Liberal democracy in New Zealand
New Zealand: Liberal democracy was 3 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Liberal democracy in New Zealand, 1853–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 3 for liberal democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 153 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, liberal democracy in New Zealand peaked at 3 in 1913 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 | 2.7 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 1920s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1930s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1940s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1950s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1960s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1970s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1980s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1990s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2000s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 1 Australia 3 compare
- 1 Austria 3 compare
- 1 Barbados 3 compare
- 1 Belgium 3 compare
- 1 Chile 3 compare
- 1 Costa Rica 3 compare
- 1 Cyprus 3 compare
- 1 Czechia 3 compare
- 1 Denmark 3 compare
- 1 Estonia 3 compare
- 1 Finland 3 compare
- 1 France 3 compare
- 1 Germany 3 compare
- 1 Iceland 3 compare
- 1 Italy 3 compare
- 1 Japan 3 compare
- 1 Latvia 3 compare
- 1 Lithuania 3 compare
- 1 Netherlands 3 compare
- 1 Norway 3 compare
- 1 Seychelles 3 compare
- 1 South Korea 3 compare
- 1 Spain 3 compare
- 1 Sweden 3 compare
- 1 Switzerland 3 compare
- 1 Taiwan 3 compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 3 compare
- 1 Uruguay 3 compare
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)
- Varieties of democracy 0.849 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.787 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.948 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.948 (2025)
- Key features of electoral democracy 0.849 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is liberal democracy in New Zealand?
- Liberal democracy in New Zealand was 3 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest liberal democracy recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 3 in 1913.
- What is the lowest liberal democracy recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1853.
- How does New Zealand rank for liberal democracy?
- New Zealand ranks 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is liberal 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 Liberal 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
Identifies the political regime of a country by distinguishing between closed autocracies, electoral autocracies, electoral democracies, and liberal democracies.