Portugal rises in World Justice Project Rule of Law Index

Portugal has climbed to 27th place globally out of 143 countries and jurisdictions in the 2026 Rule of Law Index released by the World Justice Project (WJP). Within high-income nations, the country ranks 27th out of 51, and 20th within its specific regional group including the European Union, EFTA, and North America.

Despite this improvement, the report highlights a concerning global trend where 62% of assessed countries saw their scores decline. The WJP warns that authoritarian practices are becoming more entrenched, with 86% of countries showing a sustained decline in safeguards against authoritarianism over the last five years.

While Portugal's global score increased slightly, it faced specific domestic challenges noted in the report. These include declines in freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of assembly and association, and civic participation, mirroring broader global trends of institutional deterioration often caused by executive interference in civil and criminal justice systems.