Liberal democracy index in New Zealand
New Zealand: Liberal democracy index was 0.787 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.787
Change on year
down 3.0%
World rank
14th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.84
in 2012
All-time low
0.304
in 1853
Years of data
173
1853–2025
Liberal democracy index in New Zealand, 1853–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, liberal democracy index in New Zealand stood at 0.787.
The figure is down 3.0% on the previous year and down 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, liberal democracy index in New Zealand peaked at 0.84 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.304, in 1853.
New Zealand ranks 14th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 0.3736 | 0.304 | 0.426 | 7 |
| 1860s | 0.4411 | 0.421 | 0.444 | 10 |
| 1870s | 0.4585 | 0.444 | 0.498 | 10 |
| 1880s | 0.5003 | 0.497 | 0.505 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0.6197 | 0.499 | 0.678 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0.6962 | 0.684 | 0.701 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.6831 | 0.669 | 0.701 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.707 | 0.703 | 0.71 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.7025 | 0.686 | 0.718 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.6883 | 0.679 | 0.704 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.699 | 0.673 | 0.711 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.7473 | 0.731 | 0.753 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7712 | 0.766 | 0.778 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.7904 | 0.773 | 0.806 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8161 | 0.808 | 0.825 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8262 | 0.822 | 0.839 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8321 | 0.822 | 0.84 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8138 | 0.787 | 0.826 | 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 asy 2,148 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 58 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh 1 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 1 (2025)
- Human rights index vs electoral democracy index 0.948 (2025)
- Electoral democracy index 0.849 (2025)
- Freedom of association index 0.885 (2025)
- Freedom of expression index 0.927 (2025)
- Participatory democracy index 0.581 (2025)
- Varieties democracy vdem 0.849 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is liberal democracy index in New Zealand?
- Liberal democracy index in New Zealand was 0.787 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest liberal democracy index recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 0.84 in 2012.
- What is the lowest liberal democracy index recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.304 in 1853.
- How does New Zealand rank for liberal democracy index?
- New Zealand ranks 14th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is liberal democracy index rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Liberal democracy index. 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).