By Wendy Anders

The Washington, D.C.-based World Justice Project (WJP) just published its ranking of countries throughout the world on a Rule of Law Index that measures how people view justice in their everyday life.

Of the 22 countries in the Central America and wider Caribbean region included in this year’s index, Costa Rica ranked first, followed by Barbados and Antigua-Barbuda.

The index compiles data from more than 100,000 household and expert surveys to measure how the rule of law is experienced in practical, everyday situations by the general public worldwide. Costa Rica ranked 25th globally on the index.

Country performance is measured across eight primary rule of law factors, each of which is scored and ranked globally and against regional and income peers. The areas included in the index are constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.

The WJP Rule of Law Index is the most comprehensive index of its kind and the only one to rely solely on primary data. The Index’s scores are built from the assessments of local residents (1,000 respondents per country) and local legal experts, ensuring that the findings reflect the conditions experienced by the population, including marginalized sectors of society.

At the bottom of the region is Venezuela, which is also last on the entire global list, below Afghanistan and Cambodia.