FREETOWN, 24 October 2026 – Sierra Leone has been ranked 109th out of 143 countries in the 2026 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index, released globally on 21 October 2026.
According to the report, Sierra Leone ranks 17th out of 34 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and 16th out of 16 – last – among low-income countries assessed.
The 2026 Index shows that rule of law declined in 62% of countries globally, marking a continued global recession in justice and governance.
For Sierra Leone, the weakest factor was Regulatory Enforcement, where the country ranked 133rd out of 142 countries with a score of 0.35. The factor measures whether regulations are fairly and effectively enforced. The country also recorded low scores in Criminal Justice and Civil Justice, two of the eight factors measured by the WJP.
The WJP Rule of Law Index is the world’s leading source for independent rule of law data. It covers 95% of the world’s population and is based on over 215,000 household surveys and 3,400 expert surveys. It assesses eight factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice. Scores range from 0 to 1, where 1 is highest adherence.
CHRDI Raises Prison Concerns
Reacting to the report, the Campaign for Human Rights and Development International (CHRDI) said the ranking validates challenges on the ground.
The organisation cited its prison monitoring exercise at the Freetown Male Correctional Centre on 14 October 2025, where it said it documented 481 persons detained without indictment and over 1,000 persons on prolonged remand.
CHRDI also reported observing three infants in cells, inmates with tuberculosis and HIV held together, and persons with mental illness without adequate care – conditions it said raise concerns under Section 17 and Section 23(4) of the 1992 Constitution, Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the UN Nelson Mandela Rules.
“When enforcement collapses, detention becomes the punishment,” CHRDI stated.
In 2025, Sierra Leone had recorded a slight improvement in the WJP Index, moving from 0.43 to 0.44 and ranking 109th globally, which government officials at the time attributed to justice sector reforms and anti-corruption measures.
The 2026 Index is topped by Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Luxembourg, while Venezuela, Afghanistan, Haiti, Cambodia and Nicaragua are at the bottom.
