Country Foundations

United Kingdom

Constitution in force since —, 279,869 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Read this profile with care. This country has no entrenched, codified bill of rights, so its declared scores are structurally low and its gap looks large and positive. That is a real finding about constitutional design — rights here are protected by statute, common law, or convention instead — not evidence that the country outperforms its peers.

Declared
22%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
79%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+57%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
76%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 0%, practiced 83%, gap +83%Right to life0%83%+83%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 69%, gap −31%Freedom from torture100%69%−31%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 0%, practiced 77%, gap +77%Freedom from slavery and forced labour0%77%+77%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 75%, gap −25%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%75%−25%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 33%, practiced 76%, gap +42%Right to a fair and public trial33%76%+42%Presumption of innocence — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure0%——Right to legal counsel — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure0%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 100%, practiced 74%, gap −26%Due process of law100%74%−26%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure100%——Freedom of expression — declared 0%, practiced 85%, gap +85%Freedom of expression0%85%+85%Freedom of the press — declared 0%, practiced 78%, gap +78%Freedom of the press0%78%+78%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 0%, practiced 88%, gap +88%Freedom of thought and conscience0%88%+88%Freedom of religion — declared 50%, practiced 78%, gap +28%Freedom of religion50%78%+28%Separation of religion and state — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure0%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 78%, gap +78%Academic freedom0%78%+78%Freedom of assembly — declared 0%, practiced 65%, gap +65%Freedom of assembly0%65%+65%Freedom of association — declared 0%, practiced 81%, gap +81%Freedom of association0%81%+81%Right to petition government — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure100%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 0%, practiced 72%, gap +72%Right to form and join trade unions0%72%+72%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 0%, practiced 96%, gap +96%Right to vote and universal suffrage0%96%+96%Right to privacy — declared 0%, practiced 88%, gap +88%Right to privacy0%88%+88%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 83%, gap −17%Freedom of movement100%83%−17%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 25%, practiced 89%, gap +64%Right to own property25%89%+64%Equality before the law — declared 0%, practiced 80%, gap +80%Equality before the law0%80%+80%Right to education — declared 0%, practiced 71%, gap +71%Right to education0%71%+71%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 78%, gap +78%Right to health care0%78%+78%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 63%, gap +63%Right to shelter or housing0%63%+63%Independent judiciary — declared 0%, practiced 85%, gap +85%Independent judiciary0%85%+85%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001900: constitutional text changed (−6 pts declared)18001850190019502000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1800–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom from torture −31%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −25%
  • Due process of law −26%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Right to life +83%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour +77%
  • Freedom of expression +85%
  • Freedom of the press +78%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1976
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1976
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1966
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1986
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1988
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1991
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2009
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)no action
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.