Uruguay tops Latin America's rule of law index

World Justice Project, an organization that works to promote the rule of law around the world, published its Rule of Law Index report for 2021 and ranked Uruguay first in Latin America and twenty-fifth in the world, ahead of the United States.

The report analyzes the situation of 139 countries and jurisdictions and takes into account factors such as restrictions on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, order and security, regulatory compliance, fundamental rights, civil justice and criminal justice.

In the breakdown, Uruguay is best positioned in fundamental rights, followed by restrictions on government powers, absence of corruption and civil justice. The score obtained is consistent and stable based on the indexes obtained since 2015.

Globally, those who top the index are Denmark, Norway and Finland. The rule of law in Uruguay is better valued than that of the United States, which has been declining since 2016.

Source: World Justice Project