New Zealand vs United Kingdom: Full democracy
New Zealand
1
in 2025
United Kingdom
1
in 2025
New Zealand rank
1st
United Kingdom rank
1st
Full democracy over time
- New Zealand
- United Kingdom
How they compare
New Zealand currently reports 1 against 1 in United Kingdom, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 185 shared years of data; in 1841 it was United Kingdom ahead.
New Zealand ranks 1st and United Kingdom ranks 1st of 198 countries.
New Zealand has averaged higher in every one of the 19 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | New Zealand | United Kingdom | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1880s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1890s | 0.7 | 0 | 0.7 | New Zealand |
| 1900s | 1 | 0 | 1 | New Zealand |
| 1910s | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | New Zealand |
| 1920s | 1 | 0.2 | 0.8 | New Zealand |
| 1930s | 1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | New Zealand |
| 1940s | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0 | — |
| 1950s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher full democracy, New Zealand or United Kingdom?
- New Zealand, at 1 against 1 in United Kingdom as of 2025.
- What is the difference in full democracy between New Zealand and United Kingdom?
- 0, with New Zealand ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and United Kingdom?
- 185 years are reported by both, from 1841 to 2025.
- How do New Zealand and United Kingdom rank globally for full democracy?
- New Zealand ranks 1st and United Kingdom ranks 1st of 198 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Full democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Identifies if a country is a full democracy using the extended Lexical Index of Electoral Democracy (LIED+).