KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — Malaysia ranked 53rd out of 143 countries globally and seventh among 15 countries in East Asia and the Pacific in the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2026, placing it among the minority of nations that recorded an improvement amid a global decline in the rule of law.

The index, released today, showed that Malaysia’s overall score increased by less than one per cent to 0.57, while 62 per cent of countries worldwide experienced a deterioration in their rule of law performance.

According to the report, Malaysia ranked sixth out of 44 upper-middle-income countries.

The report stated that Malaysia did not record declines in several key indicators related to fundamental freedoms and civic participation, despite widespread deterioration in these areas globally.

“The country ranked 37th globally in civil justice, its strongest performance among the eight factors assessed, followed by criminal justice at 44th and regulatory enforcement at 46th.

“Malaysia also placed 51st in order and security, 54th in absence of corruption and 56th in constraints on government powers.

“However, the country recorded comparatively lower rankings in fundamental rights and open government, placing 77th and 104th globally, respectively,” the report read.

Among upper-middle-income countries, Malaysia ranked third in civil justice and fourth in both criminal justice and regulatory enforcement, but stood at 35th out of 44 countries in open government.

The report also highlighted that Malaysia did not record declines in several key indicators related to fundamental freedoms and civic participation, despite widespread deterioration in these areas globally.

These included freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of assembly and association, and civic participation, which declined in 64 per cent, 67 per cent and 65 per cent of countries surveyed, respectively.

Malaysia was also not among the countries that experienced a decline in judicial constraints on government powers, an indicator that deteriorated in 63 per cent of countries worldwide.

In addition, Malaysia recorded improvements in access to and affordability of civil justice, as well as civil justice free from discrimination, two indicators that improved in 54 per cent and 52 per cent of countries, respectively.

On global trends, the WJP found that authoritarian practices had become increasingly entrenched, with more than 86 per cent of countries experiencing a sustained five-year decline in at least one safeguard against authoritarian rule, including constraints on government powers, open government or fundamental rights.

Malaysia, however, was not among the countries that experienced such a sustained decline.

In East Asia and the Pacific, 11 of the 15 countries recorded a decline in their rule of law scores over the past year, with six experiencing declines for two consecutive years.

New Zealand emerged as the region’s top performer, ranking seventh globally, followed by Australia and Singapore, while the Philippines, Myanmar and Cambodia occupied the bottom three positions regionally.

Globally, Denmark topped the index, followed by Norway, Finland, Sweden and Luxembourg, while Venezuela ranked last, preceded by Afghanistan, Haiti, Cambodia and Nicaragua.

The WJP Rule of Law Index, published by the independent, nonpartisan WJP, measures the rule of law across 143 countries and jurisdictions covering 95 per cent of the world’s population, using data from expert assessments and household surveys.

To see Malaysia’s performance across all 44 sub-factors the Index measures, visit www.worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index/country/2026/Malaysia. — Bernama