Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan ranked 79th among 143 countries and jurisdictions in the 2026 Rule of Law Index published by the international organisation World Justice Project (WJP), scoring 0.50 on a scale from 0 to 1, where a higher score indicates stronger adherence to the rule of law.
In the overall ranking, Uzbekistan was positioned between Hungary, which placed 78th, and Thailand, which ranked 80th.
Guyana and Vietnam received the same score as Uzbekistan, placing 81st and 82nd, respectively.
WJP classifies Uzbekistan as part of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region and the lower-middle-income country group. Its overall score was below those of Panama and Trinidad and Tobago, which each scored 0.52, as well as Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Brazil, which received 0.51.
At the same time, Uzbekistan ranked ahead of several countries, including India, Ukraine, Tunisia, Morocco and Albania, whose scores ranged from 0.48 to 0.49.
Uzbekistan's strongest result was in the Order and Security factor, where it scored 0.90 and ranked 15th globally.
This factor takes into account crime levels, the presence of civil conflicts and the use of violence to resolve disputes.
However, Uzbekistan ranked considerably lower in several areas related to government accountability and the protection of citizens’ rights. In the Constraints on Government Powers factor, the country scored 0.37, placing 115th.
In the Open Government category, which assesses government transparency, access to information and public participation in decision-making, Uzbekistan scored 0.36 and ranked 120th. This was the country's lowest position across the index's eight factors.
In the Fundamental Rights category, Uzbekistan received 0.43 points, placing 109th. This factor covers respect for fundamental rights and freedoms.
The country scored 0.48 in the Absence of Corruption factor, ranking 65th. In Civil Justice, it received 0.52 points and ranked 73rd, while its score for Criminal Justice was 0.46, placing it 67th.
In the Regulatory Enforcement factor, which measures the implementation and enforcement of regulations, Uzbekistan ranked 90th with a score of 0.46.
The results therefore show a marked gap between Uzbekistan's performance in public security and its scores in areas related to constraints on government powers, government openness and fundamental rights.
The difference between the country's highest and lowest scores was 0.54 points, while its rankings in these two areas differed by 105 places.
The WJP Rule of Law Index assesses countries across eight factors, drawing on surveys of residents, legal practitioners and experts.
The 2026 edition covers 143 countries and jurisdictions.
