Egalitarian Democracy Index in New Zealand
New Zealand: Egalitarian Democracy Index was 0.726 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.726
Change on year
down 2.6%
World rank
16th
of 175 countries
All-time high
0.79
in 2010
All-time low
0.549
in 1915
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Egalitarian Democracy Index in New Zealand, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 0.726 for egalitarian democracy index in 2025.
That represents a change of down 2.6% on the previous year and down 6.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, egalitarian democracy index in New Zealand peaked at 0.79 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.549, in 1915.
New Zealand ranks 16th of 175 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Egalitarian Democracy Index in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.558 | — |
| 1901 | 0.567 | +1.6% |
| 1902 | 0.567 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.57 | +0.5% |
| 1904 | 0.57 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.57 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.57 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.57 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.571 | +0.2% |
| 1909 | 0.572 | +0.2% |
| 1910 | 0.572 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.573 | +0.2% |
| 1912 | 0.562 | -1.9% |
| 1913 | 0.564 | +0.4% |
| 1914 | 0.553 | -2.0% |
| 1915 | 0.549 | -0.7% |
| 1916 | 0.552 | +0.5% |
| 1917 | 0.551 | -0.2% |
| 1918 | 0.551 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.574 | +4.2% |
| 1920 | 0.588 | +2.4% |
| 1921 | 0.582 | -1.0% |
| 1922 | 0.586 | +0.7% |
| 1923 | 0.587 | +0.2% |
| 1924 | 0.587 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.59 | +0.5% |
| 1926 | 0.588 | -0.3% |
| 1927 | 0.588 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.589 | +0.2% |
| 1929 | 0.592 | +0.5% |
| 1930 | 0.602 | +1.7% |
| 1931 | 0.602 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.59 | -2.0% |
| 1933 | 0.599 | +1.5% |
| 1934 | 0.604 | +0.8% |
| 1935 | 0.619 | +2.5% |
| 1936 | 0.634 | +2.4% |
| 1937 | 0.634 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.646 | +1.9% |
| 1939 | 0.649 | +0.5% |
| 1940 | 0.642 | -1.1% |
| 1941 | 0.642 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.642 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.642 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.643 | +0.2% |
| 1945 | 0.649 | +0.9% |
| 1946 | 0.668 | +2.9% |
| 1947 | 0.675 | +1.0% |
| 1948 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.675 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.67 | -0.7% |
| 1951 | 0.642 | -4.2% |
| 1952 | 0.657 | +2.3% |
| 1953 | 0.657 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.663 | +0.9% |
| 1955 | 0.676 | +2.0% |
| 1956 | 0.676 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.676 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.68 | +0.6% |
| 1959 | 0.68 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.69 | +1.5% |
| 1961 | 0.698 | +1.2% |
| 1962 | 0.7 | +0.3% |
| 1963 | 0.707 | +1.0% |
| 1964 | 0.705 | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 0.705 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.705 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.704 | -0.1% |
| 1968 | 0.704 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.704 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.722 | +2.6% |
| 1971 | 0.722 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.726 | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 0.723 | -0.4% |
| 1974 | 0.729 | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 0.737 | +1.1% |
| 1976 | 0.732 | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 0.728 | -0.5% |
| 1978 | 0.731 | +0.4% |
| 1979 | 0.726 | -0.7% |
| 1980 | 0.734 | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 0.732 | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 0.735 | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 0.738 | +0.4% |
| 1984 | 0.733 | -0.7% |
| 1985 | 0.729 | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 0.726 | -0.4% |
| 1987 | 0.727 | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 0.736 | +1.2% |
| 1989 | 0.736 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.739 | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 0.737 | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 0.737 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.742 | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 0.741 | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 0.741 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.753 | +1.6% |
| 1997 | 0.754 | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 0.761 | +0.9% |
| 1999 | 0.768 | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 0.778 | +1.3% |
| 2001 | 0.778 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.778 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.778 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.778 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.779 | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 0.779 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.774 | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 0.779 | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 0.786 | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 0.79 | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 0.787 | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 0.79 | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 0.783 | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 0.782 | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 0.778 | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 0.778 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.778 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.787 | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 0.784 | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 0.775 | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 0.765 | -1.3% |
| 2022 | 0.767 | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 0.761 | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 0.745 | -2.1% |
| 2025 | 0.726 | -2.6% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 0.726 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.671, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 0.726 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.311, 2.3× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.5685 | 0.558 | 0.572 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.5601 | 0.549 | 0.574 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.5877 | 0.582 | 0.592 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.6179 | 0.59 | 0.649 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.6553 | 0.642 | 0.675 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.6677 | 0.642 | 0.68 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.7022 | 0.69 | 0.707 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7276 | 0.722 | 0.737 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.7326 | 0.726 | 0.738 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7473 | 0.737 | 0.768 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7787 | 0.774 | 0.786 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7837 | 0.778 | 0.79 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7565 | 0.726 | 0.775 | 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 egalitarian democracy index in New Zealand?
- Egalitarian democracy index in New Zealand was 0.726 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest egalitarian democracy index recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 0.79 in 2010.
- What is the lowest egalitarian democracy index recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.549 in 1915.
- How does New Zealand rank for egalitarian democracy index?
- New Zealand ranks 16th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is egalitarian democracy index rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Egalitarian Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent of suffrage, the freedom and fairness of elections, freedoms of association and expression, as well as the extent to which the protection of rights, access to power, and distribution of resources is equal.