Participatory democracy index in New Zealand
New Zealand: Participatory democracy index was 0.581 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.581
Change on year
down 6.0%
World rank
18th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.717
in 2000
All-time low
0.169
in 1853
Years of data
173
1853–2025
Participatory democracy index in New Zealand, 1853–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, participatory democracy index in New Zealand stood at 0.581.
The figure is down 6.0% on the previous year and down 15.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, participatory democracy index in New Zealand peaked at 0.717 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.169, in 1853.
New Zealand ranks 18th 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 | 0.2313 | 0.169 | 0.271 | 7 |
| 1860s | 0.283 | 0.268 | 0.285 | 10 |
| 1870s | 0.2963 | 0.285 | 0.325 | 10 |
| 1880s | 0.3296 | 0.324 | 0.342 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0.4543 | 0.339 | 0.504 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0.5407 | 0.513 | 0.549 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.5333 | 0.522 | 0.549 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.5535 | 0.551 | 0.556 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.5521 | 0.539 | 0.561 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.5502 | 0.534 | 0.591 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.5703 | 0.548 | 0.582 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.599 | 0.589 | 0.621 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.6151 | 0.612 | 0.619 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6212 | 0.613 | 0.626 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6774 | 0.626 | 0.711 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6937 | 0.67 | 0.717 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6893 | 0.675 | 0.696 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6467 | 0.581 | 0.681 | 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)
- Liberal democracy index 0.787 (2025)
- Electoral democracy index 0.849 (2025)
- Freedom of association index 0.885 (2025)
- Freedom of expression index 0.927 (2025)
- Varieties democracy vdem 0.849 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is participatory democracy index in New Zealand?
- Participatory democracy index in New Zealand was 0.581 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest participatory democracy index recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 0.717 in 2000.
- What is the lowest participatory democracy index recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.169 in 1853.
- How does New Zealand rank for participatory democracy index?
- New Zealand ranks 18th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is participatory democracy index rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.4%. 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 Participatory 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).