Singapore is at the 13th rank out of 126 countries according to the 2019 Rule of Law Index on Thursday. It is the leading nation in terms of order and security.
The index, which determines how the rule of law is "experienced and perceived in practical, everyday situations by the general public worldwide, is based on surveys with not less than 120,000 household and 3,800 experts in 126 countries which was conducted by the World Justice Project (WJP), a United States - based independent advocacy group.
Singapore remains in its rank from last year' index following its drop from 9th place in 2016. The city-state surpassed other Asian nations in the overall index including Japan, ranked at the 15th place, Hong Kong, at the 16th, South Korea, 18th, and Malaysia in the 51st place. Malaysia dropped five positions from last year.
The leading three nations in rule of law were taken by Denmark, Norway, and Finland. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia, and Venezuela are at the bottom three with ranks 124th, 125th, and 126th, respectively.
Singapore is the third nation out of 15 in the implementation of the rule of law in East Asia and the Pacific region. It is behind New Zealand in the first place and Australia in the second. Malaysia is ranked seventh in the region. The three nations with the lowest index in the region were the Philippines, Myanmar, and Cambodia.
Singapore is also at the 13th place among 38 high-income nations.
The overall index in measuring the rule of law performance of a nation is based on constraints on government powers, the absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice. Singapore is the leading nation in the order and security area. The area is measured by how well a nation ensures the security of its citizens and their properties.
Singapore was able to retain its rank despite the increase in the number assessed nations for this year. The index reports previously publicized assessed 113 countries only. It also retained its position because it topped four other areas including the absence of corruption, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.
The WJP's report reflected that more countries followed a declining trend in this year's index. The report said that globally, the new WJP Rule of Law Index scores show that more countries declined than improved in overall rule of law performance for the second year in a row, continuing a negative slide toward weaker rule of law around the world.
