Judicial Corruption Score in United States
United States: Judicial Corruption Score was 2.87 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Judicial Corruption Score in United States, 1789–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
United States recorded 2.87 for judicial corruption score in 2025. That is the highest value across all 237 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 50.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, judicial corruption score in United States peaked at 2.87 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.4, in 1982.
That places United States 6th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 237 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1 |
| 1790s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1800s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1810s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1820s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1830s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1840s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1850s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1860s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1870s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1880s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1890s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1900s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1910s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1920s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1930s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1950s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.46 | 1.4 | 1.73 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.91 | 1.91 | 1.91 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.91 | 1.91 | 1.91 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.91 | 1.91 | 1.91 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.23 | 1.91 | 2.87 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More social development data for United States
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 457,647 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 3,667 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.735 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.729 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.913 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.735 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.51 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.571 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is judicial corruption score in United States?
- Judicial corruption score in United States was 2.87 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest judicial corruption score recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 2.87 in 2024.
- What is the lowest judicial corruption score recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.4 in 1982.
- How does United States rank for judicial corruption score?
- United States ranks 6th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is judicial corruption score rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 50.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.