Statizoid

Key features of human rights in New Zealand

New Zealand: Key features of human rights was 0.948 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.948
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
8th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.966
in 1985
All-time low
0.901
in 1853
Years of data
173
1853–2025

Key features of human rights in New Zealand, 1853–2025

00.20.40.60.81185319392025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for key features of human rights in New Zealand is 0.948, measured in 2025.

That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and down 1.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, key features of human rights in New Zealand peaked at 0.966 in 1985 and was at its lowest, 0.901, in 1853.

New Zealand ranks 8th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 173 years of available data.

Key features of human rights in New Zealand, year by year

Year Value Change
1853 0.901 —
1854 0.901 +0.0%
1855 0.901 +0.0%
1856 0.901 +0.0%
1857 0.901 +0.0%
1858 0.901 +0.0%
1859 0.901 +0.0%
1860 0.901 +0.0%
1861 0.911 +1.1%
1862 0.915 +0.4%
1863 0.915 +0.0%
1864 0.915 +0.0%
1865 0.915 +0.0%
1866 0.915 +0.0%
1867 0.915 +0.0%
1868 0.915 +0.0%
1869 0.915 +0.0%
1870 0.915 +0.0%
1871 0.915 +0.0%
1872 0.915 +0.0%
1873 0.915 +0.0%
1874 0.915 +0.0%
1875 0.915 +0.0%
1876 0.915 +0.0%
1877 0.915 +0.0%
1878 0.915 +0.0%
1879 0.915 +0.0%
1880 0.915 +0.0%
1881 0.915 +0.0%
1882 0.915 +0.0%
1883 0.915 +0.0%
1884 0.931 +1.7%
1885 0.931 +0.0%
1886 0.931 +0.0%
1887 0.931 +0.0%
1888 0.931 +0.0%
1889 0.931 +0.0%
1890 0.926 -0.5%
1891 0.933 +0.8%
1892 0.933 +0.0%
1893 0.933 +0.0%
1894 0.933 +0.0%
1895 0.933 +0.0%
1896 0.933 +0.0%
1897 0.933 +0.0%
1898 0.933 +0.0%
1899 0.933 +0.0%
1900 0.937 +0.4%
1901 0.941 +0.4%
1902 0.941 +0.0%
1903 0.941 +0.0%
1904 0.941 +0.0%
1905 0.941 +0.0%
1906 0.941 +0.0%
1907 0.941 +0.0%
1908 0.941 +0.0%
1909 0.941 +0.0%
1910 0.941 +0.0%
1911 0.941 +0.0%
1912 0.93 -1.2%
1913 0.931 +0.1%
1914 0.922 -1.0%
1915 0.918 -0.4%
1916 0.921 +0.3%
1917 0.918 -0.3%
1918 0.918 +0.0%
1919 0.936 +2.0%
1920 0.941 +0.5%
1921 0.941 +0.0%
1922 0.942 +0.1%
1923 0.942 +0.0%
1924 0.942 +0.0%
1925 0.942 +0.0%
1926 0.942 +0.0%
1927 0.942 +0.0%
1928 0.942 +0.0%
1929 0.942 +0.0%
1930 0.944 +0.2%
1931 0.944 +0.0%
1932 0.94 -0.4%
1933 0.944 +0.4%
1934 0.944 +0.0%
1935 0.939 -0.5%
1936 0.936 -0.3%
1937 0.936 +0.0%
1938 0.936 +0.0%
1939 0.927 -1.0%
1940 0.922 -0.5%
1941 0.922 +0.0%
1942 0.922 +0.0%
1943 0.922 +0.0%
1944 0.922 +0.0%
1945 0.922 +0.0%
1946 0.935 +1.4%
1947 0.938 +0.3%
1948 0.938 +0.0%
1949 0.938 +0.0%
1950 0.938 +0.0%
1951 0.925 -1.4%
1952 0.938 +1.4%
1953 0.938 +0.0%
1954 0.939 +0.1%
1955 0.941 +0.2%
1956 0.941 +0.0%
1957 0.941 +0.0%
1958 0.941 +0.0%
1959 0.941 +0.0%
1960 0.947 +0.6%
1961 0.947 +0.0%
1962 0.947 +0.0%
1963 0.952 +0.5%
1964 0.952 +0.0%
1965 0.952 +0.0%
1966 0.952 +0.0%
1967 0.952 +0.0%
1968 0.952 +0.0%
1969 0.952 +0.0%
1970 0.953 +0.1%
1971 0.953 +0.0%
1972 0.959 +0.6%
1973 0.959 +0.0%
1974 0.959 +0.0%
1975 0.958 -0.1%
1976 0.958 +0.0%
1977 0.956 -0.2%
1978 0.956 +0.0%
1979 0.956 +0.0%
1980 0.959 +0.3%
1981 0.957 -0.2%
1982 0.956 -0.1%
1983 0.957 +0.1%
1984 0.964 +0.7%
1985 0.966 +0.2%
1986 0.966 +0.0%
1987 0.966 +0.0%
1988 0.966 +0.0%
1989 0.966 +0.0%
1990 0.961 -0.5%
1991 0.961 +0.0%
1992 0.961 +0.0%
1993 0.961 +0.0%
1994 0.961 +0.0%
1995 0.961 +0.0%
1996 0.961 +0.0%
1997 0.961 +0.0%
1998 0.961 +0.0%
1999 0.961 +0.0%
2000 0.961 +0.0%
2001 0.961 +0.0%
2002 0.961 +0.0%
2003 0.961 +0.0%
2004 0.961 +0.0%
2005 0.961 +0.0%
2006 0.961 +0.0%
2007 0.961 +0.0%
2008 0.961 +0.0%
2009 0.961 +0.0%
2010 0.961 +0.0%
2011 0.961 +0.0%
2012 0.961 +0.0%
2013 0.959 -0.2%
2014 0.959 +0.0%
2015 0.959 +0.0%
2016 0.959 +0.0%
2017 0.958 -0.1%
2018 0.961 +0.3%
2019 0.959 -0.2%
2020 0.95 -0.9%
2021 0.945 -0.5%
2022 0.958 +1.4%
2023 0.957 -0.1%
2024 0.952 -0.5%
2025 0.948 -0.4%

New Zealand compared with similar countries

  • New Zealand's 0.948 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.906, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • New Zealand's 0.948 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.728, 1.3× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1850s 0.901 0.901 0.901 7
1860s 0.9132 0.901 0.915 10
1870s 0.915 0.915 0.915 10
1880s 0.9246 0.915 0.931 10
1890s 0.9323 0.926 0.933 10
1900s 0.9406 0.937 0.941 10
1910s 0.9276 0.918 0.941 10
1920s 0.9418 0.941 0.942 10
1930s 0.939 0.927 0.944 10
1940s 0.9281 0.922 0.938 10
1950s 0.9383 0.925 0.941 10
1960s 0.9505 0.947 0.952 10
1970s 0.9567 0.953 0.959 10
1980s 0.9623 0.956 0.966 10
1990s 0.961 0.961 0.961 10
2000s 0.961 0.961 0.961 10
2010s 0.9597 0.958 0.961 10
2020s 0.9517 0.945 0.958 6

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 5 Belgium 0.955 compare
  2. 6 Iceland 0.95 compare
  3. 6 Switzerland 0.95 compare
  4. 8 Czechia 0.948 compare
  5. 10 Finland 0.947 compare
  6. 10 Norway 0.947 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is key features of human rights in New Zealand?
Key features of human rights in New Zealand was 0.948 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest key features of human rights recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 0.966 in 1985.
What is the lowest key features of human rights recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 0.901 in 1853.
How does New Zealand rank for key features of human rights?
New Zealand ranks 8th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is key features of human rights rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.1%. 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 Key features of human rights. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 173 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Relationships involving this indicator

Comparisons with other indicators across countries. Each was re-measured with population and national income held constant, so a relationship that only reflected country size is not listed here.

All correlations →

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Key features of human rights in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 09 October 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/key-features-of-human-rights/new-zealand/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/key-features-of-human-rights/new-zealand/">Key features of human rights in New Zealand</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Key features of human rights
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,202 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which people are free from government torture, political killings, and forced labor, they have property rights, and enjoy the freedoms of movement, religion, expression, and association.