Age of electoral democracy in New Zealand
New Zealand: Age of electoral democracy was 133 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
133 years
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
1st
of 144 countries
All-time high
133 years
in 2025
All-time low
1 years
in 1893
Years of data
133
1893–2025
Age of electoral democracy in New Zealand, 1893–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 133 years for age of electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 133 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 8.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in New Zealand peaked at 133 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1893.
That places New Zealand 1st out of 144 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Age of electoral democracy in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1893 | 1 years | — |
| 1894 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1895 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1896 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1897 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1898 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1899 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1900 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1901 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1902 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1903 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1904 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1905 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1906 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1907 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1908 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1909 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 1910 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 1911 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 1912 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 1913 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 1914 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 1915 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 1916 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 1917 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 1918 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 1919 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 1920 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 1921 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 1922 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 1923 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 1924 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 1925 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 1926 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 1927 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 1928 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 1929 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 1930 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 1931 | 39 years | +2.6% |
| 1932 | 40 years | +2.6% |
| 1933 | 41 years | +2.5% |
| 1934 | 42 years | +2.4% |
| 1935 | 43 years | +2.4% |
| 1936 | 44 years | +2.3% |
| 1937 | 45 years | +2.3% |
| 1938 | 46 years | +2.2% |
| 1939 | 47 years | +2.2% |
| 1940 | 48 years | +2.1% |
| 1941 | 49 years | +2.1% |
| 1942 | 50 years | +2.0% |
| 1943 | 51 years | +2.0% |
| 1944 | 52 years | +2.0% |
| 1945 | 53 years | +1.9% |
| 1946 | 54 years | +1.9% |
| 1947 | 55 years | +1.9% |
| 1948 | 56 years | +1.8% |
| 1949 | 57 years | +1.8% |
| 1950 | 58 years | +1.8% |
| 1951 | 59 years | +1.7% |
| 1952 | 60 years | +1.7% |
| 1953 | 61 years | +1.7% |
| 1954 | 62 years | +1.6% |
| 1955 | 63 years | +1.6% |
| 1956 | 64 years | +1.6% |
| 1957 | 65 years | +1.6% |
| 1958 | 66 years | +1.5% |
| 1959 | 67 years | +1.5% |
| 1960 | 68 years | +1.5% |
| 1961 | 69 years | +1.5% |
| 1962 | 70 years | +1.4% |
| 1963 | 71 years | +1.4% |
| 1964 | 72 years | +1.4% |
| 1965 | 73 years | +1.4% |
| 1966 | 74 years | +1.4% |
| 1967 | 75 years | +1.4% |
| 1968 | 76 years | +1.3% |
| 1969 | 77 years | +1.3% |
| 1970 | 78 years | +1.3% |
| 1971 | 79 years | +1.3% |
| 1972 | 80 years | +1.3% |
| 1973 | 81 years | +1.2% |
| 1974 | 82 years | +1.2% |
| 1975 | 83 years | +1.2% |
| 1976 | 84 years | +1.2% |
| 1977 | 85 years | +1.2% |
| 1978 | 86 years | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 87 years | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 88 years | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 89 years | +1.1% |
| 1982 | 90 years | +1.1% |
| 1983 | 91 years | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 92 years | +1.1% |
| 1985 | 93 years | +1.1% |
| 1986 | 94 years | +1.1% |
| 1987 | 95 years | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 96 years | +1.1% |
| 1989 | 97 years | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 98 years | +1.0% |
| 1991 | 99 years | +1.0% |
| 1992 | 100 years | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 101 years | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 102 years | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 103 years | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 104 years | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 105 years | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 106 years | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 107 years | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 108 years | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 109 years | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 110 years | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 111 years | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 112 years | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 113 years | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 114 years | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 115 years | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 116 years | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 117 years | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 118 years | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 119 years | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 120 years | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 121 years | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 122 years | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 123 years | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 124 years | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 125 years | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 126 years | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 127 years | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 128 years | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 129 years | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 130 years | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 131 years | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 132 years | +0.8% |
| 2025 | 133 years | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890s | 4 years | 1 years | 7 years | 7 |
| 1900s | 12.5 years | 8 years | 17 years | 10 |
| 1910s | 22.5 years | 18 years | 27 years | 10 |
| 1920s | 32.5 years | 28 years | 37 years | 10 |
| 1930s | 42.5 years | 38 years | 47 years | 10 |
| 1940s | 52.5 years | 48 years | 57 years | 10 |
| 1950s | 62.5 years | 58 years | 67 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 72.5 years | 68 years | 77 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 82.5 years | 78 years | 87 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 92.5 years | 88 years | 97 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 102.5 years | 98 years | 107 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 112.5 years | 108 years | 117 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 122.5 years | 118 years | 127 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 130.5 years | 128 years | 133 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More social development data for New Zealand
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,148 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 58 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 58 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0004 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age of electoral democracy in New Zealand?
- Age of electoral democracy in New Zealand was 133 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 133 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1893.
- How does New Zealand rank for age of electoral democracy?
- New Zealand ranks 1st out of 144 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Age of electoral democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 133 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.