Ethiopia among lowest performers in Rule of Law Index

According to the WJP Rule of Law Index, released by the World Justice Project (WJP), Ethiopia places 16th from 18 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa Region and 10th out of 12 low income countries. The Index puts Ethiopia’s world raking at 107 from 113 countries.
Countries measured in the Sub-Saharan Africa region are Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Countries that are measured as low-income countries are Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe
The Index measures adherence to the rule of law in 113 countries worldwide based on more than 110,000 households and 3,000 expert surveys. Featuring primary data, the WJP Rule of Law Index measures countries’ rule of law performance across eight factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice; Ethiopia’s ranking in all eight factors is low.
The top three overall performers in the 2017-2018 WJP Rule of Law Index were Denmark, Norway, and Finland consecutively; the bottom three were Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Venezuela, consecutively.
Findings of the report shows that majority of countries worldwide saw their scores decline since the publication of the last WJP Rule of Law Index in October 2016 in the areas of human rights, checks on government powers, and civil and criminal justice.
Regionally, Sub-Saharan Africa’s top performer is Ghana, supplanting South Africa from 2016 and taking 43rd place globally. Burkina Faso and Kenya saw the biggest improvement in rank among the 18 countries indexed in the region, climbing 9 and 5 spots respectively in the global rankings.
Madagascar experienced the biggest decline in rank, dropping eight spots. Overall, the region showed the most improvements in Absence of Corruption, with four countries experiencing upward trends in this category and none showing downward trends.
“Effective rule of law is the foundation for communities of equity, opportunity, and peace. No country has achieved a perfect realization of the rule of law. The WJP Rule of Law Index is intended to be a first step in setting benchmarks, informing reforms, stimulating programs, and deepening appreciation and understanding for the foundational importance of the rule of law,” according to William H. Neukom, WJP founder and CEO.