Country Foundations

Israel

Constitution in force since 1958, 1,967 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
36%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
73%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+36%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
95%
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 100%, practiced 77%, gap −23%Right to life100%77%−23%Freedom from torture — declared 50%, practiced 59%, gap +9%Freedom from torture50%59%+9%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 77%, gap −23%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%77%−23%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 33%, practiced 70%, gap +37%Right to a fair and public trial33%70%+37%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 50%, practiced 66%, gap +16%Due process of law50%66%+16%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 0%, practiced 74%, gap +74%Freedom of expression0%74%+74%Freedom of the press — declared 0%, practiced 61%, gap +61%Freedom of the press0%61%+61%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 0%, practiced 78%, gap +78%Freedom of thought and conscience0%78%+78%Freedom of religion — declared 50%, practiced 74%, gap +24%Freedom of religion50%74%+24%Separation of religion and state — declared 25%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure25%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 65%, gap +65%Academic freedom0%65%+65%Freedom of assembly — declared 0%, practiced 78%, gap +78%Freedom of assembly0%78%+78%Freedom of association — declared 0%, practiced 62%, gap +62%Freedom of association0%62%+62%Right to petition government — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure0%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 0%, practiced 55%, gap +55%Right to form and join trade unions0%55%+55%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 92%, gap +42%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%92%+42%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 83%, gap −17%Right to privacy100%83%−17%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Freedom of movement100%76%−24%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 100%, practiced 87%, gap −13%Right to own property100%87%−13%Equality before the law — declared 0%, practiced 76%, gap +76%Equality before the law0%76%+76%Right to education — declared 0%, practiced 58%, gap +58%Right to education0%58%+58%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 76%, gap +76%Right to health care0%76%+76%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 72%, gap +72%Right to shelter or housing0%72%+72%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 79%, gap −21%Independent judiciary100%79%−21%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
0501001980: constitutional text changed (+4 pts declared)1984: constitutional text changed (+12 pts declared)1992: constitutional text changed (+17 pts declared)195019752000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1949–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Right to life −23%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −23%
  • Freedom of movement −24%
  • Independent judiciary −21%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour +77%
  • Freedom of expression +74%
  • Freedom of the press +61%
  • Freedom of thought and conscience +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 1991
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1991
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1979
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1991
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1991
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1991
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2012
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.