What is citizen satisfaction with democracy in New Zealand?

Citizen satisfaction with democracy in New Zealand was 0.8045 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in New Zealand?

The highest recorded value was 0.8208 in 2011.

What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in New Zealand?

The lowest recorded value was 0.5993 in 2002.

How does New Zealand rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?

New Zealand ranks 26th out of 131 countries with data for 2020.

Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in New Zealand?

Over the last ten years it is up 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this New Zealand data come from?

The figures come from Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Citizen satisfaction with democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Citizen satisfaction with democracy in New Zealand

Name: Citizen satisfaction with democracy in New Zealand
Creator: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

New Zealand: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was 0.8045 in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)

0.8045

Change on year

up 0.1%

World rank

26th

of 131 countries

All-time high

0.8208

in 2011

All-time low

0.5993

in 2002

Years of data

1996–2020

Citizen satisfaction with democracy in New Zealand, 1996–2020

Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

New Zealand recorded 0.8045 for citizen satisfaction with democracy in 2020.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in New Zealand peaked at 0.8208 in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.5993, in 2002.

New Zealand ranks 26th of 131 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1990s	0.7141	0.6765	0.7511	4
2000s	0.6771	0.5993	0.7725	10
2010s	0.8022	0.7952	0.8208	10
2020s	0.8045	0.8045	0.8045	1

Countries ranked near New Zealand

23 Sri Lanka 0.8428 compare
24 Indonesia 0.8356 compare
25 Senegal 0.8233 compare
27 Botswana 0.7934 compare
28 Sierra Leone 0.7837 compare
29 Suriname 0.76 compare

See the full ranking of 131 places →

More social development data for New Zealand

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 2,148 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 58 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Human Rights Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index 0.948 (2025)
Liberal Democracy Index 0.787 (2025)
Electoral Democracy Index 0.849 (2025)
Freedom of Association Index 0.885 (2025)
Freedom of Expression Index 0.927 (2025)
Participatory Democracy Index 0.581 (2025)

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is citizen satisfaction with democracy in New Zealand?: Citizen satisfaction with democracy in New Zealand was 0.8045 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in New Zealand?: The highest recorded value was 0.8208 in 2011.
What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in New Zealand?: The lowest recorded value was 0.5993 in 2002.
How does New Zealand rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?: New Zealand ranks 26th out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in New Zealand?: Over the last ten years it is up 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?: The figures come from Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Citizen satisfaction with democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Citizen satisfaction with democracy
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 131 places, 3,021 data points, 1973–2020
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Central estimate of the average extent to which citizens are satisfied with democracy in their own country. It combines responses across more than one thousand nationally-representative surveys on how citizens' satisfaction with democracy.