Bangladesh has made a slight improvement in its overall rule of law score but continues to rank below several African countries, including Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nigeria, according to the Rule of Law Index 2026 released on Wednesday.
Bangladesh ranked 123rd among 143 countries and jurisdictions in the World Justice Project (WJP) index, behind Zimbabwe (122nd), Nigeria (120th), Sierra Leone (110th), Liberia (103rd), Kenya (100th) and Ghana (62nd).
Its score increased by 0.6% to 0.393 out of 1, up from 0.391 in 2025, making Bangladesh the world's 15th-biggest improver and South Asia's top gainer. Its ranking improved by two places from 125th, although its score remained below the global average of 0.55.
The index assesses countries across eight factors: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice.
Bangladesh improved in only three factors — constraints on government powers, absence of corruption and regulatory enforcement — while its performance declined in the other five.
Fundamental rights remained the country's weakest area, with Bangladesh ranking 133rd and scoring 0.30, placing it among the 11 lowest-ranked countries.
The indicator assesses the protection of fundamental human rights under international law. Civil justice was the second-weakest area, with Bangladesh ranking 132nd and scoring 0.36. The indicator measures access to and the effectiveness of the civil justice system in resolving grievances.
Bangladesh ranked 124th in regulatory enforcement, with a score of 0.40, and 117th in criminal justice, scoring 0.32. In the absence of corruption category, which measures bribery, improper influence and the misappropriation of public resources, it ranked 113th with a score of 0.35.
The country ranked 111th in constraints on government powers, which measures accountability under the law, with a score of 0.38.
Open government was Bangladesh's highest-ranked factor at 106th, with a score of 0.41. It assesses government transparency, accountability mechanisms and public participation in policy deliberations.
Bangladesh ranked 107th in order and security, scoring 0.63. The factor measures how effectively a society protects individuals and property.
Rule of law weakens over five years
Despite the annual improvement, Bangladesh's overall rule of law score declined by 0.8% between 2021 and 2026, falling from 0.40 to around 0.39, according to the WJP's country profile.
Six of the index's eight factors deteriorated over the five-year period. Civil justice recorded the sharpest decline at 4.2%, followed by open government at 2.8%, fundamental rights at 1.5%, regulatory enforcement at 0.9%, criminal justice at 0.7% and absence of corruption at 0.2%.
Constraints on government powers and order and security improved by 2.3% and 0.6%, respectively.
Human rights activist and Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua attributed the deterioration partly to the worsening law and order situation.
"We had expected that an 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 law and order situation," he said.
"However, the elected government has been trying to bring the entire situation under control at once, 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.
Bangladesh ranks third-lowest in South Asia
Nepal remained South Asia's top performer, ranking 71st globally with a score of 0.52, followed by Sri Lanka at 74th and India at 88th. Bangladesh ranked ahead of only Pakistan (131st) and Afghanistan (142nd) in the region.
Denmark topped the 2026 index, followed by Norway, Finland, Sweden and Luxembourg. Venezuela ranked last, preceded by Afghanistan, Haiti, Cambodia and Nicaragua.
The index drew on data from more than 215,000 households and 3,400 surveys of legal practitioners and experts across 143 countries and jurisdictions. The data were collected between February and August 2026.
The WJP highlighted the links between the rule of law and economic prosperity. Countries with GDP per capita above the global average of $14,406 scored at least 0.68 on the index, while those with inflation below the global median of 3.23% scored at least 0.60. The findings indicate an association between the rule of law, price stability and economic performance.
