What is electoral democracy in New Zealand?

Electoral democracy in New Zealand was 2 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest electoral democracy recorded in New Zealand?

The highest recorded value was 2 in 1887.

What is the lowest electoral democracy recorded in New Zealand?

The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1853.

How does New Zealand rank for electoral democracy?

New Zealand ranks 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is electoral democracy 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 V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Electoral democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Electoral democracy in New Zealand

Name: Electoral democracy in New Zealand
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

New Zealand: Electoral democracy was 2 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

1st

of 176 countries

All-time high

in 1887

All-time low

in 1853

Years of data

153

1853–2025

Electoral democracy in New Zealand, 1853–2025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

New Zealand recorded 2 for electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 153 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, electoral democracy in New Zealand peaked at 2 in 1887 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1853.

New Zealand ranks 1st of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 153 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1850s	0	0	0	7
1860s	0	0	0	6
1870s	0	0	0	1
1880s	2	2	2	3
1890s	2	2	2	10
1900s	2	2	2	10
1910s	2	2	2	10
1920s	2	2	2	10
1930s	2	2	2	10
1940s	2	2	2	10
1950s	2	2	2	10
1960s	2	2	2	10
1970s	2	2	2	10
1980s	2	2	2	10
1990s	2	2	2	10
2000s	2	2	2	10
2010s	2	2	2	10
2020s	2	2	2	6

Countries ranked near New Zealand

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for New Zealand

Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
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)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Key features of democracy 0.849 (2025)
Freedom of Expression Index 0.927 (2025)
Freedom of Association Index 0.885 (2025)
Electoral Democracy Index 0.849 (2025)
Participatory Democracy Index 0.581 (2025)
Liberal Democracy Index 0.787 (2025)

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is electoral democracy in New Zealand?: Electoral democracy in New Zealand was 2 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest electoral democracy recorded in New Zealand?: The highest recorded value was 2 in 1887.
What is the lowest electoral democracy recorded in New Zealand?: The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1853.
How does New Zealand rank for electoral democracy?: New Zealand ranks 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is electoral democracy 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 V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Electoral democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 153 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Electoral democracy
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 29,594 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Identifies the political regime of a country using the Regimes of the World classification by political scientists Anna Lührmann, Marcus Tannenberg and Staffan Lindberg.