Statizoid

Democracy Index in New Zealand

New Zealand: Democracy Index was 10 in 2018. ▲ Rising

Latest (2018)
10
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 167 countries
All-time high
10
in 1857
All-time low
4
in 1876
Years of data
162
1857–2018

Democracy Index in New Zealand, 1857–2018

0246810185719372018

Source: Polity 5 (2020); Population based on various sources (2023) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

New Zealand recorded 10 for democracy index in 2018. That is the highest value across all 162 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy index in New Zealand peaked at 10 in 1857 and was at its lowest, 4, in 1876.

That places New Zealand 1st out of 167 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 162 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1850s 10 10 10 3
1860s 10 10 10 10
1870s 9.1 4 10 10
1880s 9 9 9 10
1890s 9.7 9 10 10
1900s 10 10 10 10
1910s 10 10 10 10
1920s 10 10 10 10
1930s 10 10 10 10
1940s 10 10 10 10
1950s 10 10 10 10
1960s 10 10 10 10
1970s 10 10 10 10
1980s 10 10 10 10
1990s 10 10 10 10
2000s 10 10 10 10
2010s 10 10 10 9

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 1 Australia 10 compare
  2. 1 Austria 10 compare
  3. 1 Canada 10 compare
  4. 1 Cape Verde 10 compare
  5. 1 Chile 10 compare
  6. 1 Costa Rica 10 compare
  7. 1 Cyprus 10 compare
  8. 1 Denmark 10 compare
  9. 1 Finland 10 compare
  10. 1 France 10 compare
  11. 1 Germany 10 compare
  12. 1 Greece 10 compare
  13. 1 Hungary 10 compare
  14. 1 Ireland 10 compare
  15. 1 Italy 10 compare
  16. 1 Japan 10 compare
  17. 1 Lithuania 10 compare
  18. 1 Luxembourg 10 compare
  19. 1 Mauritius 10 compare
  20. 1 Mongolia 10 compare
  21. 1 Netherlands 10 compare
  22. 1 Norway 10 compare
  23. 1 Poland 10 compare
  24. 1 Portugal 10 compare
  25. 1 Slovakia 10 compare
  26. 1 Slovenia 10 compare
  27. 1 Spain 10 compare
  28. 1 Sweden 10 compare
  29. 1 Switzerland 10 compare
  30. 1 Taiwan 10 compare
  31. 1 Uruguay 10 compare

See the full ranking of 168 places →

More social development data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy index in New Zealand?
Democracy index in New Zealand was 10 in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020); Population based on various sources (2023) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy index recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 10 in 1857.
What is the lowest democracy index recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 4 in 1876.
How does New Zealand rank for democracy index?
New Zealand ranks 1st out of 167 countries with data for 2018.
Is democracy index rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?
The figures come from Polity 5 (2020); Population based on various sources (2023) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 162 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Democracy Index
Source
Polity 5 (2020); Population based on various sources (2023) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
168 places, 18,392 data points, 1776–2020
Last refreshed

It combines information on the extent to which open, multi-party, and competitive elections choose a chief executive who faces comprehensive institutional constraints, and political participation is competitive. It ranges from -10 to 10 (fully democratic).