Age of liberal democracy in New Zealand
New Zealand: Age of liberal democracy was 113 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
113 years
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
2nd
of 47 countries
All-time high
113 years
in 2025
All-time low
1 years
in 1913
Years of data
113
1913–2025
Age of liberal democracy in New Zealand, 1913–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 113 years for age of liberal democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 113 years on record.
The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 9.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of liberal democracy in New Zealand peaked at 113 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1913.
New Zealand ranks 2nd of 47 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Age of liberal democracy in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1913 | 1 years | — |
| 1914 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1915 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1916 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1917 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1918 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1919 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1920 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1921 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1922 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1923 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1924 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1925 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1926 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1927 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1928 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1929 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 1930 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 1931 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 1932 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 1933 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 1934 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 1935 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 1936 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 1937 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 1938 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 1939 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 1940 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 1941 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 1942 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 1943 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 1944 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 1945 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 1946 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 1947 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 1948 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 1949 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 1950 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 1951 | 39 years | +2.6% |
| 1952 | 40 years | +2.6% |
| 1953 | 41 years | +2.5% |
| 1954 | 42 years | +2.4% |
| 1955 | 43 years | +2.4% |
| 1956 | 44 years | +2.3% |
| 1957 | 45 years | +2.3% |
| 1958 | 46 years | +2.2% |
| 1959 | 47 years | +2.2% |
| 1960 | 48 years | +2.1% |
| 1961 | 49 years | +2.1% |
| 1962 | 50 years | +2.0% |
| 1963 | 51 years | +2.0% |
| 1964 | 52 years | +2.0% |
| 1965 | 53 years | +1.9% |
| 1966 | 54 years | +1.9% |
| 1967 | 55 years | +1.9% |
| 1968 | 56 years | +1.8% |
| 1969 | 57 years | +1.8% |
| 1970 | 58 years | +1.8% |
| 1971 | 59 years | +1.7% |
| 1972 | 60 years | +1.7% |
| 1973 | 61 years | +1.7% |
| 1974 | 62 years | +1.6% |
| 1975 | 63 years | +1.6% |
| 1976 | 64 years | +1.6% |
| 1977 | 65 years | +1.6% |
| 1978 | 66 years | +1.5% |
| 1979 | 67 years | +1.5% |
| 1980 | 68 years | +1.5% |
| 1981 | 69 years | +1.5% |
| 1982 | 70 years | +1.4% |
| 1983 | 71 years | +1.4% |
| 1984 | 72 years | +1.4% |
| 1985 | 73 years | +1.4% |
| 1986 | 74 years | +1.4% |
| 1987 | 75 years | +1.4% |
| 1988 | 76 years | +1.3% |
| 1989 | 77 years | +1.3% |
| 1990 | 78 years | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 79 years | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 80 years | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 81 years | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 82 years | +1.2% |
| 1995 | 83 years | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 84 years | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 85 years | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 86 years | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 87 years | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 88 years | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 89 years | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 90 years | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 91 years | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 92 years | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 93 years | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 94 years | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 95 years | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 96 years | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 97 years | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 98 years | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 99 years | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 100 years | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 101 years | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 102 years | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 103 years | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 104 years | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 105 years | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 106 years | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 107 years | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 108 years | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 109 years | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 110 years | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 111 years | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 112 years | +0.9% |
| 2025 | 113 years | +0.9% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 113 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 45 years, 2.5× the median. (40 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of liberal democracy in New Zealand changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1914 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1915 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1916 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
| 1917 | +25.0% | 4 years | 5 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 4 years | 1 years | 7 years | 7 |
| 1920s | 12.5 years | 8 years | 17 years | 10 |
| 1930s | 22.5 years | 18 years | 27 years | 10 |
| 1940s | 32.5 years | 28 years | 37 years | 10 |
| 1950s | 42.5 years | 38 years | 47 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 52.5 years | 48 years | 57 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 62.5 years | 58 years | 67 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 72.5 years | 68 years | 77 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 82.5 years | 78 years | 87 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 92.5 years | 88 years | 97 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 102.5 years | 98 years | 107 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 110.5 years | 108 years | 113 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 1 Switzerland 177 years compare
- 3 Australia 108 years compare
- 4 United Kingdom 105 years compare
- 5 Sweden 104 years compare
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 liberal democracy in New Zealand?
- Age of liberal democracy in New Zealand was 113 years in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of liberal democracy recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 113 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of liberal democracy recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1913.
- How does New Zealand rank for age of liberal democracy?
- New Zealand ranks 2nd out of 47 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of liberal democracy rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Age of liberal democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 113 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.