By Ihechi Enyinnaya
Nigeria has ranked 120th out of 143 countries in the 2026 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index, with its overall score declining by less than one per cent, according to a new report released on Wednesday.
The report also placed Nigeria 24th out of 34 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and 20th among 33 lower-middle-income countries, highlighting persistent challenges in the country’s rule of law performance.
Nigeria recorded an overall score of 0.40 in the index, which assesses how the rule of law is experienced and perceived across countries through household surveys and expert assessments.
The report, released by the Washington-based World Justice Project, said the global decline in the rule of law continued in 2026, with deteriorating performance recorded in 62 per cent of the countries assessed.
It warned that authoritarian practices had become entrenched in many countries, citing increasing government interference, weakened institutional safeguards and declining respect for constraints on executive power.
According to the report, more than 86 per cent of countries have experienced a sustained five-year decline in at least one safeguard against authoritarian rule, including constraints on government powers, open government and fundamental rights. Nigeria was among the countries affected.
The report noted that government powers limited by the judiciary had declined in 63 per cent of countries assessed, while civil justice weakened in 64 per cent and criminal justice in 58 per cent.
However, it stated that some indicators relating to civic freedoms performed differently in Nigeria from the broader international trend.
While freedom of opinion and expression declined in 64 per cent of countries, freedom of assembly and association in 67 per cent, and civic participation in 65 per cent, the report did not record declines in these three indicators for Nigeria during the period under review.
Despite this, Nigeria’s overall performance remained weak across several areas measured by the index.
The country’s most concerning result was in order and security, where it ranked 142nd out of 143 countries globally and last among the 34 countries assessed in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Nigeria performed relatively better in criminal justice, ranking 87th globally and 13th regionally. It ranked 94th globally in constraints on government powers, 101st in open government and 103rd in civil justice.
In other categories, Nigeria ranked 111th in fundamental rights, 118th in the absence of corruption and 122nd in regulatory enforcement.
The findings place Nigeria among countries facing significant challenges in ensuring public safety, strengthening accountability and improving the implementation of laws and regulations.
Within Sub-Saharan Africa, Rwanda emerged as the region’s highest-ranked country, placing 40th globally, followed by Namibia and Mauritius.
Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan recorded the region’s lowest scores.
The report further revealed that 23 of the 34 countries assessed in Sub-Saharan Africa experienced declines in their rule of law scores in the past year. Of these, 20 had also recorded declines in the preceding year.
Globally, Denmark retained the top position, followed by Norway, Finland, Sweden and Luxembourg. Venezuela ranked last, preceded by Afghanistan, Haiti, Cambodia and Nicaragua.
The WJP also highlighted a connection between strong rule of law and economic performance, noting that countries with higher gross domestic product per capita, lower inflation and investment-grade sovereign credit ratings tended to achieve stronger index scores.
According to the organisation, countries with GDP per capita above the global average of $14,406 generally recorded rule of law scores of at least 0.68, while countries with inflation below the median rate of 3.23 per cent had scores of 0.60 or higher.
The World Justice Project Rule of Law Index is an annual assessment that measures the rule of law across 143 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 95 per cent of the world’s population.
Its methodology draws on more than 215,000 household surveys and 3,400 surveys of legal practitioners and experts.
The index assesses eight major areas, including constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice.
The organisation said the findings were intended to provide governments, businesses, civil society groups and other stakeholders with evidence to strengthen institutions and advance the rule of law worldwide.