Key features of liberal democracy in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Key features of liberal democracy was 0.384 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
0.384
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
79th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.451
in 1975
All-time low
0.051
in 1915
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Key features of liberal democracy in Papua New Guinea, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Papua New Guinea recorded 0.384 for key features of liberal democracy in 2025.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 11.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, key features of liberal democracy in Papua New Guinea peaked at 0.451 in 1975 and was at its lowest, 0.051, in 1915.
That places Papua New Guinea 79th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Key features of liberal democracy in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.052 | — |
| 1901 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.052 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.051 | -1.9% |
| 1916 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.051 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.066 | +29.4% |
| 1946 | 0.113 | +71.2% |
| 1947 | 0.113 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.113 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.113 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.113 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.192 | +69.9% |
| 1952 | 0.192 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.192 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.192 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.192 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.192 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.192 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.192 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.192 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.207 | +7.8% |
| 1961 | 0.209 | +1.0% |
| 1962 | 0.21 | +0.5% |
| 1963 | 0.21 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.231 | +10.0% |
| 1965 | 0.235 | +1.7% |
| 1966 | 0.235 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.235 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.236 | +0.4% |
| 1969 | 0.236 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.241 | +2.1% |
| 1971 | 0.241 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.249 | +3.3% |
| 1973 | 0.364 | +46.2% |
| 1974 | 0.364 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.451 | +23.9% |
| 1976 | 0.451 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.445 | -1.3% |
| 1978 | 0.441 | -0.9% |
| 1979 | 0.441 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.436 | -1.1% |
| 1981 | 0.436 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.437 | +0.2% |
| 1983 | 0.438 | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 0.438 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.438 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.438 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.432 | -1.4% |
| 1988 | 0.426 | -1.4% |
| 1989 | 0.425 | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 0.425 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.425 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.418 | -1.6% |
| 1993 | 0.413 | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 0.413 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.413 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.413 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.414 | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 0.415 | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.415 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.416 | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 0.413 | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 0.413 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.417 | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 0.396 | -5.0% |
| 2008 | 0.376 | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 0.376 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.37 | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 0.366 | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 0.354 | -3.3% |
| 2013 | 0.348 | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 0.346 | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 0.345 | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 0.346 | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 0.344 | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 0.351 | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 0.352 | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 0.359 | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 0.355 | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 0.369 | +3.9% |
| 2023 | 0.372 | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 0.38 | +2.2% |
| 2025 | 0.384 | +1.1% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 0.384 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.203, 1.9× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 0.384 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.3575, 1.1× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.052 | 0.052 | 0.052 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.0515 | 0.051 | 0.052 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.051 | 0.051 | 0.051 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.051 | 0.051 | 0.051 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.0773 | 0.051 | 0.113 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.1841 | 0.113 | 0.192 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.2244 | 0.207 | 0.236 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.3688 | 0.241 | 0.451 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.4344 | 0.425 | 0.438 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4164 | 0.413 | 0.425 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4052 | 0.376 | 0.417 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3522 | 0.344 | 0.37 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3698 | 0.355 | 0.384 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More social development data for Papua New Guinea
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 7,727 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 644 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 644 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0007 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 key features of liberal democracy in Papua New Guinea?
- Key features of liberal democracy in Papua New Guinea was 0.384 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest key features of liberal democracy recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.451 in 1975.
- What is the lowest key features of liberal democracy recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.051 in 1915.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for key features of liberal democracy?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 79th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is key features of liberal democracy rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Key features of liberal democracy. 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, individual and minority rights, equality before the law, and executive constraints.