What is judicial corruption score in South Africa?

Judicial corruption score in South Africa was 0.512 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest judicial corruption score recorded in South Africa?

The highest recorded value was 1.2 in 2019.

What is the lowest judicial corruption score recorded in South Africa?

The lowest recorded value was 0.294 in 2023.

How does South Africa rank for judicial corruption score?

South Africa ranks 83rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is judicial corruption score rising or falling in South Africa?

Over the last ten years it is down 52.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this South Africa data come from?

The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Judicial Corruption Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Judicial Corruption Score in South Africa

Name: Judicial Corruption Score in South Africa
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

South Africa: Judicial Corruption Score was 0.512 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

0.512

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

83rd

of 176 countries

All-time high

1.2

in 2019

All-time low

0.294

in 2023

Years of data

126

1900–2025

Judicial Corruption Score in South Africa, 1900–2025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for judicial corruption score in South Africa is 0.512, measured in 2025.

The figure is down 52.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, judicial corruption score in South Africa peaked at 1.2 in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.294, in 2023.

That places South Africa 83rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.

Judicial Corruption Score in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Judicial Corruption Score in South Africa, 1900 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1900	0.591	—
1901	0.591	+0.0%
1902	0.591	+0.0%
1903	0.591	+0.0%
1904	0.591	+0.0%
1905	0.591	+0.0%
1906	0.591	+0.0%
1907	0.591	+0.0%
1908	0.591	+0.0%
1909	0.591	+0.0%
1910	0.591	+0.0%
1911	0.591	+0.0%
1912	0.591	+0.0%
1913	0.591	+0.0%
1914	0.591	+0.0%
1915	0.591	+0.0%
1916	0.591	+0.0%
1917	0.591	+0.0%
1918	0.591	+0.0%
1919	0.591	+0.0%
1920	0.591	+0.0%
1921	0.591	+0.0%
1922	0.591	+0.0%
1923	0.591	+0.0%
1924	0.591	+0.0%
1925	0.591	+0.0%
1926	0.591	+0.0%
1927	0.591	+0.0%
1928	0.591	+0.0%
1929	0.591	+0.0%
1930	0.591	+0.0%
1931	0.591	+0.0%
1932	0.591	+0.0%
1933	0.591	+0.0%
1934	0.591	+0.0%
1935	0.591	+0.0%
1936	0.591	+0.0%
1937	0.591	+0.0%
1938	0.591	+0.0%
1939	0.591	+0.0%
1940	0.591	+0.0%
1941	0.591	+0.0%
1942	0.591	+0.0%
1943	0.591	+0.0%
1944	0.591	+0.0%
1945	0.591	+0.0%
1946	0.591	+0.0%
1947	0.591	+0.0%
1948	0.591	+0.0%
1949	0.591	+0.0%
1950	0.591	+0.0%
1951	0.591	+0.0%
1952	0.591	+0.0%
1953	0.591	+0.0%
1954	0.591	+0.0%
1955	0.591	+0.0%
1956	0.591	+0.0%
1957	0.591	+0.0%
1958	0.591	+0.0%
1959	0.591	+0.0%
1960	0.591	+0.0%
1961	0.591	+0.0%
1962	0.591	+0.0%
1963	0.591	+0.0%
1964	0.591	+0.0%
1965	0.591	+0.0%
1966	0.591	+0.0%
1967	0.591	+0.0%
1968	0.591	+0.0%
1969	0.591	+0.0%
1970	0.435	-26.4%
1971	0.435	+0.0%
1972	0.435	+0.0%
1973	0.435	+0.0%
1974	0.435	+0.0%
1975	0.435	+0.0%
1976	0.435	+0.0%
1977	0.435	+0.0%
1978	0.435	+0.0%
1979	0.435	+0.0%
1980	0.435	+0.0%
1981	0.435	+0.0%
1982	0.435	+0.0%
1983	0.435	+0.0%
1984	0.435	+0.0%
1985	0.435	+0.0%
1986	0.435	+0.0%
1987	0.435	+0.0%
1988	0.435	+0.0%
1989	0.435	+0.0%
1990	0.435	+0.0%
1991	0.435	+0.0%
1992	0.435	+0.0%
1993	0.435	+0.0%
1994	0.891	+104.8%
1995	0.891	+0.0%
1996	0.891	+0.0%
1997	0.891	+0.0%
1998	0.891	+0.0%
1999	0.891	+0.0%
2000	0.891	+0.0%
2001	0.891	+0.0%
2002	0.891	+0.0%
2003	0.891	+0.0%
2004	0.891	+0.0%
2005	0.891	+0.0%
2006	0.891	+0.0%
2007	0.891	+0.0%
2008	0.891	+0.0%
2009	0.891	+0.0%
2010	0.842	-5.5%
2011	0.842	+0.0%
2012	0.842	+0.0%
2013	1.08	+28.6%
2014	1.08	+0.0%
2015	1.08	+0.0%
2016	1.08	+0.0%
2017	1.08	+0.0%
2018	1.08	+0.0%
2019	1.2	+10.3%
2020	0.953	-20.3%
2021	0.953	+0.0%
2022	0.953	+0.0%
2023	0.294	-69.2%
2024	0.512	+74.1%
2025	0.512	+0.0%

South Africa compared with similar countries

South Africa's 0.512 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is -0.12. (48 countries reporting)
South Africa's 0.512 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.632. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1900s	0.591	0.591	0.591	10
1910s	0.591	0.591	0.591	10
1920s	0.591	0.591	0.591	10
1930s	0.591	0.591	0.591	10
1940s	0.591	0.591	0.591	10
1950s	0.591	0.591	0.591	10
1960s	0.591	0.591	0.591	10
1970s	0.435	0.435	0.435	10
1980s	0.435	0.435	0.435	10
1990s	0.7086	0.435	0.891	10
2000s	0.891	0.891	0.891	10
2010s	1.02	0.842	1.2	10
2020s	0.6962	0.294	0.953	6

Countries ranked near South Africa

80 Dominican Republic 0.529 compare
81 Armenia 0.52 compare
82 Solomon Islands 0.516 compare
84 Greece 0.47 compare
85 Vatican 0.361
86 Mexico 0.338 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for South Africa

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 55,177 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0009 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is judicial corruption score in South Africa?: Judicial corruption score in South Africa was 0.512 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest judicial corruption score recorded in South Africa?: The highest recorded value was 1.2 in 2019.
What is the lowest judicial corruption score recorded in South Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 0.294 in 2023.
How does South Africa rank for judicial corruption score?: South Africa ranks 83rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is judicial corruption score rising or falling in South Africa?: Over the last ten years it is down 52.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?: The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Judicial Corruption Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Judicial Corruption Score in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/judicial-corruption-score/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator: Judicial Corruption Score
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 25,711 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Data by V-Dem. Expert estimates of how often individuals or businesses make undocumented extra payments or bribes to obtain a favorable judicial decision, or speed up or delay the process. Higher scores mean less corruption. A score of 0 is approximately the average across all countries and years.