Cyprus ranks 31st in world rule of law index

Cyprus was ranked 31st out of 142 countries in the World Justice Project (WJP)’s annual rule of law index.

The island received a score of 0.67 out of a maximum score of one, seeing it also rank 23rd out of 31 countries in the ‘region’ of the European Union members past and present, European Free Trade Area members, and North America.

The global ranking of 31st sees Cyprus unmoved since last year, though the island’s overall score has decreased by 0.01.

The scores given to each country are based on eight factors: constraints on government powers, the absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.

Cyprus’ scores across the eight factors were largely consistent, though the country’s score of 0.60 for open government and 0.62 for civil justice were notable lows, while the scores of 0.72 for fundamental rights and 0.80 for order and security were notable highs.

In fact, Cyprus’ score for fundamental rights was the only factor in which it ranked in the top 30 globally, with the island ranked 29th.

This score was bolstered by two sub-factors in which Cyprus scored particularly highly, namely a score of 0.82 and a global rank of 14th for freedom of belief and religion being effectively guaranteed and a score of 0.81 and a global rank of 25th for freedom from arbitrary interference with privacy being effectively guaranteed.

At the other end of the scale, in the factor concerning open government, Cyprus received a score of just 0.55 and a global rank of 48th for citizens’ right to information, an equally low global rank of 48th alongside a score of 0.61 for civic participation, and a global rank of 50th and a score of 0.63 for complaint mechanisms.

Cyprus’ lowest ranking sub-factor overall was found in civil justice, where the island received a score of just 0.31 for civil justice not being subject to delay. This saw the country rank 105th globally.

Outside of Cyprus, Denmark received the highest score overall, at 0.90, while Norway, Finland, and Sweden completed the top four with scores of 0.89, 0.87, and 0.86 respectively.

The United Kingdom ranked in 15th place with a score of 0.78, Greece ranked in 47th place with a score of 0.60, and Turkey ranked in 117th place with a score of 0.42.

The lowest ranking country was Venezuela, receiving a score of 0.26, while Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Haiti rounded off the bottom four with scores of 0.31, 0.32, and 0.33 respectively.

The WJP pointed out that 81 countries saw their overall score fall in 2024 compared to last year, while limits on government power eroded in 59 per cent of countries worldwide.

They also noted that over 5.4 billion people – 63 per cent of the world’s population – live in countries where human rights have declined over the last year.

The bad news is possibly not terminal, however, with the WJP drawing attention to the fact that while the “global rule of law recession” – a decline in the rule of law worldwide seen in recent years – is continuing, it is slowing down.

2016 was the last year in which more countries saw their overall score increase than decline, with the number of countries in decline rising to a peak of 74 per cent in 2021. This year’s figure of 81 countries seeing their rule of law situation decline corresponds to 57 per cent of countries – a marked decrease since then.