New Zealand vs United States of America: Age of democracy

New Zealand
142 years
in 2018
United States of America
155 years
in 2019
New Zealand rank
3rd
United States of America rank
2nd

Age of democracy over time

  • New Zealand
  • United States of America
050100150180119102019

How they compare

United States of America currently reports 155 years against 142 years in New Zealand, a difference of 13 years.

That makes United States of America's figure about 1.1 times New Zealand's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 156 shared years of data; in 1857 it was United States of America ahead.

New Zealand ranks 3rd and United States of America ranks 2nd of 110 countries.

Across the 17 decades both report, New Zealand averaged higher in 2 and United States of America in 15.

Head to head by decade

Decade New Zealand United States of America Difference Ahead
1850s 2 years 58 years 56 years United States of America
1860s 11 years 3 years 8 years New Zealand
1870s 11.67 years 10.33 years 1.33 years New Zealand
1880s 8.5 years 20.5 years 12 years United States of America
1890s 18.5 years 30.5 years 12 years United States of America
1900s 28.5 years 40.5 years 12 years United States of America
1910s 38.5 years 50.5 years 12 years United States of America
1920s 48.5 years 60.5 years 12 years United States of America
1930s 58.5 years 70.5 years 12 years United States of America
1940s 68.5 years 80.5 years 12 years United States of America
1950s 78.5 years 90.5 years 12 years United States of America
1960s 88.5 years 100.5 years 12 years United States of America
1970s 98.5 years 110.5 years 12 years United States of America
1980s 108.5 years 120.5 years 12 years United States of America
1990s 118.5 years 130.5 years 12 years United States of America
2000s 128.5 years 140.5 years 12 years United States of America
2010s 138 years 150 years 12 years United States of America

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher age of democracy, New Zealand or United States of America?
United States of America, at 155 years against 142 years in New Zealand as of 2019.
What is the difference in age of democracy between New Zealand and United States of America?
13 years, with United States of America ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and United States of America?
156 years are reported by both, from 1857 to 2018.
How do New Zealand and United States of America rank globally for age of democracy?
New Zealand ranks 3rd and United States of America ranks 2nd of 110 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Age of democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

New Zealand vs United States of America: Age of democracy. Statizoid, drawing on Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/compare/age-of-democracy-polity/new-zealand/united-states/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://social-development.statizoid.com/compare/age-of-democracy-polity/new-zealand/united-states/">New Zealand vs United States of America: Age of democracy</a> β€” Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Age of democracy
Unit
years
Source
Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
110 places, 4,915 data points, 1801–2019
Last refreshed

Number of consecutive years in a democracy.