Statizoid

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

0.20.40.60.8185319392025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by 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.

Participatory Democracy Index in New Zealand, year by year

Year Value Change
1853 0.169 —
1854 0.202 +19.5%
1855 0.202 +0.0%
1856 0.237 +17.3%
1857 0.271 +14.3%
1858 0.271 +0.0%
1859 0.267 -1.5%
1860 0.268 +0.4%
1861 0.284 +6.0%
1862 0.285 +0.4%
1863 0.285 +0.0%
1864 0.285 +0.0%
1865 0.285 +0.0%
1866 0.284 -0.4%
1867 0.284 +0.0%
1868 0.285 +0.4%
1869 0.285 +0.0%
1870 0.285 +0.0%
1871 0.293 +2.8%
1872 0.293 +0.0%
1873 0.293 +0.0%
1874 0.293 +0.0%
1875 0.293 +0.0%
1876 0.292 -0.3%
1877 0.292 +0.0%
1878 0.304 +4.1%
1879 0.325 +6.9%
1880 0.325 +0.0%
1881 0.325 +0.0%
1882 0.325 +0.0%
1883 0.325 +0.0%
1884 0.325 +0.0%
1885 0.324 -0.3%
1886 0.324 +0.0%
1887 0.34 +4.9%
1888 0.342 +0.6%
1889 0.341 -0.3%
1890 0.339 -0.6%
1891 0.355 +4.7%
1892 0.355 +0.0%
1893 0.494 +39.2%
1894 0.496 +0.4%
1895 0.496 +0.0%
1896 0.496 +0.0%
1897 0.504 +1.6%
1898 0.504 +0.0%
1899 0.504 +0.0%
1900 0.513 +1.8%
1901 0.521 +1.6%
1902 0.544 +4.4%
1903 0.547 +0.6%
1904 0.547 +0.0%
1905 0.547 +0.0%
1906 0.546 -0.2%
1907 0.546 +0.0%
1908 0.547 +0.2%
1909 0.549 +0.4%
1910 0.549 +0.0%
1911 0.547 -0.4%
1912 0.534 -2.4%
1913 0.536 +0.4%
1914 0.529 -1.3%
1915 0.522 -1.3%
1916 0.526 +0.8%
1917 0.523 -0.6%
1918 0.523 +0.0%
1919 0.544 +4.0%
1920 0.553 +1.7%
1921 0.551 -0.4%
1922 0.554 +0.5%
1923 0.554 +0.0%
1924 0.554 +0.0%
1925 0.554 +0.0%
1926 0.553 -0.2%
1927 0.553 +0.0%
1928 0.553 +0.0%
1929 0.556 +0.5%
1930 0.561 +0.9%
1931 0.561 +0.0%
1932 0.549 -2.1%
1933 0.558 +1.6%
1934 0.558 +0.0%
1935 0.552 -1.1%
1936 0.548 -0.7%
1937 0.548 +0.0%
1938 0.547 -0.2%
1939 0.539 -1.5%
1940 0.534 -0.9%
1941 0.534 +0.0%
1942 0.534 +0.0%
1943 0.534 +0.0%
1944 0.534 +0.0%
1945 0.534 +0.0%
1946 0.563 +5.4%
1947 0.572 +1.6%
1948 0.572 +0.0%
1949 0.591 +3.3%
1950 0.573 -3.0%
1951 0.548 -4.4%
1952 0.561 +2.4%
1953 0.561 +0.0%
1954 0.567 +1.1%
1955 0.576 +1.6%
1956 0.576 +0.0%
1957 0.577 +0.2%
1958 0.582 +0.9%
1959 0.582 +0.0%
1960 0.589 +1.2%
1961 0.591 +0.3%
1962 0.595 +0.7%
1963 0.6 +0.8%
1964 0.598 -0.3%
1965 0.598 +0.0%
1966 0.598 +0.0%
1967 0.621 +3.8%
1968 0.6 -3.4%
1969 0.6 +0.0%
1970 0.613 +2.2%
1971 0.613 +0.0%
1972 0.615 +0.3%
1973 0.613 -0.3%
1974 0.618 +0.8%
1975 0.619 +0.2%
1976 0.618 -0.2%
1977 0.614 -0.6%
1978 0.616 +0.3%
1979 0.612 -0.6%
1980 0.616 +0.7%
1981 0.613 -0.5%
1982 0.617 +0.7%
1983 0.619 +0.3%
1984 0.622 +0.5%
1985 0.624 +0.3%
1986 0.624 +0.0%
1987 0.625 +0.2%
1988 0.626 +0.2%
1989 0.626 +0.0%
1990 0.629 +0.5%
1991 0.626 -0.5%
1992 0.647 +3.4%
1993 0.667 +3.1%
1994 0.666 -0.1%
1995 0.703 +5.6%
1996 0.709 +0.9%
1997 0.709 +0.0%
1998 0.707 -0.3%
1999 0.711 +0.6%
2000 0.717 +0.8%
2001 0.716 -0.1%
2002 0.709 -1.0%
2003 0.703 -0.8%
2004 0.696 -1.0%
2005 0.689 -1.0%
2006 0.681 -1.2%
2007 0.674 -1.0%
2008 0.67 -0.6%
2009 0.682 +1.8%
2010 0.675 -1.0%
2011 0.696 +3.1%
2012 0.696 +0.0%
2013 0.69 -0.9%
2014 0.689 -0.1%
2015 0.687 -0.3%
2016 0.686 -0.1%
2017 0.692 +0.9%
2018 0.695 +0.4%
2019 0.687 -1.2%
2020 0.681 -0.9%
2021 0.672 -1.3%
2022 0.666 -0.9%
2023 0.662 -0.6%
2024 0.618 -6.6%
2025 0.581 -6.0%

New Zealand compared with similar countries

  • New Zealand's 0.581 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.529, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • New Zealand's 0.581 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.2725, 2.1× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Participatory Democracy Index in New Zealand changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1893 +39.2% 0.355 0.494

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 15 Germany 0.593 compare
  2. 16 Canada 0.589 compare
  3. 17 Austria 0.582 compare
  4. 19 Chile 0.574 compare
  5. 20 Spain 0.572 compare
  6. 21 Italy 0.569 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 participatory democracy index in New Zealand?
Participatory democracy index in New Zealand was 0.581 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by 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 V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Participatory Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Participatory Democracy Index in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 November 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/participatory-democracy-index/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator
Participatory Democracy Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 29,363 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent of suffrage, the freedom and fairness of elections, freedoms of association and expression, as well as the extent to which citizens can engage in regional and local government, civil society organizations, and direct democracy.