal practitioners and experts.

Globally, the rule of law declined for the ninth consecutive year, with 62 percent of countries recording deterioration and 38 percent showing improvement. The WJP identified restrictions on civic space, weakening checks and balances, and government interference in justice systems as major drivers. Freedom of expression declined in 64 percent of countries, freedom of assembly and association in 67 percent, and civic participation in 65 percent.

Denmark, Norway and Finland led the global rankings, while Venezuela, Afghanistan and Haiti occupied the bottom three positions.