Denmark, followed by Norway, Finland and Sweden turned out to enjoy the world’s best and fairest rule of law according to a new global ranking report by the World Justice Project (WSP). Rule of law is a fundamental condition for liberal democracy.

More than 100,000 households and experts were surveyed to measure rule of law in 113 countries. The index is based on the primary factors of: constraint on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice.

Here are the top four performers in each of the index’s main categories:

Constraints on Government Powers – Denmark, Norway, Finland, Netherlands
Absence of Corruption – Denmark, Singapore, Norway, Finland
Open Government – Norway, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands
Fundamental Rights – Norway, Finland, Denmark, Austria
Order and Security – Singapore, Finland, Sweden, Denmark
Regulatory Enforcement – Singapore, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden
Civil Justice – Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Singapore
Criminal Justice – Finland, Norway, Austria, Singapore

One more good reason to establish a business presence in the Nordic countries?

Read the full report

Image from “Polisen” the Swedish Police